- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- Beat the butter and cream cheese together in a big bowl, using the whisk attachment on an electric mixer on high speed (or a sturdy wire whisk and a lot of elbow grease), until they’re smooth and creamy and totally combined.
- Gradually sift the sugar over the bowl (or pass the sugar through a sieve), beating all the while, until there are no lumps left. Add the remaining ingredients, and beat until the icing is smooth. If you find that while you were making icing the butter melted and made the icing thin, you may want to put the icing in the refrigerator before using it.