Lemon Glaze is the perfect sweet and tart dessert topping that you can add to cakes, muffins, pancakes, and more.
Enjoy this tasty glaze with Dessert Recipes like Angel Cake, Pound Cake, and plenty of other delicious dishes.
Sabrina’s Lemon Glaze Recipe
An easy glaze like this is a great way to elevate a simple dish into something extra special. For example, drizzling Lemon Glaze over a stack of Pancakes makes the perfect breakfast to add some brightness to. Along with the glaze, you can add fresh berries and whipped cream to complete the meal. Want a different flavor of glaze, or something paired with lemon? Check out some different styles in the variations section below.
Recipe Card


Ingredients
- 1 pound powdered sugar , about 3 ½ cups
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Add powdered sugar to a large bowl.
- Add in melted butter and lemon juice, whisk well to combine.
- If any larger chunks of powdered sugar are left, microwave the glaze for 15 seconds before pouring.
Notes
Nutrition
Chef’s Note
To avoid glaze that’s too thick, don’t pack your powdered sugar in the measuring cup. Scoop the sugar, so it’s heaped over the top of the measuring cup, then use a butter knife to evenly scrape the excess off the top. If the glaze still seems too thick, you could microwave it for a few seconds. This should make the sugar mix more smoothly. You can also add extra lemon juice or mix in a little water to thin out the glaze mixture.
How to Store
- Serve: Enjoy fresh Lemon Glaze right after whisking it together poured over your favorite breakfast or dessert dishes. Don’t leave the glaze sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: If you make the glaze in advance, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Cover the glaze in plastic wrap or pour it into an airtight container to keep it fresh in the fridge. When serving the glaze, you can pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it to a pourable consistency before serving.
- Freeze: After adding the glaze to a loaf cake or another dessert, you can tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Then the recipe will stay good frozen for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Orange glaze: If you want to make this recipe with orange instead of lemon, swap out the lemon juice for fresh orange juice. Squeeze oranges until you have ¼ cup orange juice. Then mix the fresh orange juice with melted butter and powdered sugar. Whisk until the ingredients are smooth and well combined.
- Lime glaze: Swap out the lemon juice for fresh lime juice. Basically any citrus juice that you like could be used in place to add a new zesty flavor. If you want a combination of lemon and lime flavor, you could also use 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
- Blueberry lemon glaze: Add 2 tablespoons of blueberry jam to the mixture, and whisk until well combined and smooth. You could also cook down fresh blueberries until they burst and release juice, then strain through a fine sieve to remove chunks, and use the blueberry juice to flavor. Other fruit flavors like strawberry or raspberry can be added in the same way.
- Zesty lemon glaze: For extra zesty lemon flavor, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. Use the fine side of a box grater to zest the peel, and whisk into glaze. You could also sprinkle fresh lemon zest over the glaze before serving.
- Vanilla lemon glaze: Add and whisk in a few drops of vanilla extract with the glaze. Other extract ingredients like almond extract or coconut extract are also tasty options.
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