Zesty Lemon Buttercream Frosting/Glaze

Luscious Lemon Pudding Cake with Zesty Lemon Frosting/Glaze

Frosting recipe 3 out of 6 from my Tale of 12 Cakes week:

This naked cake was such a hit! I wouldn't have foreseen such a result, considering my mini-disaster in the kitchen with the frosting....

For some reason or other, the frosting came out pretty runny after transportation (even though I kept it cold), and I was uber-frustrated. I added more powdered sugar to help it out. However, when I went to frost the cake layers, it was almost as if it was a very thick glaze instead of a frosting. It tasted heavenly, but as you can see above, the frosting stayed put on a flat foundation, but certainly not on the sides. I was about to write off the cake altogether, when I realized that the cake in "nude" form looked really awesome (and added contrast to the other cakes). The glaze quality kept the cake very moist on the inside (and the fresh layer of lemon pudding on the inside didn't hurt :). Next time, I want to use lemon extract, instead of fresh lemon juice. I don't think it'll mess with the overall chemistry of the frosting mix as much.

Overall, I really loved how the look and taste of this cake turned out. The little ring of white sprinkles around the top and bottom rim added such a dainty feel to the cake. 

I've added some re-modifications to my recipe (in parenthesis) to reflect how the frosting recipe can be more like.... well... frosting! But I've kept my original ingredient list in case you're going for that nude-look. Always a fun variation for a cake, I must say.

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Zesty Lemon Buttercream Frosting 

Ingredients:
Zest from one lemon, (make sure pieces are very fine)
2 T lemon juice (if you want it to be more of a frosting, and less of a frosting/glaze, then use 1 T lemon extract here instead).
2 sticks unsalted butter, soft
 2 1/2 C powdered sugar
1-2 T heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions:
1.  Cream together butter, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pinch of salt on medium until thoroughly mixed and slightly fluffy.
2. Add in milk. Batter will be slightly runny, but it's ok. You're about to add in a whole bunch of powdered sugar.
3. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating on medium, until all powdered sugar has been added. Add more powdered sugar/milk to gain desired consistency.