Key Lime Icebox Cake
What I love most? It’s crazy easy to make. You don’t need to turn on the oven, and there’s no complicated prep. If you're a fan of key lime pie, you'll go wild for this cake.
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Zester or Microplane
- Rubber Spatula
- Deep 8-inch Square Dish
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (half a block) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding mix (just the dry mix — do not prepare it)
- ¼ cup key lime juice (or sub with fresh regular lime juice)
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- Zest from 2 small limes (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed and divided
- 12 graham crackers (or more, depending on your dish size)
- Optional garnish: green sprinkles, lime zest, lime wedges, or fresh berries
Instructions
- I start by placing the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, I beat it on medium speed for about 1½ to 2 minutes until it’s light, smooth, and fluffy. This step is important — no one wants lumps in their pudding!
- Next, I add the dry instant French vanilla pudding mix and the key lime juice straight into the cream cheese. No need to prepare the pudding beforehand — just add the dry powder. I mix until everything is well combined. The mixture will be very thick at this point, but that’s totally normal.
- Now I gradually pour in the milk, mixing constantly to avoid any clumps. After a few minutes, it transforms into a thick, creamy pudding. I don’t worry about a few little lumps — they won’t be noticeable in the final cake.
- Once the pudding base is ready, I gently stir in the lime zest. Then, using a spatula, I carefully fold in half of the Cool Whip. This step is all about patience — I fold slowly so I don’t deflate that airy, whipped texture. It gives the cake that dreamy, mousse-like consistency.
- Now comes the fun part: layering! I spread about ¼ cup of the pudding mixture in a very thin layer across the bottom of a deep 8-inch square dish. This helps keep the graham crackers in place.
- Then I add a layer of graham crackers, breaking them as needed to fully cover the base. On top of that, I spread about ⅓ of the remaining pudding mixture. I repeat the layers: graham crackers, pudding, graham crackers, and pudding again — ending with a thick layer of pudding on top.