Lemon lush is a creamy, delicious layered dessert. It consists of a homemade shortbread crust, a rich cream cheese layer, and a velvety lemon layer.
The recipe makes a generous 9X13-inch baking dish so it’s perfect when you need to feed a crowd. This is super popular at church luncheons, potluck, and Sunday suppers.
If you love lemon recipes, I have more that are sure to please! My lemon dump cake has been viral on the site ever since I posted it. My lemon sugar cookies are buttery, rich, and perfectly lemony!
Lemon brownies are every bit as delicious as their chocolate counterparts and every bit as fudgy and chewy. Lemon ricotta cookies are just sweet and tangy, moist and chewy!
Lemon Lush Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- Flour: All-purpose flour.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar.
- Pecans: You can switch up the variety of nuts as you like.
Cream Cheese Layer:
- Cream Cheese: Use regular cream cheese, not Neufchâtel.
- Lemon Zest: Use fresh lemon zest. Use a micro planer and only zest the yellow part of the peel. The white part is too bitter.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemon juice.
- Powdered Sugar: A.K.A confectioners sugar.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Adds the perfect richness to the cream cheese layer.
Lemon Pudding Layer
- Instant Pudding Mix: Only use the Instant variety, not the one that you need to cook.
- Milk: I use whole milk.
Tips
- Cream Cheese: Your cream cheese should be softened before getting started on your cream cheese mixture. It helps to pull it out about 30 minutes beforehand and cut it up into little cubes. If you forget to pull it out, Better Homes & Gardens offers a couple of quick softening techniques you can try.
- Folding: Gently fold in your whipped topping (always add light to heavy when folding). Use a large bowl with a flexible rubber spatula and be gentle. This will help keep your mixture light and fluffy.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This will last covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes, you can store individual slices and freeze them for up to three months. Then just grab one out of the freezer and eat, no thawing needed!
- I like to use disposable aluminum pans, so my good casserole dishes don’t get stuck in frozen limbo. Once you put your dessert together, I suggest letting it sit up in the fridge for an hour or so before transferring it to the freezer. Hotel wrap this to protect it from freezer burn and don’t forget to label it. (Here’s an article from Epicurious on how to do it!) You may also want to use wax paper to separate the top of your lemon lush from the plastic wrap. It just makes things easier. Then slow thaw it in the fridge overnight before serving.
- Make-Ahead Tips: This recipe is actually supposed to be made in advance, so it works out. I like to make mine the day before and let it set up overnight. For best results, you’ll want to reserve the FDA-recommended 2-hour serving rule.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link. I use cheesecake as the reference.
Serving Recommendations
I seem to serve this generally at potlucks as the star of the dessert table. Other dessert buffet favorites include strawberry pretzel salad, pineapple sunshine cake, heaven on earth cake, strawberry Jello cake, butterscotch delight, and/or my old-fashioned fruit cocktail cake!
How to Make Lemon Lush
- Make Shortbread Crust: process the flour and butter until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Add the sugar and pecan and process.
- Press into baking pan. Bake.
- Make Cream Cheese Layer: Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Spread mixture over crust. Freeze until set.
- Make Pudding Layer: Spread a slightly thickened pudding mixture over the cream cheese layer. Chill until the pudding sets slightly.
- Whipped Cream Topping: Add the remaining whipped cream over the set pudding layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Garnish and serve.
***See the full instructions below.
More Easy-Layered Dessert Recipes
- Eclair Cake
- Tiramisu (The Italian Classic!!)
- Oreo Delight
- Pumpkin lasagna
- Chocolate Lasagna
- Peanut Butter Lasagna
Tried This Recipe?
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Lemon Lush
Lemon lush is a creamy, delicious layered dessert. It consists of a homemade shortbread crust, a rich cream cheese layer, and a velvety lemon layer.
Servings: 16 Servings
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 2 (8-ounce) packs cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
Lemon Pudding Layer:
- 2 (3.4-ounce) boxes lemon instant pudding mix and pie filling
- 3 cups milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick baking spray.
Make Shortbread Crust:
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the flour (2 cups) and butter (1 cup) until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Add the sugar (1/4 cup) and pecan (1 cup) and process until it's cut in.
- Press into baking pan. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let the crust cool. Meanwhile, prepare the remaining layers.
Make Cream Cheese Layer:
- In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer set on high, beat cream cheese (2 packs), lemon zest (2 teaspoons) and juice (3 tablespoons), and powdered sugar (1 1/2 cups) until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- In another large mixing bowl, add heavy cream (3 cups) and with the mixer on a high beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
- Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spread mixture over crust; freeze until set, about 10 minutes.
Make Pudding Layer:
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set on low, beat together lemon pudding (2 boxes) and milk (3 cups) together and beat for 2 to 4 minutes, until the pudding has slightly thickened. If the mixture hasn't started to thicken, place it in the refrigerator until it has.
- Spread the slightly thickened pudding mixture over the cream cheese layer. Chill until pudding sets slightly, about 15 minutes.
Whipped Cream Topping:
- In an even layer, add the remaining whipped cream over the set pudding layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or better, overnight.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Cream Cheese: Your cream cheese should be softened before getting started on your cream cheese mixture. It helps to pull it out about 30 minutes beforehand and cut it up into little cubes. If you forget to pull it out, Better Homes & Gardens offers a couple of quick softening techniques you can try.
- Folding: Gently fold in your whipped topping (always add light to heavy when folding). Use a large bowl with a flexible rubber spatula and be gentle. This will help keep your mixture light and fluffy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 584kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 201mg | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1469IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 125mg
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Is the whip cream plain with no sweetener? I can see not needing sweetener for the cream cheese layer cuz there’s powdered sugar mixed into the cream cheese, but the final layer is plain whipped cream with no sweetness? Is this correct?
Hi. I use unsweetened but you can sweeten it if you like!
We love lemon desserts, this one is now in my top tier!
Thanks, Elaine!