Techniques
Sauces
Skill
Beginner
1 min

Make lemon icing by adding juice to icing sugar a little at a time (and adjust thickness)

Add lemon juice gradually to icing sugar because small amounts of liquid thin it quickly; correct by adding more sugar or more juice.

Put icing sugar in a bowl/jug, then add lemon juice in small additions while mixing until you reach a drizzleable consistency. If it becomes too runny, add more icing sugar; if too thick, add a little more juice.

The short version

  • Add liquid gradually to control thickness
  • You can fix both too-thick and too-thin icing

What you need

  • bowl or jug
  • spoon or whiskFor mixing

How to do it

  1. 1

    Add icing (powdered) sugar to a bowl or jug.

    Watch this step
  2. 2

    Add lemon juice a little at a time while mixing.

    A small amount of liquid goes a long way.

    Watch this step
  3. 3

    If it’s too runny, mix in more icing sugar; if too thick, add a little more juice.

    Watch this step

What goes wrong

Adding all the lemon juice at once

Add it in small amounts, mixing between additions.

Why it works

Icing sugar hydrates rapidly; incremental additions prevent overshooting the desired viscosity and make consistency easy to control.

Put it to use

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