Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Use this tangy Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting on your baked goods, and elevate them to new heights. It's full of fresh lemon flavor with the most amazing silky smooth texture and the rich tang of cream cheese.

Jump to:

• 📖 What are the different types of buttercreams?
• 🌟 Why this is the best Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
• 🍰 How Much Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Do I Need to Make For A Cake?
• ❄️ Storage and Freezing
• 🔍 Troubleshooting
• 🎓 Expert tips
• 🥣 Equipment Notes
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🧁 More Frostings
• Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

📖 What are the different types of buttercreams?

Buttercream frosting comes in a variety of formats, and this lemon cream cheese frosting is a delicious twist on a classic! Essentially, buttercream is a frosting with sugar and butter as a base; American buttercream, Russian buttercream, German buttercream, French buttercream, Italian meringue buttercream, and Swiss meringue buttercream.

If you are looking for a frosting recipe without butter, make sure to check out my cream cheese frosting without butter!

🌟 Why this is the best Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

1. It's delicious - This is a fresh and citrusy take on my popular strawberry cream cheese frosting. It's perfect on everything from cupcakes to white chocolate brownies! What's more, it also doesn't form a crust and stays nice and soft.
2. It's velvety smooth - The cream cheese adds that iconic smooth and silky texture as well as a rich, tangy taste.
3. It's so simple - With only 4 simple ingredients and no complex techniques, this easy lemon cream cheese frosting could not be easier to make.
4. It's pipeable - You can spread this frosting over cakes or cookies but it is also stable enough to pipe, meaning you can really show off your skills and create stunning creations for a dessert table.
5. It isn't too sweet - The frosting will stay super fresh and stable with much less sugar than many frosting recipes, and is much more balanced. The lemon is the star of the show, not the sugar. If you love lemon desserts, you'll love this easy frosting recipe.

📝 Ingredient notes

1. Butter —Always use unsalted butter in baking to control the quality and quantity of the salt. I use 82% fat, European-style butter, and it needs to be at room temperature and soft in this recipe, so take it out of the fridge ahead of time. Avoid last minute microwaving though, here is my guide on how to soften butter quickly. You can even make and use homemade butter!
2. Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds that signature sharp and delicious lemon flavor. I don't recommend making lemon cream cheese frosting with lemon extract or store bought, bottled lemon juice as it can be synthetic. Fresh lemon juice is always best!
3. Powdered sugar - This dissolves into the frosting to give a smooth texture. Be sure to sift your powdered sugar to prevent any lumps in the icing.
4. Cream cheese - I only use full-fat cream cheese with at least 33% fat content, like Philadelphia. Lower-fat versions contain too much water and make the frosting runny, so avoid these.
5. Vanilla extract - Try to avoid using vanilla essence, which can have a synthetic flavor. Vanilla brings out other flavors, so you will get even more of a lemony hit.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.

👩‍🍳 How to make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Cut the softened butter into cubes and place it in a mixing bowl. Whip the butter for 2 minutes using an electric hand mixer. You can use a stand mixer, but I find this makes it easier to overmix, so I do not recommend it.
2. Add the sifted powdered sugar and continue whipping for another 2 minutes until it is fully incorporated and the mixture becomes pale and fluffy.
3. Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract and whip for 2 more minutes.
4. While the whisk is still running, start adding tablespoons of lemon juice very slowly just until it is all incorporated. I add it one tablespoon at a time, and if you want to add yellow food coloring, do this now. But do not overmix!
5. Transfer the lemon buttercream frosting with cream cheese into a piping bag and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before using it to decorate cakes or other baked goods.

💡 Top Tip: Lemon juice is acidic and will naturally want to curdle the dairy in this cream cheese frosting. So it is important to add it very slowly, bit by bit, or the frosting might break. 

🍰 How Much Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Do I Need to Make For A Cake?

The recipe above is enough to frost 12 cupcakes or lemon muffins. To frost cakes, you will need approximately 2x this recipe for a 6-inch cake, 2.5x for a 7-inch cake, and 3x for an 8-inch cake.

But this will also depend on how much frosting you prefer on your cakes and whether you are using any other filling in between the layers.

❄️ Storage and Freezing

Store lemon cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 2-3 days. Let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to soften, then whip it up quickly before using.

Whilst you can freeze lemon cream cheese frosting for up to 3 months in an airtight container or sealed freezer bag, freezing can sometimes alter the texture. For this reason, I recommend making it and using it fresh.

🔍 Troubleshooting

Here is what to do if you run into some of the following common issues when making lemon cream cheese frosting.

1. The lemon juice splits the frosting: It has likely been added too quickly. Keep whipping until it comes back together, then continue to add the lemon juice one teaspoon at a time.
2. The cream cheese buttercream is lumpy or chunky: This is often a temperature issue, and the butter was too hard. Gently warm the mixture slightly over a double boiler (or, as many chefs do, use a hairdryer!).
3. The lemon cream cheese frosting is runny: This might be due to a lower-fat cream cheese, butter that was too melted, or an overmixed mixture. Put the frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes and then continue.
4. The lemon cream cheese buttercream is too hard to pipe: Butter will harden in the fridge over time. Take it out 30 minutes before you need it to let it soften again before using it.

🎓 Expert tips

1. The cream cheese needs to be high in fat. Using a low-fat cream cheese can result in a thinner consistency frosting due to the additional water content. I always recommend making Philadelphia lemon cream cheese frosting. It's a reliable brand and has great taste!
2. Make sure the butter is at room temperature, but not melted. It normally takes around an hour out of the fridge, and you'll know it's ready when you can press it with a finger and it leaves a mark.
3. Sift the powdered sugar to prevent any lumps in the frosting.
4. This frosting will be pale cream colored. If you’d like a bolder lemon-yellow color, feel free to whip in a drop of yellow gel food coloring at the end.
5. Grate some lemon zest over the piped lemon cream frosting to intensify the lemon flavor and add a pretty garnish. I sometimes add lime zest and orange zest on top, too, for the ultimate citrus taste!
6. If you love this lemon frosting, you'll love my lemon poppy seed cupcakes!

🥣 Equipment Notes

Baking requires precision. So, always weigh ingredients by the gram using a Digital scale rather than measuring by volume.

Whip up this frosting with an Electric hand mixer rather than a stand mixer, which makes it easier to overmix and cause separation.

I like to pipe frostings in a piping bag fitted with a French star nozzle tip for that beautiful, professional finish.

❓Recipe FAQs

🧁 More Frostings