Lemon Extract vs Lemon Juice
For this lemon frosting recipe, the source of the lemon flavor matters. By using lemon extract, the frosting gets a stronger lemon flavor and less acidity than lemon juice would provide. You can find lemon extract in the baking aisle of your grocery store. Lemon juice is just juice from a lemon, which has a place in many recipes, but is not concentrated enough to get the job done for this simple buttercream frosting. This lemon frosting is no exception. With just butter, powdered sugar, milk, and lemon extract, you get a delightful frosting. It is easy to pipe but gets a gentle hardness to it, making it perfect for decorating.
Storing Frosting
If you aren’t using this frosting right away or have leftovers, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. You may need to give it a good whip before using it on cupcakes, cookies, or cake to give it that fluffy consistency again. If you are making this lemon frosting recipe ahead of time, store the frosting separately, and then frost your cupcakes or cookies just before serving them so that you don’t have to keep everything in the refrigerator.
Use room-temperature butter. This will make your job so much easier when you beat the butter to get that whipped, fluffy texture we are going for. If your butter is too soft, you won’t be able to pipe it. If it is too cold, you won’t be able to mix it. Butter at room temperature will still feel cold to the touch, but you can make a dent in it with your finger without pushing all the way through. A good rule of thumb is that butter cut into one inch pieces will take 30 minutes to come to the room temperature. Use unsalted butter. I use unsalted butter to really control the salt in this recipe. If your frosting is too sweet at the end, you can add a pinch of salt. However, it is easier to add a pinch at the end than to use salted butter and not like the end result. Measure your powdered sugar correctly. Spoon the powdered sugar into your measuring cup, or softly pour it into it, so that it doesn’t get packed and result in too much. Tweak the taste as needed at the end. One of the best parts of this recipe, other than how delicious it is, is how simple it is to adjust the flavor. If your lemon buttercream frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk. If it’s too thin, sprinkle in some powdered sugar. And finally, if it’s too sweet, add a pinch of salt.
Piping Lemon Frosting
I love piping frosting onto my cupcakes for easy application, great presentation, and convenient cleanup. In addition to lemon or vanilla cupcakes, it would also be delicious on sugar cookies and sugar cookie bars. To pipe this lemon buttercream frosting on cupcakes or cakes, I love this set!
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