Easy Lime Icebox Cake Recipe

Name: Easy Lime Icebox Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons sour cream; 1/4 cup lime juice; 5 ounces Ritz crackers; 2 teaspoons lime zest

If you’ve ever made an icebox cake (also known as a refrigerator pie), you know the possibilities and magic that takes place when a handful of ingredients are layered and left to rest in the fridge.

This take on the no-bake, hands-off dessert alludes to key lime pie with fresh lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and layers of salty crackers. It’s creamy, light, tart, sweet, and a little salty. With just five ingredients, easy lime icebox cake couldn’t be simpler or more delicious.

Make-Ahead Magic

Not only could this recipe not be any easier (no mixer, oven, or special equipment required!), it's also ideal for making ahead. The icebox cake needs to chill for at least 2 hours, freeing you up for grilling or prepping dinner. It also freezes well. Double the recipe, whipping up two, and stash the second in the freezer for later.

What Is Icebox Cake?

According to The Food Timeline, icebox cakes are an inevitable descendant of 19th-century ice cream cakes, and therefore no one person or company can be credited with their invention. That being said, we do know that the first printed recipes for icebox cakes date back to the 1920s and were used to promote the first in-home iceboxes.

Lime icebox cake in a glass dish with one piece cut out and lime slices on the side — Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

One of the most popular recipes from the 1930s is credited to Nabisco. This famous recipe layered fresh, lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream with their original thin and dark chocolate wafers. After sitting in the icebox overnight, the soft cream soaks into the biscuits and creates a sliceable dessert.

How to Make an Icebox Cake

No matter the variation you choose to make, the basic, fundamental ingredients for an icebox cake are cream and cookies (or crackers). Fruit or nuts, custards, puddings, and gelatin are additions that came later and, while great, are certainly not necessary to making a delicious, sliceable icebox cake.

Once you gather the ingredients, making the cake is easy. Whip the cream (perhaps sweetening it with powdered sugar or condensed milk), then layer it into some kind of mold (loaf pans, pie plates, or glass trifle dishes all work well) with the cookies. Cover and let it rest for at least 2 hours to allow the cookies to absorb the cream, then the “cake” is ready to slice and serve. Ten minutes of prep for a great payoff.

Can You Freeze Icebox Cakes?

Today’s icebox cakes are most often set in the fridge, but many of them can also be frozen, sliced, and eaten straight from the freezer.

If you have a simple cake with cookies or crackers and cream, like this lime icebox cake, it can be frozen safely for up to 1 month. If there are fresh or canned fruits, gelatin, or other ingredients that might change texture if frozen, it’s probably not a good idea to freeze.

Lime icebox cake slice in a blue plate with a bite on a fork — Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Easy Summer Desserts

Easy Lime Icebox Cake

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 0 mins

Chill 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 10 mins

Servings 6 servings

This recipe was inspired by and adapted from the “10-Minute Lime Cracker Pie” developed by J. Kenji López-Alt for Serious Eats.

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 3 to 4 limes)
5 ounces (about 1 1/4 sleeves) Ritz crackers
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

Make the filling:

Add condensed milk, heavy cream, and sour cream to a mixing bowl. Add the lime juice and whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick, about 1 minute.

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Layer:

Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to add filling to the bottom of an 8-inch cake or pie pan (you could also make individual servings using ramekins or even martini glasses) and spread evenly to cover the bottom. Top with a single layer of Ritz crackers.

Repeat, alternating layers of filling and crackers, ending with a final layer of the remaining filling; you should have 3 layers of crackers and 4 layers of filling. Sprinkle the top with lime zest.

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Chill and serve:

Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve chilled. The pie will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If frozen, let thaw for 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
549	Calories
28g	Fat
66g	Carbs
10g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories	549
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g	36%
Saturated Fat 16g	79%
Cholesterol 78mg	26%
Sodium 334mg	15%
Total Carbohydrate 66g	24%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 52g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 6mg	32%
Calcium 322mg	25%
Iron 1mg	7%
Potassium 415mg	9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.