Fresh, sweet, and ridiculously easy to make, this 6-ingredient no-bake cheesecake lemon dessert can be served in a glass or as a frozen cake. Either way, it can be made year-round and is the perfect lazy dessert for lemon lovers!
Let me present you with a super easy dessert recipe, full of lemon flavor and similar to a no-bake lemon cheesecake.
Icebox cakes in general and anything lemon are crowd pleasers and I strongly believe one can never have too many recipes to try of either. So if you need to build up your selection of no-bake lemon desserts, this easy recipe is a perfect addition.
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, so it's perfect for hot summer days!
- Flavor: 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 no-bake lemon 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 double or triple it easily. Use red and blue berries for a 4th of July party.
Ingredients
- Lemons: use fresh lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest.
- Condensed milk: the regular type, don't use low fat.
- Cream cheese: the regular full-fat cheese will give you richer results.
- Heavy cream: full fat regular. Don't use light or low-fat cream
- Cookie layer: I use plain ones such as graham crackers or vanilla wafers. But you can use golden Oreos also. I find they're too dense and sweet but know many who don't.
- Vanilla - I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
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 at 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 cheesecake mixture (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.
Top tips
- Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!
- Flavor combinations: you can use whatever cookie flavor and fruit you like with lemon (like with fruit crumbles). Today I used vanilla cookies and raspberries. Sometimes I use coconut cookies and blueberries. For a 4th of July party, use raspberries or strawberries and blueberries. And 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 moisten the cookies. Pretty much like no-bake cheesecakes. Even if you're going to freeze it, refrigerate it for 6-8 hours before to achieve a creamier consistency.
- 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, well covered in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days before assembling the dessert.
- Topping: if you want a creamier dessert, you can top it with fresh whipped cream, or a purchased whipped topping like cool whip.
Related recipes you might like:
Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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Easy Lemon Dessert
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 no bake recipe!
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Ingredients
Lemon Cream:
- 1 pound (450g) of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 14oz. can (400g) regular condensed milk (sweetened)
- ¾ cup heavy cream, cold
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest (about 3-4 lemons)
- ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
To assemble:
- 3 cups (about) fresh or frozen raspberries or other berries (use blue and red berries for the 4th of July)
- 7-oz (200g) graham crackers or plain vanilla cookies or wafers (this amount can vary depending on how you decide to serve it and your personal ratio preference with the cream cheese layer)
Instructions
For the lemon cream:
- Beat the cold heavy cream in a large bowl until medium peaks form.
- Beat the room temperature cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add the condensed milk and beat until well incorporated and creamy. Make sure there are no lumps of cream cheese.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and mix until well integrated but don't overbeat.
- Fold in the whipped cream and mix until uniform in color and smooth. Don't beat! Stir until it's all well incorporated.
To assemble:
- If using individual glasses, put a few berries in the bottom and a layer of vanilla wafer or graham cracker crumbs.
- Spoon the lemon cream cheese mixture on top.
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Serve cold and top with additional berries right before serving.
- If using a ceramic dish (the one I use is 9x13 inches), alternate layers of cookies side by side with the lemon cream, like you would in a lasagna. You will have two layers of each.
- You can put a layer of berries in between or add them when serving the dessert.
- It needs to refrigerate for at least 8 hours, covered.
- It can be frozen, well wrapped, for 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator and serve cold.
Notes
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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Refrigeration time: 120 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Refrigeration
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/12
- Calories: 336
- Sugar: 26.6 g
- Sodium: 228.5 mg
- Fat: 19.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.2 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 6.1 g
- Cholesterol: 49.7 mg
Keywords: lemon no bake dessert
Amanda Garnham says
Hi,
I live in France and have just made this lemon cream for a party. Only problem was that I used the unsweetened condensed milk (there are both types here), so the dessert is a little tart, although still good. I just need to try to sweeten it slightly. The broken biscuit base will help I hope! Maybe you should mention sweet condensed milk in the recipe! Thank you!
★★★★
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Amanda, I didn't know unsweetened condensed milk existed as such, but that it's marketed as evaporated milk (not condensed). I'll clarify that on the recipes that call for it. Have a great weekend.
Jayne says
Could I use vanilla almond milk to make this instead of condensed milk? Is condensed milk the same as sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk. I’m not familiar with using any of these but that’s all I saw at store. I have almond milk at home
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Jayne! Condensed milk is milk and sugar that is reduced until very thick but pourable. It's very sweet and not like regular or almond milk at all. Evaporated milk doesn't have sugar but it's also much thicker than regular milk as it's cooked until half the water content evaporates. So for this recipe, you should get the ingredients specified in the recipe which are very easily available at the grocery store or supermarket. Let me know if you have other questions. Happy baking!
Macarena says
This recipe is a lifesaver, with 4 kids at home it's just the perfect dessert to have frozen. they love it! I made it with chocolate cookies once, it turned out amazing too!
★★★★★
Pam Greer says
I have already made this twice since you first posted it!! It is so delicious and the flavors are perfect! We love it frozen too!
★★★★★
Paula Montenegro says
Yay! So glad you liked it Pam!