Lemon Buttercream Frosting Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between frosting and buttercream? ›

The best way to distinguish frosting from buttercream is through the ingredients. While both contain powdered sugar, fat, flavouring and sometimes milk or water, frosting does not contain any butter whatsoever. Instead, frosting is usually made with shortening or cream cheese.

Add a Tangy Ingredient

Tangy ingredients can help cut through the sweetness and add depth to the flavour of the frosting. Some good options for tangy ingredients include lemon juice, vinegar, or cream cheese.

2. Add powdered sugar. If the frosting has not reached your desired thickness after chilling, add a few tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar to help your buttercream stiffen.

Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes. Compared to American buttercream, it has a much stronger butter flavor, but is considerably less sweet.

Classically there are four main types of buttercream: Italian, German, French & Swiss.

Italian Meringue Buttercream is the most difficult buttercream to make. If you are familiar with Italian meringue, you'll understand that it involves boiling sugar and then whisking egg whites into this piping hot syrup. Because of the high temperatures involved, we only recommend it to the more advanced cake artists.

Yes, this is absolutely correct. The longer you beat, the more air you incorporate in your buttercream, thus, it will have lots of holes or air-pockets, it will also make the colour lighter. If you will use your buttercream primarily for filling or maybe as simple swirls, then this is ok.

American buttercream is deliciously creamy, super sweet, and incredibly fluffy, and by far the easiest buttercream to master. It's just a matter of beating softened butter until it's fluffy, adding powdered sugar, cream, and a little vanilla and whipping it all together. No cooking required!

Add white vinegar.

Although many do so to avoid cracks and to achieve a smooth appearance, I find just the tiniest bit — about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon — also curbs the sweetness, allowing the wonderfully creamy mouth-feel of the icing to truly shine.

Why does my lemon butter icing curdle? ›

A buttercream that has separated is also sometimes referred to as “broken.” The buttercream will often have unattractive lumps and curds, an indication that the butter in your buttercream is too cold.

Dry/thick ingredients like cocoa powder, freeze dried fruit (powder,) and peanut butter will help thicken frosting, while vanilla and brown butter should be added sparingly to make sure it's the right texture.

If you are trying to avoid any sweetness to your frosting you could try some cream of tartar or some cornstarch mixed with a little milk. You can also whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the softened cream cheese.

If your finished frosting is too runny, per LeafTV, you can combine cornstarch with one or two tablespoons of milk before adding it to the frosting to thicken the whole thing up. The amount you should use depends on the amount of sugar in the recipe, as you don't want to actually be able to taste the cornstarch.

In short, buttercream is a type of frosting used to take treats like cake and cookies to the next level. This being said, not all frostings are buttercream, and can be made with a variety of cream bases like cream cheese and whipped cream.

Royal icing is one of the best icings for decorating cakes. Mixing together powdered sugar, egg whites, and meringue powder or liquid provides a consistency relative to pancake batter. This makes it easy to pour into pastry bags to fulfill your decorating dreams.

Choose Swiss meringue Buttercream if you:

want to level up your cake decorating from traditional American buttercreams (the ones that use just butter/powdered sugar.) Most pro-decorators will likely use this for sharp, clean sides and detailed designs.

Frosting is usually made with shortening (Trex, Flora White & Cookeen) or cream cheese. That's why frosting is a good option if you want a bright white cake than buttercream which often has a yellowish tint. However, shortening-based frostings can have a slight chemical taste.