Key Lime Icebox Cake is an easy no-bake dessert that takes only 4 ingredients to make, and can easily be made gluten-free if needed.
My family loves Key Lime Pie, and it's one of my absolute favorites, too. And even though Key Lime Pie is very easy to make, it requires cooking, and then chilling after it's cooked.
I wanted to come up with a dessert that had all of the same flavors of key lime pie, but in an even easier, no-bake version. This Key Lime Icebox Cake is what I came up with. It's made with only 4 easy-to-find ingredients, and doesn't need any cooking. Keep reading to learn how to make it.
How to Make Key Lime Icebox Cake
The most important key to this recipe is that the evaporated milk you need for the recipe absolutely needs to be chilled before starting the recipe. I usually put mine in the fridge the night before I plan to use it, or I keep one can in the fridge, just in case I need it. If you're really in a pinch, you could speed chill it in the freezer, just make sure you don't forget it in there.
Once your evaporated milk is chilled, prepare the limes. First, wash and dry them well. Then zest at least two of them. I like to use a microplane for citrus zesting, but you could use any zester you have. Once you have enough zest, juice the limes. I don't use any special tools for this - just my hands.
Stir the lime zest, juice, and sweetened condensed milk together in a bowl - the mixture will begin to thicken almost immediately. Let it sit while you whip the evaporated milk.
Pour the chilled evaporated milk into a separate large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix on high speed until the milk holds a soft peak. Pour in the lime-sweetened condensed milk mixture, and mix again until thick and foamy.
Lay graham wafers over the bottom of an 8x8" baking dish in a single layer (break or cut wafers as needed to fit). Pour ⅓ of the lime filling over the graham wafers and spread evenly. Repeat with 2 more layers of graham wafers and two more layers of lime filling (finish with a layer of lime filling on the top).
Cover the baking pan with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Uncover the pan, and garnish with crushed graham wafers or lime zest, if desired. Cut into squares and serve. Best if eaten within a day.
Key Lime Icebox Cake Ingredients
- Limes - While you could use bottled lime juice in a pinch, you can't substitute the flavor of fresh lime zest.
- Sweetened condensed milk - Find sweetened condensed milk in small cans (or sometimes in plastic squeeze bottles, usually for a slightly higher price) in the baking aisle.
- Chilled evaporated milk - The evaporated milk absolutely NEEDS to be chilled to whip up. Make sure not to skip putting it in the fridge for a few hours if you make this recipe.
- Graham wafers - I use graham wafers for this dessert to keep it the most similar to a traditional key lime pie. However, you could use other thin cookies if you prefer (eg. vanilla wafers). You could also use gluten-free graham wafers if you need to make this recipe gluten-free.
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Key Lime Icebox Cake Nutrition Notes
Replace the graham wafers with gluten-free graham wafers to make this dessert gluten-free.
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for ⅛ of the recipe. If your portion is larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
The nutrition calculations assume that you use 2 full sleeves of graham wafers, but depending on your pan, you might not use that many. In this case, the calories, carbohydrates, and sugar in your dessert will be slightly (but probably not significantly) decreased.
Key Lime Icebox Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash the limes well, and zest them. Measure out 4 teaspoons of lime zest (you will likely only need the zest from 2 of the limes for this amount). Place this lime zest into a medium bowl.
- Juice the limes (including the ones you zested), straining out any seeds. Measure out ½ cup of lime juice and pour it into the bowl with the lime zest.
- Add 1 can sweetened condensed milk to the bowl with the lime zest and juice, and stir until combined. You will notice that the milk will start to thicken. Set the bowl aside to continue to thicken.
- Pour 1 can chilled evaporated milk into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Note that the milk needs to be completely chilled to whip up properly. Mix on high speed until the milk holds soft peaks, about 3-5 minutes. Pour in the lime and sweetened condensed milk mixture, and mix again on high speed until thick and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.
- Lay graham wafers over the bottom of a 8x8" baking dish in a single layer (cut or break the wafers to fit, if needed). Add ⅓ of the lime filling and spread it evenly over the crackers. Repeat with 2 more layers of graham wafers and two more layers of lime filling, ending with the lime filling on top.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap (or a lid), and place into the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap, and sprinkle with crushed graham wafers or graham crumbs if desired. Cut into squares and serve.
Nutrition
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