Instructions

1. Zest a large lemon. You will need a 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a heaping tablespoon of lemon zest.
2. Add the butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the mixer. The butter should be “slightly softened” which means it is still cold but has been out of the refrigerator for approximately 30-60 minutes.
3. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.) The lemon juice needs to be completely mixed in with the butter. At the beginning of this creaming process, the lemon juice and butter will not mix easily but keep mixing, it will come together. This is an important part of the process, you want the lemon and butter flavors to meld together.
4. Scrap the mixture down from the sides of the bowl before the next step.
5. Add five cups of Powdered Sugar to the butter/lemon mixture. We normally do not sift the powdered sugar and instead rely on the mixer to do that work for us.
6. Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting gets light and fluffy.
7. The fresh lemon will give the frosting a slight yellow color. If you want the frosting to look a bit more lemon-y … add a tiny drop of yellow food coloring as we have done here and mix until combined.
8. Taste your frosting. You are tasting to determine taste (does it need more lemon zest?) and consistency (is it too thin or too thick?) Because of the added lemon juice, the consistency might be on the thin side. The first thing you should do before using the frosting is put it in the refrigerator for an hour or so, that will help the butter firm up and the lemon flavor to develop. Please note that the flavor from the fresh lemon will continue to develop over time. For optimal flavor, we suggest that you refrigerate the frosting for at least a couple of hours (or even overnight) before serving it.