Easy Lemon Glaze

You only need 2 ingredients to make this easy lemon glaze! It's the perfect zesty topping for baked goods like cakes, cookies, and scones.

Lemon glaze

This lemon glaze recipe is my favorite way to make everyday baked goods feel a little bit more special. With just 2 ingredients, it’s amazingly easy to make (just add them to a bowl and stir!), and the minimal effort is always worth it. It looks so pretty on top of a loaf cake, cookies, or scones, and it gives them an extra pop of sweet, zesty flavor.

I’m sharing some of my favorite recipes to pair with it in the post below. But really, anytime you want to elevate a simple treat, this lemon glaze will do the trick.

Powdered sugar in bowl with wooden spoon

Lemon Glaze Recipe Ingredients

To make this lemon glaze recipe, you’ll need two basic ingredients:

  • Powdered sugar – Aka confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar. It sweetens the glaze and helps it firm up on top of baked goods. Use store-bought, or make your own!
  • Fresh lemon juice – It makes the glaze smooth and runny and adds bright lemon flavor. Use more or less depending on how thick you want your glaze to be.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Hand using whisk to combine powdered sugar and lemon juice

How to Make Lemon Glaze

This recipe is super quick and easy to stir together!

Place the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice in a medium bowl.

Hand whisking lemon glaze

Whisk to combine, making sure to incorporate all the dry powdered sugar.

Hand whisking smooth lemon glaze in glass bowl

When the glaze is smooth, adjust the consistency to your liking. If it seems too thick, add more lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at time, until the glaze is pourable. That’s it!

Pouring lemon glaze over loaf cake

How to Use Lemon Glaze

To use the glaze, pour or drizzle it over any baked good that has cooled to room temperature. (Don’t add it while the baked goods are still warm. If you do, the glaze will melt!)

I especially like it on fruity or lemony treats, such as…

How do you like to use this easy glaze? Let me know in the comments!

Lemon glaze recipe

More Easy Baking Basics

If you love this recipe, try making one of these baking basics next:

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Lemon Glaze

rate this recipe:
4.98 from 47 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Serves 8
This simple lemon glaze is delicious on cakes, cookies, scones, and more! To help the glaze set up nicely, pour it over baked goods after they have cooled completely.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Whisk to combine, adding more lemon juice as needed to create a smooth, pourable glaze. 
  • Drizzle over cakes and cookies that have cooled completely after baking. See the blog post above for more ideas to use lemon glaze.

39 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Kels
    03.19.2024

    5 stars
    This glaze turned out wonderful and lemony. I used it on a gfdf vanilla depression cake. Pinned to use again!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.21.2024

      Hi Kels, I’m so glad you loved it!

  2. Michelle
    03.17.2024

    Going to try this with blood orange juice for a pound cake I have baking now. Will this glaze firm up at all or will it remain relatively soft? I’ve never done this before. Thanks!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.21.2024

      Hi Michelle, it firms up some! It won’t become fully solid if it’s in a thick layer but will harden on the outside.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.