This quick and easy lemon icing strikes the perfect balance of sweet and zesty. Made with fresh lemon juice and zest, it's bursting with bright citrus flavor that pairs beautifully with loaf cakes, lemon rolls, or muffins. Cream cheese is the secret to the perfect texture, making it silky and smooth enough to drizzle, yet clings to baked goods instead of running off.
Alternative title for this recipe: Sunshine in a bowl. This lemon icing is tangy, sweet, and irresistibly silky - and the best part? You can whip it up in just 5 minutes. And then slather, swirl, pour, or drizzle it over all desserts, adding a tangy zesty brightness to every bite.
A little bit of cream cheese is the secret to amazing lemon icing!
You may have been frustrated with icing recipes that are just too thin and run off baked goods. I use cream cheese in my recipe, which creates the perfect texture: silky, smooth and just the right consistency to drizzle yet adhere to my super moist gluten-free lemon drizzle cake and swirled over fluffy gluten-free lemon rolls, nestling in to all the nooks and crannies.
Most icing is made by adding liquid (milk, lemon juice, melted butter etc) to powdered sugar, with the powdered sugar used as the thickener. That method requires lots of powdered sugar. By using cream cheese and room temperature butter to help thicken, the icing is not overly sweet, but instead perfectly balanced between zesty, tangy, tart, and sweet - allowing the lemon flavor to shine through.
For breakfast, this lemon icing works beautifully in almond flour crepes, paired with fresh berries. So bright and fresh!
Reasons to love this lemon icing
- Loads of vibrant lemon flavor from fresh juice and zest that also while make the icing smooth and thin enough to drizzle.
- Cream cheese makes it lusciously creamy and thick enough to cling to every bite, with a bright tangy contrast to the zesty tart lemon.
- Super quick and easy: Can be made in a single bowl with a spatula - no mixer needed!
Recipe
Glossy 5-Minute Lemon Icing
Ingredients
- 4 oz full-fat cream cheese (blocked), room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, as needed
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese and butter with a silicone spatula, pressing against the side of the bowl until smooth.
- Mix in the lemon zest, mashing well against the sides to release the oils.
- Mix in powdered sugar in three parts, followed by the salt, until completely combined.
- Mix in the the vanilla, followed by 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice in two parts. Use a fork to mix until completely smooth. Add more lemon juice as needed until you get your desired consistency. For swirling over lemon rolls, I keep mine on the thicker side, but for drizzling over a cake, muffins, or loaf, you'll need a bit more lemon juice. When you lift the whisk up and drizzle icing back into the bowl, the stream should sit on top for a few seconds before mostly incorporating back into the bowl.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review and rating to let me and others know how you liked it!
Visual Steps for One-Bowl Lemon Cream Cheese Icing
To make this icing, you just need one bowl, a silicone spatula or spoon, and a fork.
Mash the softened butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Use the side of the bowl to mash it well!
Add the lemon zest and mash it really well to release the oils from the zest.
Mash in the powdered sugar in three parts until completely combined.
Add the liquids in parts, mixing until smooth.
This is the time to switch to a fork to get out any last remaining clumps! See those little clumps above? Mix with a fork until COMPLETELY smooth.
Hint: Adding all the liquid at once will make your frosting clumpy and harder to mix until smooth. Instead add the liquids in parts, using a fork to mash and mix the frosting until smooth.
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