Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces Cream Cheese (softened); 1/2 cup Butter (room temperature); 4 cups Powdered Sugar; 1/4 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice; 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest (plus more for garnish)

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This smooth Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting is both sweet and tart with lemon flavor and fresh lemon zest mixed in. Simple ingredients make it easy to prepare and it’s great for icing cakes, cupcakes, and even cookies.

Lemon cream cheese frosting on top of a cupcake topped with lemon zest and a lemon wedge.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Only 5 ingredients. The ingredients needed are cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. That’s it to make a truly zesty and rich frosting.
Great for many uses. Some ways to use lemon cream cheese frosting are on a 9×13-inch cake, an 8″ round layered cake, piped on top of cupcakes, or even spread over quick bread. This frosting can be used just like a regular frosting.
Quick and easy. As stated above this frosting has only a handful of ingredients and can be made in under 10 minutes.

How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Gallery images of process step 1 of zest and lemon juice and second image of process step 2.

Juice and zest the lemon. Using a zester, zest about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of lemon zest into a small bowl and set aside. Slice the lemon and juice it until you get ¼ cup of juice (you may need 1 and a half lemons depending on its size).
Beat the ingredients together. Place the cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest into the bowl of an electric mixer or a large mixing bowl if using a handheld mixer. Beat the ingredients on medium until smooth and fully combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix in the powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl and beat it into the mixture on a low speed for about 30 seconds then increase the speed to medium and continue to beat the frosting for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Ingredients Needed

Lemon cream cheese frosting ingredients.

Cream Cheese
Butter
Powdered Sugar
Lemon Juice
Lemon Zest

Recipe Tips

Zesting. When zesting the lemon make sure to only remove the yellow part of the rind not the white portion. The white part is bitter in flavor unlike the rind, which has a zesty flavor.
Use an electric mixer. I prefer to use an electric mixer when preparing frosting because it keeps the powdered sugar from flying everywhere in the mixing process.
Cover your mixing bowl with a dish towel. To avoid the powdered sugar from coming out of the bowl when you begin to mix it cover your mixer with a clean dish towel.
Sift the powdered sugar. To make sure there are no bumps in your frosting sift the powdered sugar into the mixing bowl before mixing it in.
Too thick or thin frosting? If you find the frosting is too thick then add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time and mix it in until the desired consistency is reached. To Thicken the frosting add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
For a richer color. To make the frosting appear yellow you can add a few drops of food coloring.

Cupcake topped with lemon cream cheese frosting, lemon zest, and a lemon wedge.

FAQS

Does lemon cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?

Yes, any cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated. I also recommend placing the prepared frosting into the refrigerator for at least an hour before you plan on spreading it onto a cake or piping it onto cupcakes. This will allow the frosting the firm up as well as develop the lemon flavor.

How can I stiffen my cream cheese frosting?

If you find your frosting isn’t stiff enough then you can add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to firm it up without adding sweetness. Continue to add 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Conversely, you can also use powdered sugar, but it will make the frosting sweeter.

If you enjoyed this easy recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a photo and tag me on Instagram using @AimeeMarsLiving and #AimeeMars.