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Lemon Icebox Cake (No Bake!)

This Lemon Icebox Cake is refreshing, light, and tastes like a lemony twist on Tiramisu. The texture is light and airy, with a lemony cream filling.  Lemon curd is a bright star in this cake; its tangy lemon flavor and sweetness truly shines.

Lemon Ice Box Cake

This weekend, we are all about making every moment count.  We’re making an effort to slow down (somewhat) and enjoy every last hour before the official first day of school comes calling.  Only three more days until the neighborhood turns quiet, with all the kids back at their school desks.

With that, our aim is to hit up all our favorite lakes, parks, and pools before Labor Day signals the official end of summer in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

We’re planning to make a lot more ice cream (did you see yesterday’s Cookie’s ‘n Cream one?)  We’re planning to eat yummy treats that need no baking.  Hubby’s totally on board, since one of his primary goals is not heating up the house when it’s hot out.  Well, it’s hot out.  So how’s about this Lemon Icebox Cake, no-bake style?

lemons

No-bake desserts and I have started a lasting friendship this summer.  I’ve been making  creamy ice-cream cakes and enjoying refreshing tropical smoothies.  We’ve had parties (literally) with pretty, layered Jello and cakes like this Strawberry Icebox one.  This week I remembered seeing a Lemon Icebox Cake somewhere and thought about it for about 3 seconds.  The scorching heatwave quickly sealed the deal.

Lemons are the best warm weather ingredient.  They’re refreshing in iced tea.  They’re fabulous in desserts.  I’ll always remember Hubby was fond of bringing me coffee shop lemon bars when we were dating.  Later, I would make it my mission to create the best lemon bars and lemon custard cake ever.  And now this Lemon Icebox Cake is our new favorite no-bake cake.

lemon sugar

I made a lemon sugar to sprinkle over the top, which is so delish that I could eat it by itself.  I did do that.  The lemon sugar gives a zesty sweet crunch to the topping, balancing out the creamy softness of the cake.

This Lemon Icebox Cake will immediately become your friend when you try it.  Light, creamy, refreshing, tangy, and sweet… the perfect combination for this time of year.

Just be sure to give it 3-4 hours to sit in fridge before serving.  Happiness is:  This can be made the night before, saving you time on the day of your lemony party.

Lemon Icebox Cake

Happy Labor Day weekend, Everyone.  Enjoy!

Did you make this?

Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!

Lemon Ice Box Cake

Lemon Icebox Cake (No Bake!)

4.50 from 4 ratings
This lemon icebox cake is superbly light, refreshing, airy, and creamy all at once. The lemony tang balances out the sweet so perfectly.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 10
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp lemon zest and 2 TB granulated sugar. Mix well and set aside at room temp, uncovered.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter until very soft. Add in the heavy cream and continue beating until smooth. Add sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Whip until mixture forms firm peaks. Gradually beat in lemon juice, beating until fully incorporated. The lemon whipped cream should hold peaks; don’t worry if it starts to curdle.
  • Place warmed lemon curd in a Ziploc baggie, press out the air, and seal bag. Cut a very tiny hole at bottom corner, and set aside.
  • Spread a small amount of lemon whipped cream onto the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  • Lay down a layer of graham crackers (about 6). Spoon 3/4 to 1 cup of lemon whipped cream over crackers. Drizzle about one-fourth of the lemon curd over the whipped cream layer. Repeat layering 3 more times. You should end up with four layers total, finished by the final drizzle of lemon curd.
  • Cover and let chill in fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight. Crackers will soften to a spongey cake texture.
  • Use a fork to break up lemon sugar and sprinkle over top of cake before serving.
  • Leftovers will keep well in fridge for 1-2 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1193IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Source:  Chew Out Loud, adapted from theKitchn

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Recipe Rating




19 comments

    • Amy Laquerre
    • 5 stars

    I work with seniors and hold social hour for them twice a month. I always bake something and the last few times I did things that were more time consuming. This was a much needed easier recipe and it went over really well with the ladies! They loved it so much that I am now printing out the recipe for each of them. They told me “anything lemon” and this was definitely a crowd pleaser. Thank you!!

      • Amy Dong

      Aww, Amy, that makes me so happy! Love that you do social hour for those precious ladies 🙂

    • Janet Watson
    • 5 stars

    Wow! Amazing and quick and easy!

      • chewoutloud

      So glad you liked this!

    • Amber

    Made this last night.
    Very easy to make. I made the cake and the mini cakes as well.
    But I found the Graham crackers to think for my liking so I am think about using cookie wafers and just making more layers.

    Thanks for the recipe!

    • Nia

    I tried this lemon icebox cake a couple weeks ago and it was FANTASTIC! I just about ate the whole thing by myself lol. I will definitely be making this again. The fresh lemon flavor was just perfect!! Thank you!!!!

      • chewoutloud

      Yay, Nia! So awesome to hear it. Thanks for taking a moment to come let us know. We love hearing people love it as much as we do 🙂

    • Terri

    1/2 powdered sugar? 1/2 what, please.

      • chewoutloud

      Hi, Terri! 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Hope you’ll try this recipe, cuz it’s truly a lemon bomb that all my friends love 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by, Terri!

    • bernadetteyoungquist

    I have never made an icebox cake; this might be my first! Looks good!

      • Amy @ Chew Out Loud

      If it’s your first, it won’t be your last! You’ll like this one a lot 🙂

    • Hans Susser

    Beautiful 🙂

      • Amy @ Chew Out Loud

      Thanks, Hans 🙂

    • Ann Lekander

    I wonder if lady fingers would work in place of the graham crackers?

      • Amy @ Chew Out Loud

      I would guess that it could work; you’d have to adjust the layering, but I think this recipe would taste fab with any crackers/cookies that will soften to a cake-like consistency 🙂

    • matchamochimoo

    Mmm, it looks so yummy, best for this weekend! Thanks!

      • Amy @ Chew Out Loud

      It really tastes awesome. Enjoy the weekend! 🙂

      • Julie

      I guess I’m late to the party on this one, but I just made this for a work pot luck and WOW! it’s fantastic and I’ve already had 4 people ask me to make one for their family. Definitely a keeper! Next time, though I will double the recipe b/c not nearly enough lemon whipped cream and could also use more lemon curd!

        • chewoutloud

        Yay, Julie! So great to hear everyone loved it 🙂 Great idea to double the recipe!

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