Valerie Bertinelli’s Lemon Ice Box Cake

This post contains affiliate links.

I am a fan of Valerie Bertinelli and her recipes, because it is good home cooking, and who doesn’t like that? However, referring to this as a cake is a bit of a misnomer. What this really is, is a light and fluffy cloud of sweet/tart lemon deliciousness that you will not want to stop eating…ever. It is super easy to put together if you use store bought lemon curd. (I didn’t, I made my own because, to me, it is well worth the 15 minutes. My recipe is below if you feel the same.) So, if you’re longing for spring, fresh fruit, tall pitchers of ice-cold lemonade, this won’t bring it any closer, but it will make the wait much easier to bear.

Valerie Bertinelli’s Lemon Ice Box Cake

Serves 10

You will need:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1⁄3 cup powdered sugar
21/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 11-ounce package vanilla wafers
1 cup homemade lemon curd* or
1 11.5-ounce store-bought jar lemon curd

Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until blended and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cream, lemon zest, and vanilla; beat at medium-high speed just until stiff peaks form.

Arrange half of the cookies in a single layer on the bottom of a 13-× 9-inch baking dish**, fitting in as many as possible without overlapping.

Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture on top, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Dollop 1/2 cup of the lemon curd by spoonfuls about 2 inches apart over the cream cheese mixture.

Use a butter knife to swirl the curd into the cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cookies and remaining cream cheese mixture. Dollop and swirl remaining lemon curd over the cream mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the cookies soften, about 3 hours.

*Microwave Meyer Lemon Curd

Slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 5 Melissa’s Meyer lemons)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a large microwave-safe bowl (I used Duralex), whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth and thoroughly combined. Whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, and melted butter.

Cook in the microwave on full power for one-minute intervals, stirring after each minute. This process will take about 3-5 minutes depending upon the wattage of your microwave. (Three minutes worked for me.) The lemon curd is done when it coats the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the microwave, push through a fine, mesh sieve, and pour into sterile jars or a container.

Allow to cool to room temperature, and then cover it with a lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The curd will thicken as it cools.

**I used a 9” x 9” dish because I wanted mine thicker. It was perfect, as you can see.