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Lemon Butter Frosting

A butter-based frosting flavored with lemon rind, sugar, lemon juice, and salt.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Lemon Butter Frosting

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add lemon rind to butter.

  2. Cream well and add part of the sugar gradually, blending well after each addition.

  3. Add remaining sugar and lemon juice until you get the right consistency to spread. Beat thoroughly after each addition.

  4. Add salt.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

163Calories
1 gProtein
12 gFat
16 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together53,532 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Creams with the sugar to give the frosting a smooth, rich, spreadable body.
Confectioners' sugar
Provides sweetness and bulk, and sets the frosting's firm, spreadable texture.
Lemon juice
Adds bright acidity and thins the frosting to the right spreading consistency.

The step that matters

Adding the lemon juice. Lemon juice is added by eye until the frosting spreads well. Too much makes it runny and too little leaves it stiff, so add it gradually and stop when the texture is right.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Peachfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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