Two different versions of my delicious lemon buttercream – one made with fresh lemons (juice and zest) and another made with either lemon extract or oil. Perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes or filling biscuits and macarons.
Jump to the recipe made with fresh lemon zest and juice or lemon extract/oil
One of my most requested new recipes is lemon buttercream (and a lemon birthday cake to go with it!). It’s something I’ve not shared until now because I had a massive dilemma about the best way to make the buttercream. Should it be flavoured with lemon extract/oil, or should I opt for fresh lemon zest and juice?
Both types of buttercream are delicious, and both have times when they really come into their own. In the end, I decided the only solution was to share both.
This lemon buttercream goes brilliantly with both my carrot cake cupcakes and gingerbread cupcakes and I’ll be sharing my recipes for the lemon cupcakes shown in these pictures (which I also filled with lemon curd for an extra burst of lemon flavour), and my full-sized lemon cake soon. I’ll add the links here when I do, and if you want to make sure you don’t miss these new recipes when they’re published make sure you subscribe to my mailing list.
When to use buttercream made with fresh lemon zest and juice
Lemon buttercream made with fresh zest and juice is best when you want your buttercream to really pack a punch. You’ll see from the recipe that I’ve added a lot of zest for flavour and then a little lemon juice for added sharpness. The addition of the lemon juice really adds a kick to the buttercream.
You’ll notice that I’ve used more zest than juice in the recipe. After a lot of testing, I found this gave just the right balance of flavours. It does mean that you’ll have some juice leftover, but don’t worry about waste. Lemon juice freezes really well for you to use later – I like to put the juice of ½ a lemon in each square of an ice cube tray and then I can defrost it as I need it. I’ve also added a list of recipe ideas below for using up lemon juice for you to try.
Lemon Buttercream made with fresh lemon juice and zest
When to use lemon buttercream made using lemon extract/oil
Lemon buttercream made with extract or oil is better when you want a more subtle lemon flavour in your buttercream. When I tested the two buttercream types on my family, I found that adults enjoyed the kick of the buttercream made with fresh lemons and the children preferred the one made with extract. When I was a child I remember not liking the sharpness of lemon (how my tastes have changed as an adult because now I love it!), this version of the buttercream keeps the flavour but loses the sharpness you get from the fresh lemons.
If you’re planning on piping your buttercream then I’d recommend using the version made with lemon extract. You can see from the pictures that it’s silky smooth, whereas the buttercream made with fresh lemon has flecks of lemon zest running through it. It still pipes OK, but you can see the edges aren’t as clearly defined and if you were planning on using a smaller nozzle than the one I’ve used here (JEM1B) you may find that the nozzle gets clogged by the zest.
The other big advantage to this version of the buttercream is that it’s made from ingredients I always have in my store cupboard/fridge – butter, icing sugar, lemon extract and milk. It’s therefore perfect for those times that I need to bake a cake at the last minute and I haven’t had a chance to go to the shops, as I only buy fresh lemons when I know I’m planning to use them. It also means you don’t have to think about what to do with the leftover lemon juice.
Lemon Buttercream made with lemon extract/oil
Does this buttercream crust?
Yes, it’s based on a standard buttercream with twice the amount of icing sugar to butter and so it crusts just as that would. It’s therefore perfect for piping more intricate shapes such as buttercream flowers and also for using under fondant on a decorated cake.
Can this lemon buttercream be made vegan/dairy-free?
Absolutely, it’s pretty straightforward to adapt the recipe to be vegan/dairy-free.
All you need to do is switch the 250g of butter in the recipe for 125g of dairy-free/vegan margarine (I use Pure Sunflower) and 125g of a vegetable oil block such as Stork Baking Block or Trex. Then switch the milk added at the end for a dairy-free alternative such as almond milk.
The vegan margarine adds flavour to the buttercream and the vegetable oil block adds firmness, so your buttercream is just the right consistency for piping.
If you’d like to read more about making vegan buttercream take a look at my vegan vanilla buttercream recipe where I’ve gone into more detail.
Ideas for using up lemon juice
As I mentioned before, this recipe uses more lemon zest than juice so here are some delicious recipes you can try to use up the leftover lemon juice.
- Lemon Cheesecake from Apply To Face
- Lemon Posset from Fuss Free Flavours
- Shortbread Lemon Bars from Sugar & Soul
- Moist Lemon Cake from Living Sweet Moments
- Lemon Blueberry Cake from Cooking With Carlee
- Watermelon Lemonade from Caroline’s Cooking
- Frozen Lemonade from Finding Zest
- Ginger Beer & Gin Cocktail from Greedy Gourmet
- Caribbean Rum Punch from Earth Food & Fire
- Spiked Lemon Shake-Up Cocktail from Mama Gourmand
Some of the recipes listed use cups measurements rather than grams. If you’d like to convert between the two then I have a handy conversions calculator you can use.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
Subscribe to the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen mailing list to get your FREE printable grams to cups and cups to grams conversion charts for twelve popular baking ingredients
Lemon Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g butter - soft at room temperature
- 500 g icing sugar
- Zest of 5 lemons
- 1 tbsp lemon juice - The juice from approximately ½ a lemon
- A little milk - To help get the buttercream to a soft consistency
INSTRUCTIONS
- Beat the butter (250g) on a low speed until it is soft.
- Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until combined - I like to add mine a spoonful at a time as it helps stop it flying out of the bowl!
- Finely grate the zest of 5 lemons. Squeeze the juice from the lemons until you have 1 tbsp.
- Add the lemon zest to the buttercream and beat until it is evenly distributed. Slowly add the lemon juice (no more than 1 tsp at a time) and beat in each addition before adding more.
- Check the consistency of your buttercream - It should be soft enough that you could spread it onto a slice of bread without the bread tearing, but not runny. If it is a little stiff, then add a little milk (again no more than 1 tsp at a time) until is it the right consistency.
- Your buttercream is now ready to use.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
FREE FROM/SUITABLE FOR…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
This list of allergens is the same regardless of which version of the buttercream you choose to make.
There are details of how to adapt this lemon buttercream to be vegan/dairy-free above the recipe.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
Subscribe to the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen mailing list to get your FREE printable grams to cups and cups to grams conversion charts for twelve popular baking ingredients
Lemon Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g butter - soft at room temperature
- 500 g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon extract/lemon oil - (can use a little more or less according to your own taste
- A little milk - To help get the buttercream to a soft consistency
INSTRUCTIONS
- Beat the butter (250g) on a low speed until it is soft.
- Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until combined - I like to add mine a spoonful at a time as it helps stop it flying out of the bowl!
- Slowly add the lemon extract/oil (1 tbsp - add no more than 1 tsp at a time) and beat in each addition before adding more.
- Check the consistency of your buttercream - It should be soft enough that you could spread it onto a slice of bread without the bread tearing, but not runny. If it is a little stiff, then add a little milk (again no more than 1 tsp at a time) until is it the right consistency.
- Your buttercream is now ready to use.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Two different versions of my delicious lemon buttercream – one made with fresh lemons (juice and zest) and another made with either lemon extract or oil. Perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes or filling biscuits and macarons.
CLAIRE says
best thing i ever made love you so much SLAY
Tia says
I made lemon cupcakes and they are really lovely. But the buttercream was way too sugary. I know it’s supposed to have a lot of sugar in it, but I felt it spoiled the cake itself. Do you think it would still work if I used a lot less sugar or would it greatly affect the consistency that you need to pipe it?
Charlotte Oates says
I wouldn’t recommend reducing the sugar in this recipe or you’ll be decorating with slightly sweet butter. You might prefer something with a little more tang like this Cream Cheese Buttercream. If that is still sweeter than you like, you could look for a flour based frosting called ermine buttercream. I don’t have a recipe but a google search should give you some options.
Becky says
Buttercream runny and followed recipe.
Beck says
Came out way too runny. Followed all the instructions and measurements exactly.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that. Can I just check, did you use butter and not margarine. I’ve only heard of this buttercream being too soft when this has been the case. Sadly the recipe doesn’t work with this substitution.
Sarah says
Hi Charlotte. I absolutely love this recipe and use it as a base for all of my piped buttercream flavours. They work perfectly each time! x
Danielle says
Tasted amazing, can’t wait to make it again!
Olivia says
Came out lovely but the fact that it won’t freeze well just disappointed me because the cream was delicious
Connie says
Is it with unsalted ed butyer
Charlotte Oates says
Yes
Diana says
Hi there, I baked your amazing all in one lemon cake – everyone loved it! I wonder, can you mix in lime to the lemon juice for the butter icing and in what proportions would you suggest? Thanks Charlotte
Charlotte Oates says
It’s opt for lime zest rather than juice as this will give a stronger flavour. If you want lemon and lime I’d switch out half of the lemon for lime zest.
Jane Blackmore says
Great recipe, clear instruction, one of my family’s favourites from the first slice. Thank you.
Lesley says
Hi Charlotte
I made cupcakes with the lemon curd centre and would love to use your fresh lemon buttercream on them, but they will need to keep 3 days (there’s only 2 of us so 4 cupcakes a day is well enough lol). Would the buttercream mix keep in the fridge if I only used a 3rd each day, icing them freshly each day?
Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, that’ll be fine. Just make sure you allow it to come up to room temperature before you attempt to put it onto your cupcakes as it’ll be dry stiff when you remove it from the fridge.
Pauline Cripps says
Lemon buttercream made with real lemon juice absolutely finished my lemon drizzle muffins off just right. Many thanks
Phyllis Wheeler says
My buttercream was to runny .followed recipe and my sponge took 50 mins in oven an still bit soggy grrrr not happy lol i have obvious messed up somewere.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that the cake and buttercream didn’t turn out as expected.
I’m hoping you might be able to answer a few questions that might help me to understand what could have happened.
1) For the cake – did you bake it in sandwich tins or one deep tin? If you use one deep tin it’ll take longer (about 50 minutes) that using sandwich tins.
2) Which version of the buttercream did you make? How soft was the butter when you added it to the buttercream?
Mary says
I searched high and low for the perfect recipe for lemon cupcakes with frosting and found it here! Spot on measurements and so delicious!
Lucy says
Hi Charlotte,
Would this recipe work with oranges to make an orange buttercream?
Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
I have tried it but I can’t see why it wouldn’t.
lorna flener says
will use for Church Thanksgiving dinner. Love lemon
Emily says
This buttercream is much too buttery, and with just 1tbsp of lemon juice, had almost no lemon flavour. It felt very fatty and stuck to my mouth. I’d recommend halving the butter and adding much more lemon juice or zest, plus some extra sugar to keep the consistency. I ended up scraping it off my cake and adding 70ml lemon juice and an extra 200g or so of icing sugar to get it to taste less oily and more lemony.
Sharon Thompson says
My buttercream is always gritty – do you have a method to create a smooth buttercream that isn’t Swiss meringue or Italian meringue based?
Charlotte Oates says
This thread has lots of good tips https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/47816/how-can-i-keep-my-buttercream-from-becomming-grainy
claire says
make sure to use icing sugar not caster or granulated
Jenny Walters says
I adore baking with lemon but have never made lemon buttercream! So this is just perfect for me. Pinned! I love that there are two versions too. I do have lemon extract always in the cupboard so guess what I’m doing next week! Thanks for including my cheesecake x
Mahima says
Thank you so much for sharing recipes.Great blog!!!
Teresa Hampson says
Do you have a recipe for a lemon cake
Charlotte Oates says
It’s coming soon. If you let me know what size you want it, I can tell you how to adapt my vanilla cake in the mean time.