This is a great frosting for theCarrot Cake. The lemon zest complements the cream cheese so perfectly that I sometimes even snack on this frosting—I just can't get enough of the sweet, tangy flavor! If you want extra oomph on the Carrot Cake, add minced ginger to the lemon zest.
Ingredients
Makes 4 1/2 cups frosting, enough to fill and frost one 8-inch layer cake or to frost 24 cupcakes
Step 1
In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until combined and airy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.
Step 2
Sift the powdered sugar onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sifted powdered sugar into the frosting (use both hands to bend the paper so the sugar pours slowly into the bowl).
Step 3
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If the frosting seems too soft to spread, allow it to chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
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Reviews (24)
Back to TopAddition to my full review below-- if you've never made cream cheese frosting before, be sure not to over beat it-- it will 'break'! Possible to fix (sort of)-- you can find tips online-- but it's a pain!
lhwalker11
San Francisco
3/20/2016
I've made this twice to frost a three-layer 8" cake, and it gets rave reviews-- especially from those that ordinarily don't like cream cheese frosting because it's too sweet! I was worried about it being too runny given the reviews, but found that I didn't have a problem (used full-fat bricks of cream cheese and high butterfat content butter). I've found that it's important for the cream cheese to be quite soft-- left out for 4 hours or so-- in order for it to blend seamlessly with the butter. As another reviewer said, I like it better with more lemon zest and juice, and a little less powdered sugar than is called for--add slowly and taste as you go!b
lhwalker11
San Francisco
3/20/2016
Do not recommend this frosting. Despite the nice taste, way, way too runny, even after refrigerating for over an hour. The frosting between layers started oozing out almost as soon as I sandwiched the cake. Really not possible to get a nice coating of icing on the sides as it just ran down. Not recommended.
pastrynomad
4/18/2014
Hi Everyone! This is one of the best Carrot Cake Recipes and I have made this enough times to offer a few really helpful pointers on the cake and the frosting. For the cake: it's best to grate the carrots on the small grate opening rather than puree or finely dice them. Peeled Ginger is also great this way as the fibers are not grated and you are left with a ginger paste which blends well with this recipe. If your making cupcakes, note the temperature needs to cut down to 325 for 30 to 25 minutes. At 350 the cupcakes tend to be cooked on the outside but gooey on the inside. Want to add a twist? Soak golden raisins in brandy and this adds a great twist to the cake. For the frosting: Adding 2 sticks of unsalted butter is way too much butter. Best to use 1 stick of butter to 3 packs of 8 ounce cream cheese. Double on the the lemon zest and lemon juice. As for the sugar, sifting is key and sugar to taste. If you were to actually use the 2 3/4 cups of powdered sugar as the recipe suggests, it is way way way to sweet. If you sugar to taste, you will get it just right! If you feel that the mixture is to "wet", place in the freezer and give it 30 minutes to harden up. Then carefully blend slowly to build up the air and texture. The last tip is to use a large butter knife for cupcakes and a spatula for cakes. Both work great and are the easiest to use to work the frosting around the surface of the cake. Good Luck and make copies of this recipe as people will be asking you for it!! Guaranteed!!! Spence
spencerbrown
Surfside, California
12/15/2013
The icing is an absolute must - best icing I've ever tasted. Double lemon juice and zest, plus some lemon extract alongside the vanilla. However I did not overmix and it was still super runny, even after refridgeration. Some googling solved this problem the second time I made it. If you beat together the butter and sugar first, then add the cream cheese slowly (still somewhat chilled) in chunks. Blend only till just mixed then add flavour components and mix just to incorporate. This gave me an icing almost too thick to spread! PS: If you're wondering about the organic carrot cake recipe - big yes to that too. Search no longer - this is the best!
bonbon35
6/9/2013
Fantastic recipe!! Yes, it does make a lot of icing, but if you split two 8 inch layers into 4 layers, it's just the right amount!!! I used lime instead of lemon...awesome!
amelliadis
Salt Lake City, UT
3/31/2013
The quantity is perfect to frost a 8" two layer carrot cake. The recipe is great as is but after tasting it I decided to add a smidge more lemon juice and it ended up tasting almost exactly like a lemon cheesecake. It was delicious, but was also a little monotone/heavy. After it sat for a bit I decided to kick it up a notch and stirred in a piece of ginger (approx 1/2" square), peeled and put through a garlic press. That made all the difference and really brightened it up.
laroja
Seattle, wa
10/29/2012
Excellent! I've made this with lemon and with tangerine, and have to say I prefer tangerine, but this gets rave reviews.
tjolish
San Francisco
12/11/2011
Fantastic frosting - everyone loved the lemon flavor. It makes A LOT of frosting - I cut the recipe in half and still had leftovers from a 2-tier carrot cake.
ajkoenig
威斯康辛州
11/9/2011
The flavor was outstanding but I found the icing too runny. Did anyone else have this problem?
kikkogirl
Ottawa
7/30/2011
Like everyone else - I love this stuff! It's delicious.
jenncc
L.A.
5/8/2011
Oh, this frosting is just ridiculous. I have never liked cream cheese frosting, in fact it's always turned me off so much that I have only ever made carrot cake with a sugar glaze. However, for a party I decided to go with a crowd pleaser and try out a cream cheese frosting...and after trying this recipe, I'm afraid I can never go back! It's simple to make, an elegant presentation, and the big prize goes to whoever gets to lick the bowl. A few alterations I made: I needed to make this frosting dairy-free to accommodate a cow-milk allergy, so I used Earth Balance vegan butter and Tofutti "Better Than Cream Cheese." I was nervous about how that would turn out but these substitutions were virtually undetectable. Also, I made a 2-layer 9.5" round cake, and made 3/4 of this frosting recipe and ended up with some to spare. In retrospect I could have made the center layer of icing thicker and *still* had enough leftover to make some little carrot garnishes. A KEEPER!!!
amynuzz
long island, ny
3/19/2011
This is the only cream cheese frosting I've ever made that hasn't gone goopy on me. Most others have you add up to 2 lbs of powdered sugar! It's a sugary, gritty mess! This one is as all the rest of the reviewers say - heavenly! I won't use any other recipe.
Anonymous
Rochester, MN
1/16/2011
I used only 1 stick of butter and doubled the lemon zest & juice quantities. The flavor & texture is like key lime pie. Absolutely outstanding. Great for toast & bagel topping, too.
AuntNetta
1/7/2011
Im baccckkkk....I made carrot cake once before but too lazy to make the frosting....this time I did...and OH MY GOD....it is delicious! I'm in love with the whole recipe....and yes you could halve the recipe thats what I did and as the other reivewer said...I couldn't stop eating the icing out the bowl either so finally I threw it in the sink and put water in it to get it away from me...LOL
dmorgann
Debbie, Scranton Pa
1/1/2011
