Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe

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Calling all lemon lovers! You are going to fall in love with this DELICIOUS Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe. 

It is the perfect lemony, light and flavorful complement to white, yellow, citrus, and even coconut cakes!

Amazing Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe! Perfect as a Filling or Frosting! MyCakeSchool.com Online Cake Tutorials & Recipes!

Why We Love It

We love cream cheese frostings and this recipe is no exception. There are so many reasons to love this recipe. Here are just a few:

  • Wonderful Lemon Flavor
  • Silky smooth consistency
  • Pipeable (as you can see in our photo below of lemon cupcakes)
  • Makes a great filling and frosting
  • So easy to make!
Piping lemon cream cheese frosting onto the cupcakes

FAQs

We have used this delicious frosting on so many cakes and cupcakes! Here are just a few: Lemon Cake from scratch, Lemon Cupcakes, Blueberry Cake, Strawberry Lemonade Cake, and more!

It would also be great with our homemade white cake or yellow cake, along with a lemon curd filling.

Cream cheese frostings like this lemon cream cheese frosting recipe are a softer consistency than for example an American buttercream like our Classic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe.

It is more sensitive to the heat of your kitchen, heat of your hands (if in a piping bag), etc. We recommend chilling the frosting for at least five to ten minutes after making a batch.

If it still seems too soft, you can add a bit more confectioners sugar, but this usually isn't necessary.

While frosting your cake or adding decorative piping, if you notice that the frosting is a bit too soft or isn't holding the shape of the piping very well, just pop the piping bag, bowl, (and even the cake!) in the refrigerator for five to ten minutes to firm up.

Yes, this frosting needs to be refrigerated. If you have made the frosting in advance and chilled, you will need to allow it to warm closer to room temperature before decorating your cake. We do not recommend microwaving.

If needed, you can remix it once it has softened.

Cakes that have been frosted or filled with cream cheese frosting should be refrigerated.

However, for best taste and texture, remove it from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will allow the cake and frosting to warm and soften.

We do not recommend low fat cream cheese for our cream cheese frosting recipes. Cream cheese frostings are already fairly soft. If you use a low fat option, it will be even softer, making it more difficult to work with.

We love this recipe! However, if you are not a fan of cream cheese, or are looking for a lemon frosting that is a bit less perishable, try our easy Lemon Buttercream Frosting!

How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Aside from its wonderful flavor, another reason to love this recipe is how easily it comes together!

You can find the full, printable lemon cream cheese frosting recipe further down, but here is a quick look at our steps:

  • First, cut the softened unsalted butter into smaller slices and add to the bowl of your mixer.
  • Next, slice the softened cream cheese into smaller pieces and add to the butter, mixing until blended.
  • Next comes the lemon juice and lemon extract. The lemon extract is optional but I really like the boost of flavor that it adds.
  • Finally, add the powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Cakes and cupcakes frosted with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting should be refrigerated.
Lemon Cream Cheese Butercream

Tips for Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Cream  cheese frostings are a softer consistency than other buttercream frostings.
  • If you need a thicker consistency, you can add additional powdered sugar in small amounts until you reach the desired consistency.
  • If your Cream Cheese Buttercream becomes increasingly soft as you pipe, to the point that it no longer holds its shape, just pop the piping bag or bowl in the refrigerator for five minutes or so. This will firm up the consistency.

 

Delicious Lemon Cake Recipe from Scratch by MyCakeSchool.com! Cake Recipes, Online Cake Tutorials, Videos, and more!

More Cream Cheese Frostings

We have many more cream cheese frosting recipes for you to try! You can find our favorites in our collection of Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting Recipes. Some of our most popular are:

The Most Delicious Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com! Online Cake Decorating Tutorials & Recipes!

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

The Most Delicious Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com! Online Cake Decorating Tutorials & Recipes!

This lemon cream cheese frosting has amazing flavor is and so easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
  • 2 8oz packages Cream Cheese (453 total gram weight) Use full fat cream cheese. Do not use reduced fat or cream cheese in the tub containers. Soften
  • 2 teaspoons (8g) lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) lemon extract
  • Zest from 1 lemon, approximately 1 ½ teaspoons (3g)
  • 6 to 6 ½ cups (690g - 747g) powdered sugar, adding more if necessary

Instructions

  1. Add the softened butter to the bowl of your mixer, mix until smooth.
  2. Cut the softened cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, mixing until blended.
  3. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest. 1 teaspoon lemon extract, for a stronger lemon flavor.
  4. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until well blended.

This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly and remix. Do not microwave to soften. If the frosting becomes too soft while using just refrigerate the piping bag or bowl for a short while to firm it up.

Will frost a 3 layer 8 or 9 inch cake.

 

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53 Comments

  1. Hi Melissa, thanks for this recipe, I can’t wait to make it. But in Australia we only have the cream cheese in a tub (Philadelphia or Philly etc) - I want to pipe rosettes all over and assume the icing will therefore be too soft to hold. What adjustments or substitutions can I make to offset the wrong cream cheese? Many thanks!

  2. Hi Charlie, Melissa and I have not tried making this with the soft spreadable cream cheese. Reducing the butter and/or increasing the amount of powdered sugar might help, but I can't recommend quantities to use. If it is not stiff enough the rosettes will slide off the side of the cake. I did find a post on using a different method of mixing the ingredients from someone using European soft cream cheese. It sounds promising, let us know if you give this method try. Check the link below,

    https://livingoncookies.com/how-to-make-cream-cheese-frosting-with-european-cream-cheese-or-cream-cheese-spread/

  3. First buttercream I've ever made! It was amazing. I used 4 tsp of lemon juice and no extract. I also added some Kosher salt to cut the sweet a bit. It was so wonderful! Thank you!

  4. Hi Italia, yes this buttercream freezes well in an airtight container. You may need to mix it a little once thawed.

  5. Hi Rena, Your question is posted under the Lemon Buttercream recipe, it has no milk in the recipe. If you meant to post under the Lemon Cake recipe, I used regular whole milk, but you can use buttermilk if you would like to.

  6. I will be making this for a going away party and want it to look nice.
    Can you tell me if you have a video on the swirl, roses. I have the tips but would love to be able to see you do this. I love your website, but still new to decorating and would love to see more video on decorations.
    Thanks again

  7. Hi Frances, I show how to make a rose swirl in our "cupcake basics" video tutorial-- after watching it, I think I'll put this on our list of videos to update, haha- it is from 9 years ago but you can still see how to create it at about the 10:26 mark. Here is the link:

    https://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/cupcake-tutorial-the-basics/

    We've made lots of tutorials on buttercream flowers over the years, they are in the buttercream section of tutorials which you can find here:

    https://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/buttercream/

    Buttercream ribbon roses are also very pretty and not difficult to make with a little practice:

    Let us know if you have any questions!