Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting 🍋 A tangy & sweet frosting made with plant-based cream cheese, vegan butter, fresh lemon, and powdered sugar. Perfect on cakes, cupcakes, or your favorite baked goods!
When I was a kid, if I had a sweet tooth, sometimes I would make myself a little batch of frosting. No cake. Just frosting. A couple spoonfuls and I was satisfied. The idea kind of horrifies me now, but who am I kidding? Right at this moment, I could go for a spoonful of this luscious lemony frosting. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to bake a carrot cake so that I can justify making a batch of this frosting.
So now that you know about my frosting fetish, let's talk about why frosting matters and how this particular frosting just may become your go-to topping for your favorite cakes, cupcakes, quick breads and muffins.
Table of Contents
Why Frosting Matters
These vegan piña colada cupcakes are crowned with a plant-based coconut buttercream frosting and topped with toasted coconut. They taste like a tropical vacation!
If you do a quick online search about the purpose of frosting, you'll find a lot of comments about how frosting makes baked goods look prettier and adds flavor. But if you think about it, while eye-catching and tasty cupcakes are important, frosting contributes more than just that.
Frosting helps prevent cakes, cupcakes, and pastries from drying out quickly. By creating an outer layer, frosting acts as a protective barrier, keeping sweet treats fresh longer. Frosting also helps hold layer cakes together, providing structural strength. In addition, frosting provides a fabulous mouth and taste sensation that enhances practically anything you spread it on, even a spoon. There, I said it. Frosting rocks.
Ready to whip up a batch of this luscious lemony frosting? Let's do this!
🍋 Ingredients
- Vegan cream cheese - use your favorite
- Non-dairy butter - your choice
- Lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- Lemon zest
- Powdered sugar
🍋 Instructions
This super simple recipe makes enough frosting for at least 24 cupcakes, one 9" x 13" single layer cake or an 8" round 2-layer cake.
Place all the ingredients inside a deep bowl.
Using an electric mixer or spatula, beat the ingredients together until smooth and fluffy. That's it, you have frosting! So easy!
🍋 How to Use Frosting
This vegan lemon cream cheese frosting pairs wonderfully with a variety of cakes, quick breads, muffins - even cookies - like my simple lemon drop cookies. The sweet & tart taste complements the flavors and textures. Here are some of my favorite vegan recipes that are even tastier with a touch of frosting!
- Carrot Cake -The creamy tanginess of cream cheese frosting balances the sweetness of carrot cake, creating a harmonious combination of flavors.
- Applesauce Cake - The subtle flavor of apples and spice are the perfect partner with the combo of sweet and citrus in vegan cream cheese frosting.
- Pumpkin Bread - The warm spices in pumpkin bread are elevated by the smooth and slightly tangy cream cheese frosting, making it a favorite fall treat.
- Banana Muffins - Vegan cream cheese frosting adds just the right amount of sweet and tangy taste to these marvelous vegan banana muffins.
- Lemon Blueberry Bread - The zesty flavor of lemon bread pairs wonderfully with cream cheese frosting, creating a refreshing and yummy treat.
- Zucchini Bread - Enjoy the best zucchini bread topped iced with this luscious vegan cream cheese frosting.
- Lemon Cake - a lemon lover's dream dessert topped with lemon cream cheese frosting and homemade vegan lemon curd!
🍋 How to Decorate with Frosting
Part of the joy of this yummy frosting is the fun you can have decorating with it. You can keep it as simple or fancy as you like. I like to use natural decorations, like fresh berries, citrus slices, sprigs of herbs, lemon leaves, or edible flowers as colorful and pretty garnishes.
Layer Cakes
This lemony vegan cream cheese frosting is the ideal topping for this gorgeous vegan lemon layer cake with homemade lemon curd. The frosting was applied along the sides with a frosting spatula. For the ridged detail, the cake was placed on a turntable and slowly rotated while using a cake scraper. The ruffled edge was created with a piping bag and decorative tips. It was so much fun to do (and even more fun to eat!).
For the vegan pineapple carrot cake above we iced the sides with a very light amount of lemon cream cheese frosting, sometimes known as half-dressed, semi-naked, or a crumb coat. It looks nice and helps keep the cake from drying out too quickly. The top of the cake is finished with a generous amount of frosting sprinkled with unsweetened flaked coconut and decorated with dried slices of Cara Cara orange and lime. So pretty and appealing!
Cupcakes
For cupcakes, I like to use a pastry bag with decorative tips to apply the frosting. If you don't have that on hand, you can also use a food grade plastic bag filled ⅓-½ full with frosting. Twist the open end tight and hold with one hand. Use scissors to snip a small opening on one corner and gently squeeze the bag and swirl on some frosting. You don't have to cover the entire top. A dollop in the middle makes for a nice look.
You can also decorative designs with colored icing made with food coloring mixed with frosting. Look for natural food colorings that are vegan and cruelty free, such as TruColor , Wilton , or Americolor .
Cream Cheese Frosting Tips
Because the frosting is made with vegan cream cheese, it will tend to soften in warm temperatures. It's important to keep the frosting cold when you use decorative piping tips. Otherwise, if the frosting is too soft, the piping details will melt. If your frosting is too thick, thin it with a small amount of non-dairy milk, adding just a little at a time. If the frosting is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time until it's as thick as you want it. Be sure to refrigerate your cake or cupcakes until you're ready to serve.
🍋 Frosting FAQ's
Can I store vegan cream cheese frosting?
Yes, vegan cream cheese frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Just make sure to give it a good stir before using it again, as it may thicken slightly upon chilling.
Are there any tips for achieving the perfect consistency with vegan cream cheese frosting?
If your frosting is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Conversely, if it's too thick, you can add a splash of non-dairy milk to thin it out.
Are there any variations of vegan cream cheese frosting I can try?
Absolutely! You can experiment with adding different flavorings such as cocoa powder for chocolate cream cheese frosting, or spices like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for seasonal variations. Be creative and have fun customizing your frosting to suit your taste preferences!
I do hope you enjoy this recipe! Please let me know by leaving a ★★★★★ rating & comment below. Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment
- large bowl
- pastry bag
- spatula
Ingredients
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese
- ¼ C vegan butter
- 1-½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 lb powdered sugar vegan
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in deep bowl.
- Using an electric mixer or hand whisk, cream ingredients together till smooth and fluffy.
- Apply frosting to cake or cupcakes using a pastry bag or flat spatula.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Kris says
What is your favorite butter and cream cheese you prefer to use? Thanks
Connie says
Hi Kris, for this frosting I use either an almond based or cashew based cream cheese (Kite Hill, Miyokos, or Trader Joes) and for the butter, I use Miyoko's cashew & coconut butter or Earth Balance works great too.
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
I love this frosting so much, I can eat it by the spoon. I shouldn't, but I do.