Lemon Icebox Cake (No-Bake)

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Hello Daring Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Refreshing Lemon Icebox Cake (No-Bake) is a lifesaver dessert for a scorching summer time day. Cooling, creamy, and citrusy, with a speedy 25-minute prep—that is the best no-bake lemon cake ever!

• Luscious texture: The Graham crackers soften and develop throughout chilling, offering a beautiful cake-like consistency.
• Comforting: This Graham and cream cheese combo is so homey.
• Combine and layer: Whip up the topping and assemble—that’s it! Excellent for youths to make.
• Chill: No have to fuss with the oven. All this dessert wants is an evening within the fridge.
• Celebration good: Get dessert out of the way in which since you make it a day forward.

As a result of lemon is excessive in citric acid, it has a zingy, cooling impact. And if you select no bake lemon desserts, you gained’t warmth up your kitchen both. I’ve a variety of choices, like Limoncello Tiramisu, Lemon Semifreddo, No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake, Lemon Gelée, and Frozen Lemon and Lime Soufflé.

Daring Bakers, you’ll be thrilled to spoon into this lush lemony dessert anytime, however particularly on the peak of summer time, this citrus ice field cake is such a deal with to make and luxuriate in. One vital texture-related tip: after making this a couple of occasions, I observed that because it sits, the Graham crackers proceed to soak up extra filling. I like to recommend you maintain this cake within the fridge for simply in a single day. Make sure to take pleasure in it the subsequent day, earlier than the feel will get too mushy. And right here’s an optionally available taste twist—you’ll be able to substitute the Graham crackers with Biscoff cookies for an attractive spiced, caramelized style.

Desk of Contents

What’s Lemon Icebox Cake (No Bake)?

• Lemon Icebox Cake is a no-bake layered dessert that alternates Graham crackers and whipped filling.
  • The Graham cracker layer provides the dessert construction. The Grahams take up the filling because the cake chills, turning into splendidly tender with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
  • Sweetened cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, and zest mix to make a wealthy filling.
  • A layer of unsweetened whipped cream and lemon slices completes this citrus fridge cake.
• The 12-hour chilling time within the fridge units the filling, enhances the citrus taste, and unites the separate layers into a calming, slicable cake.
• Icebox cake recipes emerged within the Nineteen Twenties, when kitchen fridges grew to become extensively out there. Meals producers promoted their merchandise by developing with their very own recipes, and the Nabisco Well-known Chocolate Wafer Cake grew to become essentially the most well-known instance. Within the Nineteen Seventies, many ice field desserts included Cool Whip and instantaneous pudding combine. My Lemon Icebox Cake is a vibrant tangy twist on the traditional.

Key Substances and Substitutes

For the Cream Filling

Cream cheese

• Cream cheese provides a tantalizingly tangy taste to this lemon fridge cake.
• The richness of cream cheese pairs properly with the brightness of lemon.
• Use brick-style, full-fat cream cheese on this recipe to make sure a superbly thick filling.
• Guarantee your cream cheese is softened to room temperature so the filling blends collectively easily.
• Substitute: You should utilize an equal quantity of mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese.
  • Be aware that mascarpone shouldn’t be as tangy as cream cheese, so your icebox cake could have a milder style.

Granulated sugar

• The sugar sweetens the cream filling and balances the tanginess.
• Substitute: You should utilize an equal quantity of Powdered Sugar.

Lemon zest

• Lemon zest provides daring taste and aroma as a result of it comes from the citrus oil-rich lemon peel.
• To zest the lemon, use a zester, microplane, the smallest holes of a field grater, or just use a vegetable peeler or paring knife and mince into small items.

Lemon juice

• Lemon juice provides a vibrant and refreshing taste to the cake.
• For the perfect taste, use contemporary lemon juice.
• Roll the lemon on the counter earlier than juicing—it breaks up the pulp inside and makes juicing simpler.
• Substitute: You should utilize an equal quantity of bottled lemon juice.

Heavy whipping cream

• Heavy cream is whipped with the cream cheese to make a lightweight, fluffy filling.

To assemble the cake

Graham crackers

Heavy whipping cream, whipped

• Unsweetened heavy cream is whipped and unfold on high of the cake for a sublime and ethereal last layer.
• It’s important to make use of heavy whipping cream, with a fats content material of at the very least 36%. Decrease fats cream or complete milk won’t whip up appropriately.
• Substitute: You can too use Coconut Whipped Cream or Whipped Crème Fraiche.

Lemon slices

• The lemon slices add coloration and further lemon taste.
• Substitute: Use lemon zest as a substitute of slices.

The right way to Make Lemon Icebox Cake

1. Put together to bake: Set an 8-inch (20-cm) sq. baking dish apart.
2. Begin the filling: In a big bowl, utilizing an electrical mixer on medium-high pace, whip cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and zest till easy and creamy.

3. End making the filling: Flip the pace to low and stir within the heavy cream. As soon as included, whip on excessive pace for 1-2 minutes or till the filling has thickened.

4. Begin layering: Line the underside of the baking dish with 4 Graham crackers to cowl the underside with further damaged to fill out the bottom. Pour ⅓ of the cream cheese combination over the only layer of Graham crackers and easy the highest.
5. Full the layers: Repeat the layering course of with the cookies and cream till you’ve got three layers of every.

6. Chill in a single day: Cowl the highest with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours or in a single day.

7. Add whipped cream topping and garnish: The subsequent day, earlier than serving, unfold the whipped cream on high and embellish with contemporary lemon slices.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW! 

Gemma’s Professional Chef Ideas

• Cookie choices: When you don’t have Graham Crackers, you need to use Biscoff Cookies, Digestive Biscuits, Vanilla Wafers, or Gingersnaps on this lemon ice field cake recipe, and you too can make all of them with my recipes.
• Totally different pans: As an alternative of an 8-inch (20-cm) sq. pan, you need to use an 8-inch (20-cm) spherical baking pan. You can too use a  9×13-inch (23×33-cm) loaf pan and make a taller, narrower cake.
• Softening trick: The cream cheese have to be fairly tender to mix easily. In case you are beginning with chilly cream cheese, microwave it for about 15 seconds at a time till it’s softened.
• Change citrus: For a scrumptious variation, substitute the lemon juice and zest with lime juice and zest.
• Berry lemon: For a lemon-berry icebox cake,  fold in 2 cups (10 oz/284 g) of contemporary raspberries or blueberries into your cream cheese filling earlier than assembling.
• Correct Timing: I don’t suggest making this greater than in the future (12 hours) upfront. When you let it set longer, the cookies will take up an excessive amount of filling.

Make Forward and Storage Directions

• Make-ahead suggestions: This dessert has to sit back in a single day earlier than serving, so make it 12 hours earlier than serving.
• The right way to retailer leftovers:
  • Retailer leftovers, tightly coated, within the fridge for as much as in the future.
  • Be aware that after 12 hours, the dessert loses its excellent texture and will get very tender.
  • I don’t advise freezing leftovers.

FAQs

Can I make this recipe non-dairy?

• Sure, you may make this recipe non-dairy.
  • Use an equal quantity of vegan cream cheese instead of common cream cheese.
  • Within the filling, use an equal quantity of full-fat coconut milk instead of the heavy whipping cream.
  • For the topping, use an equal quantity of Coconut Whipped Cream instead of the whipped heavy cream.

What are some mix-ins I can add to this lemon icebox cake recipe?

• Fold two cups of berries into the cream cheese filling.
• Add 1/2 cup (1 0z/30 g) of toasted coconut.
• For some crunch, fold in 1/2 cup (2.3 ounces/65 g) of chopped, toasted walnuts or pistachios.

What are another methods I can garnish this lemon cake?

• Rather than, or along with, lemon slices, use the next:

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