Swiss Meringue Buttercream (with Lemon Curd + Other Flavor Variations!)

Creamy, fluffy, and silky smooth, Swiss meringue buttercream is perhaps the queen of all buttercream frostings. While it takes a little bit more time than your standard American buttercream, the result is rich and buttery frosting that is not cloyingly sweet. Swiss meringue buttercream is made by cooking egg whites with sugar and then beating […]

The post Swiss Meringue Buttercream (with Lemon Curd + Other Flavor Variations!) first appeared on Love and Olive Oil.

Creamy, fluffy, and silky smooth, Swiss meringue buttercream is perhaps the queen of all buttercream frostings. While it takes a little bit more time than your standard American buttercream, the result is rich and buttery frosting that is not cloyingly sweet.

Swiss meringue buttercream is made by cooking egg whites with sugar and then beating it into a fluffy, glossy meringue before adding butter (that’s right, you only need 3 ingredients to make it!) From there you can flavor it with simple vanilla, lemon curd, or any number of other fun flavor possibilities.

Bowl of Swiss Meringue Buttercream in a metal mixing bowl with white sprinkle spatula.

This recipe makes about 4 cups of buttercream, enough to frost and fill a 6-inch, three layer cake (like this gorgeous Triple Lemon Layer Cake). Double the recipe for an 8-inch layer cake, or triple for a multi-tiered cake (google ‘buttercream calculator’ and there are a ton of free tools to help you determine exactly how much buttercream you’ll need).

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Meyer Lemon Curd (Extra Thick!)

This tart and tangy Meyer lemon curd is extra thick (thanks to the extra thickening power of cornstarch), with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel and a perfect balance of tart and sweet. There are few things more satisfying than a classic lemon curd. Whether you use it as cake filling, ice cream flavoring, or morning […]

The post Meyer Lemon Curd (Extra Thick!) first appeared on Love and Olive Oil.

This tart and tangy Meyer lemon curd is extra thick (thanks to the extra thickening power of cornstarch), with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel and a perfect balance of tart and sweet.

There are few things more satisfying than a classic lemon curd. Whether you use it as cake filling, ice cream flavoring, or morning yogurt enhancer, this bright lemon curd is as easy to prepare as it is delicious, no double boiler needed! The addition of cornstarch ensures it’ll set up perfectly thick every time.

Glass bowl filled with Meyer Lemon Curd on a marble surface, with a spoonful of lemon curd in the foreground and a few fresh Meyer lemons out of focus in the background.

Lemon curd is absolutely lovely on its own eaten by the spoonful (no judgement here!) but also makes for a divine component of myriad other desserts, from cake to cupcakes to ice cream and more (scroll to the bottom of this post for more ideas!)

My favorite lemon curd is made with Meyer lemons for a bright and tangy flavor that’s sweeter and more complex than typical lemon curd, with notes of vanilla, mandarin and orange blossom. I may be biased, but I think Meyer lemons are far superior to regular lemons in almost all cases.

Extracting as much flavor as possible from the whole lemons means using both the zest and the juice, the zest is massaged into the granulated sugar which draws out the flavorful oils from the peels. This, even more than the juice, is what gives this lemon curd its ultra bright flavor.

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