Rich and delicious flavor, this orange buttercream frosting recipe is perfect for topping any of your favorite desserts.
This frosting has a fresh flavor with the perfect amount of sweetness. It’s a great frosting for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, donuts and even brownies.
This is special recipe for me; it’s one I’ve been making for many years going back to baking with my mother and grandmother.
I absolutely love the texture and flavor, and I’m guessing it becomes one of your new favorite frosting recipes too.
Make sure to bookmark or pin this recipe so you can find it the next time you need an orange frosting.
Try your frosting with this recipe: Sugar cookies without baking soda
How to Make Homemade Orange Buttercream Frosting from Scratch

Whether your frosting a yellow cake, chocolate cupcakes or even looking for a sweet addition to waffles, this frosting is the perfect choice.
We will be using orange juice and lemon juice, which gives it such a bright and refreshing flavor. And it’s also not overly sweet like far too many frosting recipes out there.
Total prep time is just minutes, so it’s also a great last minutes recipe. And once you’ve tasted it and seen how easy it is to make, you won’t go back to store bought frosting again.
Equipment needed is a saucepan, few mixing bowls, and a hand or stand mixer.
Important Note: This recipe calls for uncooked eggs, so only use pasteurized eggs and follow the FDA food safety recommendations.
Save this popular recipe for later: Buttercream frosting without heavy cream
Orange Frosting Ingredients

This frosting recipe has a few more ingredients than most that I make. But the extra ingredients are necessary for achieving the amazing flavor and texture.
The added ingredients don’t take much more time, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s well worth it.
Ingredients List
- Granulated Sugar
- Powdered Sugar
- All-Purpose Flour
- Eggs (separated)
- Orange Juice
- Lemon Juice
- Butter (melted)
- Heavy Cream (whipped)
Frosting for serving on hot days: Buttercream frosting using shortening
Recipe Instructions

So even though this recipe takes a few more steps than others you’ll find, it’s not at all difficult. And like I said earlier, the results are well worth those extra steps.
Chill time does add a bit to your prep time, but I always prepare my frosting while my dessert is baking so my frosting can chill while I’m waiting to be able to frost my dessert.
This means almost no extra kitchen time, so it works out quite well.
Step 1: In your saucepan, add your granulated sugar, powdered sugar, flour, beaten egg yolks, orange juice, lemon juice, and melted butter.
Step 2: Bring to medium heat and stir until it thickens up
Step 3: Once thickened, remove from heat and chill in your refrigerator until cooled
Step 4: In separate bowls, beat egg whites until stiff and whip your heavy cream
Step 5: Gently fold your egg whites and whipped cream into chilled frosting mixture
Step 6: Use immediately and enjoy!

Simple Orange Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- 3 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1½ Tbs All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Large Eggs separated and beaten
- ½ Cup Orange Juice
- 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbs Butter melted
- 8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream whipped
Instructions
- In your saucepan, add your granulated sugar, powdered sugar, flour, beaten egg yolks, orange juice, lemon juice, and melted butter.
- Bring to medium heat and stir until it thickens up
- Once thickened, remove from heat and chill in your refrigerator until cooled
- In separate bowls, beat egg whites until stiff and whip your heavy cream
- In separate bowls, beat egg whites until stiff and whip your heavy cream
- Gently fold your egg whites and whipped cream into chilled frosting mixture
- Use immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
Liv’s Orange Buttercream Frosting Recipe Notes
- This buttercream can be made up to one day ahead of time. Simply store it covered in your refrigerator.
- Add a couple drops of orange food coloring for more color.
- You can make your whipped cream ahead of time and store it in your fridge until you’re ready to fold it into your frosting.
- When heating your ingredients, stir to avoid burning and remove from heat as soon as it thickens up to a frosting like consistency.