Don’t let the fact that this pie doesn’t take long to prepare turn you off. It’s creamy and delicious with a rich lemon flavor, and the best part is that it keeps in the freezer for several weeks without compromising the flavor. Even though you don’t need to serve it iced, it actually tastes delicious straight from the freezer!
Lemon Icebox Pie Recipe
Adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 14 whole graham crackers
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the filling:
- 28 ounces (2 cans) of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ¼ cups lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 8 egg yolks (from 8 large eggs)
For the cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the graham crackers, sugar, and salt to a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Melt the butter and add it to the food processor. Pulse a few more times until pebbles form.
Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom and all the way up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Set the crust mixture aside while you prepare the filling.
For the filling:
Add the condensed milk and lemon juice to a medium bowl and whisk until the two ingredients are well combined. Add the lemon zest and egg yolks together to a medium bowl and whisk together until the yolks turn a pale yellow color. This should take up to 60 seconds. Whisk the yolk mixture into the milk mixture.
Place the springform pan on a baking sheet. Pour the filling mixture carefully into the pan and then place the baking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake in the preheated oven until the filling begins to set. The middle of the filling won’t be set and will still jiggle slightly. This should take about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the springform pan cool on a rack for about 1 hour. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours. After that, you can either freeze the pie or serve it right away.
For the cream:
Add the cream, vanilla extract, and confectioners’ sugar to a large bowl. Beat the ingredients on medium speed using an electric mixer until medium peaks form. This should take about 1-2 minutes. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of this cream.
Be sure to prepare the cream only when you’re about to serve the pie. If the pie was frozen, you can either leave it in the refrigerator to defrost or serve it frozen.