{"id":27361,"date":"2019-06-20T11:47:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T16:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cupcakeproject.com\/?p=27361"},"modified":"2020-02-06T13:15:43","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T19:15:43","slug":"lemon-cream-cheese-frosting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cupcakeproject.com\/lemon-cream-cheese-frosting\/","title":{"rendered":"Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting"},"content":{"rendered":"

This lemon cream cheese frosting is bursting with lemon flavor! It’s not too sweet and has a nice tang from the cream cheese. I love it on my fresh lemon cupcakes<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"Lemon<\/p>\n

Lemon cream cheese frosting is a great alternative to lemon buttercream<\/a>. I love them both, but I’d choose the cream cheese frosting if I had to pick a favorite. I’m a sucker for all cream cheese frostings! (Have you tried my chocolate cream cheese frosting<\/a> and my strawberry cream cheese frosting<\/a>?)<\/p>\n

How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting<\/h2>\n

\"Lemon<\/p>\n

Room Temperature Ingredients are a Must<\/h3>\n

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in preparing lemon cream cheese frosting is using cold ingredients.<\/p>\n

The cream cheese and butter must both be at room temperature. Leave them out of the counter for about three hours to ensure the correct temperature. If the cream cheese is too cold, it will not mix properly into the frosting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zesting a Lemon<\/h3>\n

\"Zesting<\/p>\n

To make lemon cream cheese frosting, you’ll first need to zest a lemon. Zest is the yellow part of the lemon peel.<\/strong> If you hit the white pith, you’ve gone too far.<\/p>\n

The easiest way to zest is using a microplane grater. Run the lemon back and forth over grater to collect the zest. Although a microplane is the easiest way to zest, you can also zest with a knife and get even better results than with the microplane. I detail this in my post on how to zest a lemon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tip: One lemon yields about one tablespoon of zest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mix Cream Cheese and Butter<\/h3>\n

\"Butter<\/p>\n

Mix the cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth and light – about three minutes using an electric mixer.<\/p>\n

Always use unsalted butter for baking<\/strong> because you can then more easily control how much salt is in the recipe.<\/p>\n

Mix in Powdered Sugar<\/h3>\n

\"Adding<\/p>\n

Mix in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time. Always add powdered sugar on low speed. If you start the mixer on high speed, the powdered sugar will fly out of the mixing bowl and make a giant mess.<\/p>\n

You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar as needed if you want a stiffer frosting.<\/p>\n

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Alternatives<\/h2>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

Lemon buttercream<\/a> (shown above) is the obvious alternative to lemon cream cheese frosting. However, you can try frosting lemon cake or cupcakes with marshmallow frosting<\/a> to make lemon meringue cupcakes<\/a> or cake.<\/p>\n

You can also substitute an equal amount of lime, orange, or grapefruit zest if that is what you have on hand or if you want to give your frosting a different flavor.<\/p>\n

Best Recipes to Use Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting On<\/h2>\n

Lemon cream cheese frosting is wonderful as cupcake frosting<\/a> on lemon cupcakes<\/a>, vanilla cupcakes<\/a>, or even strawberry cupcakes<\/a>. You can also spread it on a lemon poppyseed cake<\/a> or lemon muffins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!<\/a><\/div>\n
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\"Lemon<\/div>\n
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4.50<\/span> from 10<\/span> votes<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting<\/h2>\n
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This lemon cheese cheese frosting is oh-so lemony and has a great tang from the cream cheese! It's perfect on cupcakes or cakes.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Course <\/span>Dessert<\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Cuisine <\/span>American<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Prep Time <\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Total Time <\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Servings <\/span>16<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Calories <\/span>323<\/span>kcal<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Author <\/span>Stefani<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/h3>