Now I am all about chocolate frosting, but there is just something about this tangy citrus buttercream that I am obsessed with. It adds something bright and zesty to a vanilla cake and doubles down on the tart citrus flavors of lemon cupcakes or orange cookies.
Its creamy, delicious and quite cheerful and you are totally in control of the balance between the sweetness and the tartness in this buttercream, so whether you want a slightly tangy frosting or something that will make you really pucker up, this citrus buttercream frosting will make you and anyone you serve it to very happy.
Plus, it only takes a few minutes to whip up!
Let’s get it started…
Begin by placing 1/2 cup of room temperature butter into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. You want the butter to be just a room temperature, not softened or at all melted. You are looking for a texture that would hold a dent from your thumb, but not so soft that your thumb would easily slide in.
In with the stick of butter, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of a citrus extract (lemon, lime or orange will all do great!) and mix on medium speed until creamy.
Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and whip until creamy.
Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Now whip in 2 tablespoons of fresh citrus juice. This can be any kind of citrus or a combination of several. Have fun with the flavors and match them to whatever this frosting will eventually be paired with.
Continue adding confectioners sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until your frosting reaches the texture and sweetness level that you are looking for.
Tips:
- If you accidentally added too much confectioners sugar and your frosting is too thick, you can either add more heavy cream or more citrus juice to soften it up a bit
- If the frosting is too sweet or just doesn’t pack enough citrus punch for you taste, add more fresh citrus juice or even some citrus zest
- If the frosting is too tart, add another splash of vanilla extract and heavy cream
Once your citrus buttercream frosting is ready to go, transfer it into a piping bag and add it to everything!
Cupcakes, regular cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pancakes… or a spoon. I won’t tell…
Citrus Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of butter, room temperature (salted or unsalted)
- 2-4 tablespoons of fresh citrus juice
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract (lemon, lime or orange)
- 3 1/2-4 cups of confectioners sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons of heavy cream
- a pinch of salt (only if using unsalted butter)
Instructions
- Add 1/2 cup of room temperature butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract into a stand mixer and blend until creamy
- Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and whisk until light and creamy
- Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and mix until combined
- Add 2 tablespoons of fresh citrus juice and a pinch of salt (only if using unsalted butter) and mix to combine
- Continue adding confectioners sugar until your desired texture and sweetness level has been achieved
