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lemon cream cheese frosting on cupcake with lemon slice
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5 from 3 votes

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

This easy homemade lemon cream cheese frosting uses only 5 ingredients and can made in less than 15 minutes!
Prep Time5 minutes
Mixing10 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 20
Calories: 135kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • ½ cup salted or unsalted butter room temperature
  • 8 oz full-fat brick cream cheese room temperature
  • Zest of 1 small lemon about 2 tsp
  • Juice of 1 small lemon about 2-3 tbsp
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla optional
  • pinch salt omit if using salted butter

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, or a hand held mixer and a large bowl, mix the butter for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy.
  • Add cream cheese and mix another 2-3 minutes until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure it’s probably mixed. It’s important that both the cream cheese and butter have been softened or else they won’t mix together properly.
  • Mix in then powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, again scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
  • Add in lemon zest, juice, and salt. Mix until combined.
  • If piping, chill for 20 minutes for better piping consistency. Otherwise, serve with your favorite dessert and enjoy!

Notes

  • Make sure both the butter and cream cheese are room temperature so they combine when mixing. 
  • Use full-fat block cream cheese. Low fat cream cheese or cream cheese in a plastic container can turn the cream cheese frosting runny.
  • If using a standing mixer, be sure to use a whisk attachment and not the beater attachment. The beater attachment can lead to runny frosting.
  • Still have issues with runny or lumpy frosting? Check out our cream cheese frosting post on why this happens and how to prevent it.
  • This makes 2 to 3 cups frosting and can easily be halved or doubled. 
  • This frosting will last 3-5 days in the fridge is an airtight container, or 2-3 months in the freezer.   When ready to use let thaw in the fridge, then remix until creamy.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbsp | Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 117mg | Potassium: 34mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg