This Lemon Lush Dessert is light, fresh, and decadent. It’s made up of buttery shortbread crust that’s layered with a lemon cream cheese filling, homemade lemon pudding, and whipped cream. Just 20 minutes to prep!
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Is there really anything as incredible as lemon desserts? I honestly don’t think I can ever get enough of them. Whether it’s Lemon Blueberry Donuts, No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake, Greek Yogurt Lemon Bundt Cake, Lemon Cheesecake Bars, you name it…I am probably having seconds.
Thirds aren’t out of the question.
This Lemon Lush is the ultimate lemon dessert. It’s completely made-from-scratch with a buttery shortbread crust, a lemony cream cheese filling, homemade lemon pudding, and whipped cream. It’s bright, fresh, light, creamy, and absolutely incredible.
This dessert makes the perfect addition to summer BBQs, potlucks, parties, or just to have on-hand at home to steal a bite of every time you walk by the fridge. 😉
(If you love luscious and creamy desserts, check out my Chocolate Lasagna or this Paula Deen Banana Pudding next!)
Ingredients Needed:
This Lemon Lush is made up of a few different layers. Here’s what you’ll need:
Shortbread Crust
- Unsalted Butter: make sure the butter is cold and cubed into small pieces.
- Flour: fluffed and leveled to prevent a dry crust.
- Granulated Sugar: gives the shortbread crust a touch of sweetness.
Cream Cheese Layer
- Cream Cheese: be sure to bring the cream cheese to room temperature for a completely smooth texture.
- Powdered Sugar: sweetens the cream cheese filling and gives it more structure.
- Lemon Juice: use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor.
Lemon Pudding
- Whole Milk and Granulated Sugar: a sweet and creamy base for our lemon pudding.
- Eggs: adds richness and gives the pudding its classic creamy consistency.
- Cornstarch: helps thicken the pudding.
- Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice: gives the pudding an extra intense lemon flavor. Remember, freshly squeezed is the way to go!
- Vanilla Extract: adds flavor depth and warmth to contrast the brightness of the lemon.
- Yellow Food Coloring: food coloring is optional, but it does give the lemon pudding that bright yellow color.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- Heavy Whipping Cream and Powdered Icing Sugar: whipped together to form our homemade whipped cream.
- Vanilla Extract: adds a touch of warmth and flavor depth.
How to Make Lemon Lush
This lemon dessert is made up of three simple layers, homemade whipped cream, and comes together with 20 minutes of prep!
- Prep the crust: In a bowl, combine flour, cubed butter, and sugar until crumbly. Transfer the mixture to a 9×13″ baking dish, press it into the bottom firmly, then bake until dry looking on top. Cool completely before adding the cream cheese layer.
- Make the cream cheese layer: Beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth, then add in the powdered sugar and lemon juice.
- Make the lemon pudding layer: In a saucepan, whisk together milk, sugar, eggs, cornstarch, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a low simmer. Cook and stir until thickened, then add in lemon juice, vanilla, and optional food coloring. Remove from the heat and strain into a bowl. Cool to room temperature.
- Assemble: Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust in the pan, then add on the lemon pudding layer. Spread evenly.
- Chill: Place the Lemon Lush into the fridge and chill until completely cold.
- Top it off: In a bowl, whip together the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread over the top of the Lemon Lush, then serve or refrigerate until you’re ready to serve!
Lemon Lush FAQs
Lemon Lush is a layered dessert made up of a buttery shortbread crust, a lemon cream cheese filling, and a lemon pudding layer. It’s light, fruity, creamy, and delicious!
Leftovers must be stored in the fridge and will last covered with plastic wrap or foil for 3-4 days.
You can try, but freezing this Lemon Lush will likely affect the texture of the cream cheese and pudding layers. It’s definitely best enjoyed within a few days!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes for Lemon Lush
- Cool the crust completely. If the crust is hot when you add the cream cheese layer, it will become runny and melty.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. The flavor is just unmatched by the bottled stuff.
- Chill for at least 6 hours. Make sure you chill this lemon dessert in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours so it sets completely.
- Make ahead of time. This Lemon Lush lasts 3-4 days in the fridge so it’s great to make ahead of time!
Variations
- Add nuts. Feel free to give your dessert a bit of extra crunch with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Swap the crust. You can easily swap the shortbread crust out for a graham cracker crust or Golden Oreo crust.
- Use store-bought pudding. I’m all for homemade lemon pudding, but if you want to save a little bit of time, swap it out for store-bought lemon pudding or even lemon pie filling.
- Use Cool Whip. You can also save a little bit of time by using Cool Whip in place of the homemade whipped topping.
More Lemon Desserts You’ll Love
Lemon Lush Dessert
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (cold)
- 2 cups flour (fluffed and levelled – 260 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 grams)
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 2 packages cream cheese (8 oz or 250 grams each) room temperature
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeeze lemon juice
Lemon Pudding
- 1½ cups whole milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon zest (about 2-3 lemons)
- ½ cup freshly squeeze lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- yellow food coloring
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the crust:
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cold butter (cubed) and sugar until crumbly (a pastry cutter or your hands work great for this!)
- Press firmly into a 9×13" baking dish and bake for 10-12 minutes, until just dry looking on top. Let cool completely before adding the cream cheese layer.
Cream Cheese Layer:
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and lemon juice and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. If needed, add additional lemon juice or milk so that the filling comes together.
- Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust and refrigerate to chill.
Lemon Pudding Layer:
- In a large saucepan, whisk together milk, sugar, eggs, corn starch, and lemon zest until completely smooth.
- Place on the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it comes to a low simmer.
- Reduce heat if necessary so that the pudding doesn't boil (a slow bubble is okay), and cook and stir until thickened.
- Stir in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Add a couple drops of yellow food coloring if desired.
- Remove from the heat and press through a strainer into a medium bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature before spreading over the cream cheese layer in the pan.
- Place pan in the fridge and chill until completely cold, at least 6 hours.
Whipped Cream
- In a medium bowl, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Spread over chilled pudding layer and refrigerate dessert until ready to serve.
Notes
- Cool the crust completely. If the crust is hot when you add the cream cheese layer, it will become runny and melty.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. The flavor is just unmatched by the bottled stuff.
- Chill for at least 6 hours. Make sure you chill this lemon dessert in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours so it sets completely.
- Make ahead of time. This Lemon Lush lasts 3-4 days in the fridge so it’s great to make ahead of time!
Nutrition Information
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Michelle says
Brought this to a cookout. It was a great finish to all the salty, savory and summer flavors. It was so delicious and full of lemony goodness. I did not have whole milk but did use a mix of heavy cream and 2% on hand and that sure made the pudding set up within 6 hours. Like most other reviews, I was unable to put it together in 20 min. I would say 1 hour though I wasn’t in a rush. Great receipe and love the homemade lemon pudding. Thanks for sharing!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for your feedback Michelle!