If you have a lemon cake or a batch of cupcakes to frost, this is the lemon cream cheese frosting I would point you to. Fresh zest and juice make it taste like real lemon and it pipes into a swirl that holds its shape. The secret is a short chill. Lemon juice softens cream cheese frosting, but time in the fridge firms it right back up. Mix it tonight, chill it, and pipe it in the morning.
One batch is plenty for a tray of lemon cupcakes piped with tall swirls, which is what I make it for most often, and the same amount spreads smoothly over an Italian lemon cake when I want something simpler.
Read Before Starting
Check how warm your kitchen is. On a warm day the frosting comes off the mixer softer and needs a longer chill time in the fridge. If you pipe right away in a hot kitchen, the swirl relaxes within a few minutes. Chill the piping bag too if you can!
For piping the frosting, I’d recommend chilling for 30-40 minutes. For frosting a cake, 30 minutes is sufficient.
If you are piping a lot of cupcakes, your hands and the bag warm it up as you go, so put the bag back in the fridge for a few minutes when the swirls start to lose their edges. That keeps the last cupcake looking like the first.
Ingredient Notes
- Use full-fat, block-style cream cheese. The tub kind, the whipped kind, and the low-fat kinds all hold extra water. That water keeps the frosting from firming up, so it slumps no matter how long you chill it.
- Make sure you use room temperature cream cheese and butter to avoid lumps in the frosting.
- For flavor variations, try my original cream cheese frosting, blueberry cream cheese frosting or strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Adjust To Suit Your Taste
Want more lemon flavor? Add more zest, not more juice. Zest brings strong lemon flavor with no extra liquid, so it brightens the taste without softening the frosting. Juice adds water and means a longer chill. I use zest to push the flavor and keep the juice steady.
If it tastes too sweet, add a pinch more salt first. Too sweet is the most common complaint on cream cheese frostings, and salt is the quickest fix because it cancels out some of the sweetness without changing the texture. Go slowly so it does not turn savory. If it still reads too sweet after that, you can drop the powdered sugar by up to half a cup, but less sugar also softens the frosting, so plan on a longer chill to bring the swirl back.
This frosting pipes a soft swirl, not fine detail.
The lemon zest will clog a small, narrow tip. Use a wide tip or a large star tip and keep the design simple.
For sharper flowers, my lemon buttercream holds the fine detail this one cannot. You can also browse my full collection of easy frosting and icing recipes.
Make-Ahead
This holds up well made ahead, which is why I reach for it when I am frosting lemon cake for a party. Chilled overnight, it firms up more than a same-day batch, so let it warm to a soft, spreadable texture before you pipe.
This post was originally published in October 2023.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 ounces block-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 4½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Cream together in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, the cream cheese, unsalted butter, and lemon zest for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy with no lumps remaining.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt, mixing just until fully incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until all the powdered sugar is fully incorporated.
- Add the lemon juice and mix just until incorporated, then increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes to firm up slightly before transferring to a large piping bag fitted with a piping tip to frost decorative swirls onto cupcakes or spread with an offset spatula to frost a 9×13 sheet cake or 8-inch 2-layer cake. A slightly longer chill time may be needed to achieve the desired stiffness when piping or frosting.
Notes
- This frosting can be used immediately, without chilling, but it will yield a softer texture that may not hold its shape as well when piped onto cupcakes.
- When softening your butter and cream cheese to room temperature, be sure that they are not too soft or your frosting may require a longer chill time to firm up to a spreadable or pipeable consistency. The butter should be soft enough to leave a fingerprint when gently pressed but not so soft that you can easily push your finger all the way through. The same goes for the cream cheese softness.
- Before zesting and juicing your lemons, be sure to wash off the waxy coating that is typically added for shipping and storage.
- This recipe can easily be scaled up to 1.5x for frosting 24 cupcakes with generously piped swirls or to generously frost an 8 or 9-inch 2-layer cake.
- 12-ounce block-style cream cheese
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 6 ½ to 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2¼ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- You can add an extra 1-2 teaspoons of fresh juice to increase the lemon flavor. The more lemon juice that is added, the longer you will need to chill the frosting for a stiffer consistency.
- For a stronger lemon flavor, you can add up to 1 teaspoon lemon extract to the frosting when adding the vanilla extract. Be sure to use a high quality extract for the most natural lemon flavor. Cheaper quality brands can tend to taste a bit bitter or unnatural compared to using real lemon juice.
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