Lemon icebox cake made with graham crackers, a whipped lemony cream cheese filling and homemade lemon curd!
Lemon flavored desserts are the GOAT (greatest of all time) and what makes this even better is that it’s no-bake, can use store bought or homemade lemon curd and takes just a few minutes to put together.
My family always goes crazy for these lemon cupcakes and this lemon icebox cake is right up there with those. It’s also very similar to my lemon curd cake, which is one of my favorites!
Step-by-Step Photos
The lemon curd is definitely optional to make at home – a store bought works just fine as well but if I prefer the homemade version and mine is super easy to make so we’ll start with that. Then use the lemon curd to make the whipped cream cheese filling and assemble it with graham crackers. Super simple, the hardest part is letting it chill in the fridge overnight lol.
Lemon Curd
Combine the sugar, eggs, lemon juice & zest, butter and salt in a small nonstick or enameled (NOT metal) saucepan over medium-low heat.
Whisk continuously until it thickens and reaches about 170F (77C), about 5 minutes. The curd should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
While it’s still hot, press the curd through a sieve into another bowl/jar, cover it and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
sugar rubbed with lemon zestingredients for lemon curd mixed togethermixture will look split until they the butter is fully meltedlemon curd thickenedlemon curd coats the back of a spoondiscarded chunks from lemon curd.finished lemon curd
Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
Beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth and creamy.
Add the sugar and vanilla, and beat again until it’s smooth and creamy.
Mix in the lemon curd, just until it’s combined.
Add the heavy whipping cream and beat at full speed, until the cream thickens and holds some peaks.
cream cheese beat with sugar lemon curd mixed into the cream cheese mixturecream whipped into the cream cheese and lemon curd
Assemble
Line an 8×8” square pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to easily remove them.
Line the bottom of the pan with graham crackers.
Spread a layer of lemon cream on top of the graham crackers – I do about the thickness of the graham crackers to keep the layers even.
Drizzle some lemon curd on top and swirl it in.
Repeat with the next 3 layers and spread the rest of the lemon cream on top and drizzle some more lemon curd on top.
Top with more crushed graham crackers and lemon wedges.
graham crackers on the bottom layercream cheese filling swirled with lemon curdicebox cake assembled and topped with the rest of the cream
PRO TIP: homemade lemon curd
I used to struggle a lot with lemon curd tasting metallic. I eliminated all use of metal in making lemon curd so I use a ceramic pan or a double boiler with a glass bowl and silicone whisk. I use a plastic sieve and rubber spatula.
But the biggest component I found is making sure not to overheat the lemon curd. Use a digital thermometer to make sure you don’t take the lemon curd past 170F (77C).
How To Store Icebox Cakes
This cake definitely needs to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese filling and the lemon curd so I recommend covering the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerating for about 4-5 days.
Freeze if it’s any longer than that. To freeze the cake, place slices in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air. Thaw in the fridge for several hours or overnight and serve cold.
If you have any questions, please comment down below – those will get answered much quicker than email or through social media.
If you’ve tried this, I would very much appreciate a star rating or review as well.
60mLfreshly-squeezed lemon juice , (1 large or 2 small lemons)
42gramssalted butter , softened or melted
Lemon Cream
226gramscream cheese, slightly softened
180gramspowdered sugar
1tspvanilla bean paste
120gramslemon curd
360mLheavy whipping cream, cold
Method
Lemon Curd
Combine the sugar, eggs, lemon juice & zest, butter and salt in a small nonstick or enameled (NOT metal) saucepan over medium-low heat.*
50 grams granulated sugar, 1 tsp lemon zest 1 large lemon, 1 large egg room temperature, 1 large egg yolk room temperature, 60 mL freshly-squeezed lemon juice (1 large or 2 small lemons), 42 grams salted butter softened or melted
Whisk continuously until it thickens, about 5 minutes, just until it reaches about 170F (77C) – don't go over.
While it’s still hot, press the curd through a sieve into another bowl/jar, cover it and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Lemon Cream
In a stand mixer or a large bowl, using a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium-high speed until it's smooth.
226 grams cream cheese slightly softened
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat at medium speed again, until the powdered sugar is completely smooth with the cream cheese. Make sure to scrape the bottom and edge of the bowl.
Add the lemon curd and mix just until it's combined.
120 grams lemon curd
With the mixer on medium speed (or in 3-4 increments) stream in the heavy whipping cream. Once it's all added in, increase the speed to high for up to a few minutes until the cream has thickened.***
360 mL heavy whipping cream cold
Assemble
Line a square 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to easily remove the cake.
Lay out a row of graham crackers on the bottom and then spread a layer of the lemon cream on top. I made the lemon cream about the same thickness as the graham crackers.
408 grams graham crackers
Drizzle a little extra lemon curd on top of each layer of cream and swirl it in to really bring in a stronger lemon flavor.
I ended up with four layers of each (the top layer of cream being just slightly thicker than the rest). Sprinkle some graham crackers on top along with some lemon wedges and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Serve cold.
Notes
Store bought lemon curd also works fine here!
*If you only have metal pans, use a double boiler with a glass bowl. If you make lemon curd in a metal pan or bowl, the acidic lemon juice can react with the metal and make your curd taste metallic.
**If you find it tasting metallic and have eliminated the contact of lemon juice with the metal pan/whisk, etc. then you’re probably overheating it – take it just 170F (77C).
***This is how I do it to avoid extra dishes and I don’t have any issues with the cream whipping. If you prefer, you can whip the cream separately and fold it in at the end.
