Easy Lemon Icebox Dessert

Fresh, sweet and ridiculously easy to make, this 5-ingredient Lemon Icebox dessert can be served in a glass or as a frozen cake. Either, it's the perfect summer dessert!

Let me present you with one of the easiest summer recipes ever.

Icebox cakes and pies are so well loved, I decided it was time for a dessert too, and with lemon and raspberries because, you know, 4th of July and all. The blue shirt is not a coincidence.

What makes this dessert work.

• Easy to make: as I said before, this is just a matter of opening packages and mixing. Not much science here, and definitely no oven!
• Flavor: we all love lemon and it's berry season, so if a lemon icebox dessert was good on its own, with raspberries (or any berry you like, they all go very well with lemon) it just goes up a few steps.
• Freezing: this dessert is even better almost frozen, taken 20 minutes before you want to serve it. So you can make it and leave it in the freezer until you need it. It works also if you want to serve it in cups or glasses, as I did (image above). Just remember to take it out half an hour to 45 minutes to let it soften enough to put it into the glasses, but not so much that it loses that very cold quality.
• Serves a crowd: this is the perfect dessert to serve to a large party of people. The lemon cream comes together in no time and you can use any flavor of cookie you like. So multiply or triple it just like that.

Two ways of serving this dessert:

Glasses or bowls: use individual goblets, bowls or wine glasses to serve it trifle-style. Layers of berries, broken cookies, and lemon cream (images below). I like to use berries in the bottom and top.

Icebox cake: layer this dessert in a nice ceramic dish, one that you can take to the table. Again, simply layer cookies, berries and lemon cream (images below). I like to layer cookies and lemon cream and then scatter berries on top. That way they don't turn mushy. But you can totally add a layer of fresh berries in between. It works better with fresh fruit than frozen, as was my case today.

Tips & tricks for this recipe:

1. Flavor combinations: you can use whatever cookie flavor and fruit you like with lemon (it reminds me of fruit crumbles). Today I used coconut cookies and raspberries. A combination that I like a lot is chocolate cookies, lemon cream, and strawberries. It's surprisingly good.
2. Refrigeration: either way you serve it, this dessert needs refrigeration to set and to moisten the cookies. Pretty much like no-bake cheesecakes. Even if you're going to freeze it, refrigerate it for 6-8 hours before.
3. Freezing it: this is a wonderful dessert to have frozen at all times. I, personally, like to eat it half frozen, but even if you like it to thaw more, having a frozen icebox cake can save you from any dessert emergency.
4. Make-ahead: you can have the lemon cream waiting in the fridge up to 3 days before assembling the dessert.

So, is this the perfect icebox dessert or what?

Last tip: you can use purchased or homemade pound cake instead of the cookies. It will moisten very quickly so it won't hold as long as this one does.

Other recipes you might like:
No-churn Strawberry Ice Cream
Passion Fruit Lemon No-Bake Cheesecake
Easy Strawberry Dessert
Strawberry Trifle
Ice Cream Granola Truffles

Easy Lemon Icebox Dessert

★★★★★ 5 from 19 reviews

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 45
• Cook Time: 240
• Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 12 servings 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Refrigeration
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Fresh, sweet and ridiculously easy to make, this Lemon Icebox dessert can be served in a glass or as a frozen cake. Either, it's the perfect summer dessert!

There is a refrigeration time needed, several hours, so take that into account.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Lemon Cream:

• 1 pound (450g) cream cheese, room t°
• 1 14oz. can (400g) regular condensed milk (if you like it sweeter or more fluid in consistency, add an extra half can of condensed milk). 
• Zest of 3-4 lemons
• 10-12 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

To assemble:

• 3 cups (about) fresh or frozen raspberries (or other berries), optional
• 7-oz (200g) plain coconut or vanilla cookies or wafers (this amount can vary depending on how you decide to serve and your personal ratio preference with the lemon cream)

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Instructions

For the lemon cream:

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth.
2. Add condensed milk and beat until well incorporated and creamy.
3. Add zest, lemon juice, and vanilla if using, and mix well.

To assemble:

1. If using individual glasses, put a few berries in the bottom and layers of crushed cookies, ending with a layer of lemon cream.
2. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. Serve cold.
4. Top with berries right before serving.
5. If using a ceramic dish (the one I use is 9x13 inches), alternate layers of cookies side by side with the lemon cream (see image in post above).
6. You can put a layer of berries in between or add them when serving the dessert.
7. It needs to refrigerate for at least 8 hours, covered.
8. Can be frozen, well wrapped, for 1 month.

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Notes

Tips & tricks for this recipe:

Flavor combinations: you can use whatever cookie flavor and fruit you like with lemon (it reminds me of fruit crumbles). Today I used coconut cookies and raspberries. A combination that I like a lot is chocolate cookies, lemon cream, and strawberries. It's surprisingly good.

Refrigeration: either way you serve it, this dessert needs refrigeration to set and to moisten the cookies. Pretty much like no-bake cheesecakes. Even if you're going to freeze it, refrigerate it for 6-8 hours before.

Freezing it: this is a wonderful dessert to have frozen at all times. I, personally, like to eat it half frozen, but even if you like it to thaw more, having a frozen icebox cake can save you from any dessert emergency.

Make-ahead: you can have the lemon cream waiting in the fridge up to 3 days before assembling the dessert.

Keywords: icebox dessert, lemon icebox

Paula Montenegro

I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.