You may remember this tart, creamy lemon cheesecake from the Woolworth’s lunch counter. It’s a vintage no bake dessert that’s easy to make at home so get out your mixer – we’re about to make some memories!
You’ll fine even more recipes in this Cheesecake Collection!
🛒 Ingredients
Nothing unusual here! You could try using ‘Nilla Wafers instead of the graham crackers. Be sure you’re using evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk.
📖 Instructions
This no bake lemon cheesecake is one of the easiest desserts you’ll ever make but you will need to start a day ahead of time. Make sure the evaporated milk, bowl, and beaters have a chance to get really cold before you use them – or the milk won’t get fluffy.
❤️ Tips
My favorite item on the menu was this icebox cheesecake, cut in thick, yellow squares with a graham cracker crust and more graham crackers crumbled on the top.
Each bite was decadently creamy and mouth-puckeringly tart.
Here are some tips to ensure you get that same texture and flavor in your own version of this no bake lemon cheesecake recipe!
- You’ll need to start this at least a day ahead of time. The gelatin needs time to start to thicken which can take an hour… and the cheesecake needs to chill overnight.
- Use lemon Jello. It’s how they did it at Woolworths and making it any other way just won’t be the same.
- Use room temperature, full fat cream cheese.
- Make sure you are getting evaporated milk, not condensed milk.
- The evaporated milk, beaters, and bowl have to be VERY cold to whip up right.
- Don’t whip the filling! Fold in by hand with a rubber spatula.
- 8 ounces of graham crackers is about 1-1/2 packs, 2 cups of crumbs.
- Freeze the graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the dish before adding the filling.
- Chill overnight and don’t hurry the chilling process.
- The cheesecake should be shiny and firm to the touch when you’re ready to serve.
- You can freeze this lemon cheesecake for later once it’s chilled overnight and set. Wrap the whole pan in plastic wrap then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
❓Why is there gelatin in this recipe
Many of my cheesecake recipes are dense, baked cheesecakes. They have eggs in the batter to hold them together firmly. This no bake lemon cheesecake doesn’t have eggs but it uses gelatin, in the form of lemon Jello, to keep it firm.
- Stir boiling water into Lemon Jello, stirring until it’s dissolved. Refrigerate 15 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
- Chill the bowl and beaters. Pour chilled evaporated milk into bowl and beat until fluffy.
- Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth.
- Stir in the thickened gelatin.
- Beat on low speed until smooth.
- Fold the gelatin mixture into the whipped evaporated milk, gently.
- Line bottom of 13×9 inch pan with graham cracker crumbs.
- Spoon in the lemon cheesecake mixture.
- Top with graham cracker crumbs, cover, and chill overnight.
👩🏼🍳 Variations
I remember this cheesecake as having just a crumbly graham cracker crust but someone I was talking to the other day swears that it was a firm graham cracker crust.
If you’d like the firm graham cracker crust then follow these directions:
Mix 3 cups graham cracker crumbs with 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 8 tablespoons melted butter. Press into the bottom of the 13×9 inch pan and freeze before filling with the lemon cheesecake.
🥫 Storage
This is a great make-ahead recipe! You can comfortably store the cheesecake in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Just make sure it’s tightly covered and you aren’t storing fish or onions in the same space.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Again, make sure it’s well covered. When you’re ready to serve let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 to 20 minutes before eating it.
But can you freeze cheesecake slices?
Yes!! You can freeze this cut into servings to make it easy to have some whenever you want – and that’s probably going to be often. Add parchment strips between the squares to make it easy to remove one without disturbing the others.
📚 Related recipes
- Grandma’s Lemon Ice Box Pie is tangy and creamy. You can serve it frozen or just chilled and it’s so handy to have in the freezer for unexpected company!
- Banana Pudding is a southern classic that’s chock full of ripe bananas, Nilla wafers and a splash of good Kentucky bourbon.
- Mexican Chocolate Cobbler is rich chocolate cake with a creamy, fudgy sauce, kicked up with just the right amount of spice. Best of all? You can make it in the microwave in minutes.
🥄 Supplies
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Seriously y’all, this Turquoise 13×9 inch pan is THE perfect way to make this lemon cheesecake for the full, 1960s ambiance!
☕️ Woolworth’s lunch counter
Back when I was little you dressed up to go shopping – even if it was just to Woolworth’s for some hair curlers!
Gloves, dress, frilly ankle socks, and white patent leather shoes were always ready in the closet for those well planned “errand days”. Women in the 1960s lived by the calendar and the clock – and ran their households with military precision.
The best thing about those trips to the store were the lunches — sitting on the twirly, red vinyl topped chrome stools at the counter. Try as I might to sit still (my little hands grasping the edge of the counter and willing the rest of my body to follow suit) my lower body invariably began to twist one way then the other.
Until I got the look.
You can bet I settled down pretty fast because I knew dessert depended on it!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Equipment Needed
- Rubber
Ingredients
- 3 ounces lemon Jello, unprepared – just the powder.
- 1 cup water, boiling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice
- 12 ounces evaporated milk, well chilled
- 8 ounces graham crackers, crushed
Instructions
- Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.
- Let cool until it starts to thicken, about 30 minutes.
- Beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice on low until smooth.
- Add thickened gelatin; beat until well blended.
- In another bowl, beat chilled evaporated milk until fluffy.
- Add cream cheese mixture and blend well with a rubber spatula.
- Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan with crushed graham crackers.
- Spoon the filling into pan gently, spreading evenly with a spoon.
- Top with more crushed graham crackers, cover, and chill overnight.
- Cut in squares to serve.
Notes
- Use lemon Jello. It’s how they did it at Woolworths and making it any other way just won’t be the same.
- The evaporated milk needs to be really cold to whip up properly.
- Use room temperature cream cheese.
- Don’t whip the filling! Mix everything in on low speed or fold in by hand.
- Freeze the graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the dish before adding the filling.
- Chill overnight and don’t hurry the chilling process.
- The cheesecake should be shiny and firm to the touch when you’re ready to serve.
- You can freeze the cheesecake for later once it’s chilled overnight and set. Wrap the whole pan in plastic wrap then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Mary
Woolworth’s Ice Box Cheesecake was the absolute best! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Marye
Mary – I totally agree. Come back and let me know what you think!