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Creamy No-Bake Lime Cream Cheese Cake from the Fridge

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

No-bake lime cream cheese cake with a bright green lime glaze, whipped cream rosettes and lime slices

4.9 (8)out of 5, 8 ratings

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Prep
10 min
Bake
40 min
Total
50 min
Makes
10

When the temperatures outside are climbing and the oven should simply stay off, this is my summer lifesaver: a creamy no-bake lime cream cheese cake from the fridge. The crust is made from crushed whole wheat butter cookies and soft butter, and the filling from cream cheese, freshly squeezed lime juice, a little gelatin and stiffly whipped cream. At the very end, a bright green lime cake glaze goes on top (a clear cake glaze, here simply lime juice and water thickened with cornstarch), and it really makes the whole thing shine.

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What sets this version apart from many no-bake recipes: I work with real gelatin instead of ready-made cream stabilizer packets, which gives a cleaner texture that holds its shape when sliced. By the way, you can make it just as well with lemon or orange if you have no limes in the house. Only one thing really matters: let the gelatin get only lukewarm in the pan, never let it boil, or it loses its setting power and the filling stays soft in the end. Here is my recipe for the creamy no-bake lime cream cheese cake from the fridge:

Ingredients

Makes 10

Crust

  • 7 oz200 gwhole wheat butter cookiesPlain, crisp German butter biscuits, often crushed for cake bases. In the US use petit beurre style butter cookies, or for crumb crusts graham crackers or vanilla wafers; in the UK, rich tea biscuits or petit beurre, or for bases digestive biscuits.
  • 6 tbsp80 gunsalted butterGerman butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter (European-style unsalted butter is closest); in the UK, unsalted butter.

Filling

  • 14 oz400 gcream cheeseA soft, full-fat fresh cheese. In the US use full-fat cream cheese; in the UK, full-fat soft cheese.
  • ½ cup100 ggranulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup80 mllime juice
  • zest of the limes
  • 1 tbspgelatinground. 1 German packet of ground gelatin = about 1 tbsp (9 g). German recipes usually mean gelatin sheets of about 1.7 g each; here it is ground gelatin. In the US use unflavored powdered gelatin, bloomed in cold water; in the UK, powdered gelatine, or leaf gelatine weighed (about 1.7 g per German sheet).
  • 1 ⅔ cups400 mlheavy creamice-cold. German cream for whipping has about 30 to 32 percent fat. In the US use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream; in the UK, whipping cream (double cream also works but whips faster, so watch it).

Glaze

  • 7 tbsp100 mlwater
  • ⅓ cup80 mllime juice
  • 2 tbsp15 gcornstarchA fine starch, usually made from corn, used to thicken creams and lighten cakes. In the US use cornstarch; in the UK, cornflour.
  • 4 to 6 ½ tbsp50 to 80 ggranulated sugar
  • Optional for decorating: ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (200 ml) ice-cold heavy cream and a few lime slices

Method

  1. Grind the butter cookies finely. Work in the butter. Press the mixture firmly into a pan. Chill.

  2. Mix the cream cheese and sugar. Let the gelatin bloom in 5 tbsp water. Whip the cream until stiff.

  3. Gradually stir the lime juice and zest into the cream cheese. Warm the gelatin gently (!!!) and stir it into the cream cheese mixture. Fold in the whipped cream.

  4. Spread it into the pan and chill, ideally overnight.

  5. For the glaze, bring everything to a boil together and add a little food coloring if you like.

  6. Let the glaze cool until lukewarm, then quickly spread it over the chilled cake.

  7. For decorating, whip the cream until stiff and pipe rosettes on top with a piping bag.

Questions and answers

How long does the cream cheese cake keep in the fridge?
My lime cream cheese cake keeps well covered for three to four days in the fridge. It's important to put it under a cake dome or cover it with plastic wrap, otherwise the cream cheese picks up other smells from the fridge. It actually often tastes even better on the second day, once the lime flavor has had time to develop.
Can I make the no-bake lime cake two days ahead?
Yes, it works really well. I often make the cake two days ahead, especially when I have guests coming. I would only make the cake glaze on top the day before serving, though, so the lime color stays nice and fresh. Covered in the fridge, it easily holds up.
Why does the gelatin have to cool before I stir it in?
The gelatin must not go hot into the cold cream cheese, or it will set into strings right away and you'll get lumps in the filling. My trick: add two spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture to the warm gelatin, stir once, and that evens out the temperatures. Only then combine everything. It works every time.
Can I use lemons instead of limes?
Of course, that works without a problem. With lemon the cake tastes a little more classic, almost like a Philadelphia cream cheese cake. You can also use orange or grapefruit, whatever you're in the mood for. With oranges, though, I would use a bit less sugar, because they are sweeter than limes.
My filling stayed soft. What went wrong?
Usually it's the gelatin. Either it was boiled and has lost its strength, or the mixture went into the cream cheese too warm and didn't spread evenly. Too short a chilling time is a classic too. Three hours aren't enough, so really give the cake a whole night in the fridge to set.
Can I make the cake without a springform pan?
Yes, a baking dish works just as well, and I often use one myself. Simply line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper that overlaps the edge a little, then you can lift the cake out by the paper later. In a 10-inch (26 cm) springform pan the cake turns out a bit flatter; in a smaller pan you get a nicer dome on top.