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How to Make a Lemon Icing Glaze

4.92 from 399 votes
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Lemon Icing Glaze is very easy to make and consists of four simple ingredients. Read on to find out how to make this great, simple lemon glaze that will be amazing on your cakes, cupcakes and more! 

Table of Contents
  1. Lemon Glaze Recipe
  2. Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Lemon Glaze:
  3. Troubleshooting this Lemon Glaze
  4. What can you use this lemon glaze on?
  5. Don’t forget to PIN THIS RECIPE to Your Frostings and Icings Boards and remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!
  6. How to Make a Lemon Glaze Recipe
Lemon Icing Glaze on top of bundt cake in a green checkered plate
Lemon Icing on a Bundt Cake

Lemon Glaze Recipe

In order to make my Lemon Blueberry Bundt all it could be and more, it needed an amazing lemon icing. To achieve this, one needs to mix icing sugar with lemon juice as the base. I decided to add in a ton of lemon zest and a teensy, weensy bit of butter to try and give it a good slick, crackly crust. This was loaded with lemon flavor, no taming the taste buds here! My lemon dishes have to scream lemon, then slap you in the face with flavor, and this is exactly what this glaze did.

What do you need to make lemon glaze?

  • 1 3/4 cups of confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 cup of lemon juice
  • the zest of one lemon (or more!)
  • 1 tsp of salted butter

In a large Pyrex measuring cup, the 4 cup capacity ones are the best, combine the sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Close up of a fully iced bundt cake on a plate on a table.

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Lemon Glaze:

  • Now, again, I use salted butter. If you want to add another layer to the lemon flavor, feel free to toss just a pinch of salt into the mix now. We all know how I feel about salt in icings, such as my Buttercream Icing / Frosting Recipe. The salt is a necessity to cut the sugar taste and add some complexity past that overwhelming sweet rush. Just the tiniest pinch, depending on how salty your butter is.
  • Add in the butter then microwave on high for 45 seconds.
  • Take out the measuring cup and whisk until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.
  • Let it sit for a few minutes then pour it over your creation. This would be beyond amazing on scones, cakes, bundts of course, anything that you can think of that needs a lemon glaze works.
Pouring lemon glaze icing over a bundt cake
Pouring lemon glaze icing over a bundt cake

Troubleshooting this Lemon Glaze

  1. If you have a watery glaze, you have too little icing/powdered/confectioners sugar. It can get really packed together in the bags that it comes in, so someone that uses 2 cups of packed icing sugar is going to have a very different result from the person that uses 2 cups of loosely packed or sifted confectioners sugar.
  2. Don’t use lemon juice to make the flavour more prominent, use lemon zest and make it as small as you can. It works wonderfully to add that lemon flavour!

What can you use this lemon glaze on?

You can use this lemon glaze on:

  1. Lemon Strawberry Bundt Cake
  2. Lighter Lemon Blackberry Muffins
  3. Glazed Meyer Lemon Scones
  4. If you want to try another amazing icing glaze, try my Cherry Icing Glaze!

Happy Baking!

Karlynn

Don’t forget to PIN THIS RECIPE to Your Frostings and Icings Boards and remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!

Lemon Icing Glaze is very easy to make and consists of four simple ingredients. Read to find out how to make this great, simple lemon glaze that will be amazing on your cakes, cupcakes and more! #dessert #lemon #icing #frosting #recipe #glaze
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How to Make a Lemon Glaze

Perfect lemon icing glaze, with salted butter giving it an amazing taste.
4.92 from 399 votes
Prep Time
3 minutes
Total Time
3 minutes
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Servings
1 batch
Calories
868
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 zest of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon salted butter

Instructions
 

  • In a large Pyrex measuring cup, the 4 cup capacity ones are the best, combine the sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  • Now, again, I use salted butter. If you want to add another layer of taste, feel free to toss just a pinch of salt into the mix now. We all know how I feel about salt in icings, such as my buttercream icing recipe. The salt is a necessity to cut the sugar taste and add some complexity past that overwhelming sweet rush. Just the tiniest pinch, depending on how salty your butter is.
  • Add in the butter then microwave on high for 45 seconds.
  • Take out the measuring cup and whisk until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.
  • Let it sit for a few minutes then pour it over your creation.

Recipe Notes

Tips and Tricks

  • Now, again, I use salted butter. If you want to add another layer to the lemon flavor, feel free to toss just a pinch of salt into the mix now. We all know how I feel about salt in icings, such as my Buttercream Icing / Frosting Recipe. The salt is a necessity to cut the sugar taste and add some complexity past that overwhelming sweet rush. Just the tiniest pinch, depending on how salty your butter is.
  • Add in the butter then microwave on high for 45 seconds.
  • Take out the measuring cup and whisk until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.
  • Let it sit for a few minutes then pour it over your creation. This would be beyond amazing on scones, cakes, bundts of course, anything that you can think of that needs a lemon glaze works.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 868kcal, Carbohydrates: 214g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 40mg, Potassium: 62mg, Sugar: 207g, Vitamin A: 125IU, Vitamin C: 31.4mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Mallory says

    This was delicious. I think what a lot of people are missing is that this is a GLAZE not an icing so it’s supposed to be a thin layer. Also, people saying it’s too thin haven’t worked with powdered sugar. Maybe you could add in the direction to slowly add the lemon juice to desired consistency. I feel everyone measures powered sugar differently. Anyways, I put this over a blueberry lemon loaf and it’s incredible. Thank you!5 stars

  2. Kerry Anthony says

    Thanks so much, My wife loves the taste of lemon in every dessert. She loves a lemon pound cake so I added your lemon icing recipe to my lemon pound cake and she really enjoyed it. Adding the pinch of salt dropped the sweetness considerably and adding an additional teaspoon of lemon extract was great. Again thanks

  3. A'Azizah says

    It came out way too runny AFTER adding the butter and microwaving. Ended up using the rest of my powdered sugar and it’s still a little bit too runny.

  4. Paul says

    Way too runny. Did exactly as instructed. This is very tart. Looks nothing like the picture. Very disappointed. Again, I am fixing recipes on the internet are just not any good. Back to the cooking books

    • james clifford says

      I’m sorry your lemon icing was tart, but it’s not surprising 😁✌️

  5. Karena Lefaver says

    The betting procedures also vary amongst various poker games. Usually, these can be carried out into two categories. This is a great way to established the mood for taking part in poker like pros.

  6. Jason Wickham says

    My wife and kids love lemon-flavored deserts. I make cakes glazed like this for their birthdays and other special occasions. Great recipe!5 stars

  7. Cyndi Roesner says

    Worked perfect! I warmed mine in a small sauce pot because I am leery of heating my glass measuring cup in the microwave.
    Good consistency and tasty!
    Thank you!5 stars

  8. Maria says

    Best lemon glaze I’ve tried ♥️♥️♥️ Thank you for sharing and for the tips!!5 stars

  9. Mavis Hatcher Foster says

    I made this yesterday! It is so freakin’ delicious! My family and I absolutely love it!5 stars

  10. JUDITH CAVENER says

    First time trying this recipe and it came out great & so lemony, just the way I like it!5 stars

  11. Lisa Allen says

    I did not have fresh lemons, so I used bottled lemon juice and lemon extract. Came out great. Thank you5 stars

  12. Blair says

    So mix the stuff from the microwave into the icing sugar AFTER it comes out of the microwave??? It don’t say where and when to mix in the icing sugar!! Lol

    • Blair says

      Forgive me! I just seen where it goes in! A case of ‘ive read this 5 times over and can’t see it!!’ gone terribly wrong! Lol!!

      • Karen Hildebrant says

        This glaze was the most amazing in every way: taste, texture, etc. Definitely will use this again!5 stars

  13. Dan says

    Should have read the comments before I made this. Following the recipe it came out so thin and runny that I ended up starting with 1/2 of the original and about another cup of sugar. In the end it came out alright.

    • Jen says

      this was pretty bad.. tasted just like powdered sugar

  14. Aaron Fallon says

    Love this recipe! What do you recommend one does if you accidentally made way too much icing? Is there a way to save it for later?5 stars

  15. Christine Lipfert says

    this was amazing, used it to top my angel food cake and almost didnt have enough… BECAUSE I COULDNT STOP EATING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5 stars

  16. Dana says

    This is delicious and EXACTLY what I was looking for to add to my lemon pound cake recipe. Thank you!5 stars

    • Roger says

      Made this last night for a sour cream pound cake. It was excellent! The idea of butter and a pinch of salt is brilliant. This will be my go to lemon drizzle icing from now on. Thanks!5 stars

  17. Evelyn Namusi says

    Yum!!! I was slightly short on the icing sugar so turned a bit runny after microwaving. Thickened to desired consistency with A couple of tablespoons of cornstarch and it was still great.

  18. #foodcritic says

    Came out very nice and smooth, I used it for a twelve inch lemon bundt cake. Was a bit clear but overall turned out very nice and sweet. it cracked in a couple of places toward the top after 5 hours, so I recommend serving shortly after pouring.

    • Elizabeth D. says

      This was absolutely divine! Fresh, tart, sweet, LEMON!5 stars

  19. Regina Soroka says

    I found it took closer to 2 1/4 cups of powdered sugar yo make a consistency that wasn’t too runny. I also used 1/4 tsp of lemon extract. Came out perfectly puckery.

  20. Carol says

    I love this recipe! So easy and delicious. Thank you this ?

  21. Monica D. Driver says

    I just made this and it is amazing. And surprisingly easy. Thank you for sharing.5 stars

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