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READY IN 5 mins

Lemon Icing

Read Reviews (161)

"This is a superb icing and does not take long to make." — Carol

Ingredients Edit and Save

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Original recipe makes 2 cups Change Servings

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar

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Directions

Combine the butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and confectioner's sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add more confectioner's sugar, or lemon juice to adjust the consistency as needed.

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PREP 5 mins
READY IN 5 mins

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I FORGOT TO MENTION: FRESH LEMON JUICE IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!! This is an absolutely fantastic recipe. It has actually become my base icing for many different things... 1. Omit the lemon and replace it w/ strawberry juice - and you have strawberry icing. 2. Make sure the butter is still fairly hard and add some body temperature melted chocolate and you have chocolate icing (again, omit the lemon!) 3. Add some very ripe mashed banana (just a tablespoon!) and you have delicious banana lemon icing. 4. Instead of lemon use a couple tablespoons of Bailey's Irish cream and you have a fantastic whippy icing for adults (absolutely delicious on chocolate cake)... I do have a couple tips regarding the original recipe. If you find the consistency to be too hard (which will very likely happen) I would not add more lemon unless you really like a very powerful lemon flavour. Instead add a few drops of milk or cream (it will not curdle if you add it once the other ingredients have already been beaten). Another way to combat too hard icing is to make sure your butter is absolutely at room temperature. Finally, for those on a tight budget - margerine works just fine!

—Ms. Chaka

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Feb 28, 2011

Tasted ok...we followed recipe to the letter added a little more lemon juice. Tasted buttery, but was not the glaze consistency that it appeared to be. Needs more more vanilla and something to make it more like a glaze if that is what you are looking for...

—kc

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185 Ratings

Dec 28, 2006

soooooo good & soooo easy!! i tried the original recipe and liked it alot, then i tweaked it a bit and now i love it alot. :) i used 2 sticks of butter, a 2lb bag of powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 5-6 tablespoons of lemon juice & proceeded as directed. I beat the daylights out of it and it came out very light & fluffy! absolutely fab-u-loso indeed! perfect lemon buttercream icing!

—blondiecakes

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Jan 28, 2008

I halved this to use with a lemon box mix cake. It was really sweet! I mean REALLY sweet! It didn't spread too well, either, as it was really thick.

—opal~/~dragonfly (dana)

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Aug 18, 2007

Very nice frosting. Used it to ice a lemon sheet cake. If you want a really lemony taste, use lemon extract in place of the vanilla, or do half vanilla and half lemon.

—CookinginFL

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Apr 22, 2008

This is a keeper. Sure you may have to add a little extra lemon juice or, as I did, a little milk...icing is like that..this icing is lemony and not too sweet.

—ntreez

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Feb 07, 2006

I made a lemon cake from a box mix, and this icing/fosting provided a nice "home-made" touch. Very easy, and very tasty!

—Valerie212

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Mar 20, 2008

i used 2 1/2 cups of the sugar and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to add more lemon flavour and make it thinner as people were complaining it was too hard to spread. Ended up tasting excellent, very lemony but a little too runny. A little more confectioners sugar would have done the trick so maybe use 3 cups like the recipe says but add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

—*Lisa*

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Nutrition

Calories
191 kcal
10%

Carbohydrates
31.5 g
10%

Cholesterol
20 mg
7%

Fat
7.7 g
12%

Fiber
0 g
< 1%

Protein
0.1 g
< 1%

Sodium
55 mg
2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Lemon Icing

Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 191
Calories from Fat: 69

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 7.7g 12 %
Saturated Fat 4.9g 24 %
Cholesterol 20mg 7 %
Sodium 55mg 2 %
Potassium 6mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 31.5g 10 %
Dietary Fiber 0g < 1 %
Protein 0.1g < 1 %
Sugars 30.8g
Vitamin A 5 %
Vitamin C 2 %
Calcium < 1 %
Iron < 1 %
Thiamin < 1 %
Niacin < 1 %
Vitamin B6 < 1 %
Magnesium < 1 %
Folate < 1 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.