Lemon Lush

A couple months ago, a good friend of ours came to visit for the weekend. I was looking for a new dessert to make so I had the hubby and him choose one from Pinterest. I have to say, I really got a kick of them watching them scroll through Pinterest discussing the pins. lol. They quickly honed in on The Girl Who Ate Everything’s Lemon Lush Dessert and it turned out to the perfectly light and lemony (but not too lemony which completely wrecks it for me) treat I ever could have imagined. The homemade whipped cream was literally the icing on the cake. It was an immediate hit and is a new family favorite. Well, minus Little Sis who just isn’t into this sort of dessert. Oh well, more for us!

I made a couple changes to the recipe to make it nut-free and a wee bit healthier, but I’m sure it’s just as delicious made as-is. Here’s my version:

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Lemon Lush

Adapted from: The Girl Who Ate Everything By happyvballgirl @ MyEpicureanAdventures

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 servings

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups flour I used 1/2 cup whole wheat + 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed optional
• 2 Tbsp wheat germ optional

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Pudding Layer
• 2 3.4 oz packages instant lemon pudding
• 3 cups milk

Whipped Cream

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipped cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Crust: In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter and graham cracker crumbs until combined, about 1 minute. Add flour, flax seed and wheat germ (if using) and mix just until the mixture is crumbly, about 10 to 15 seconds. You can also use a hand mixer or just blend manually with a pastry blender, 2 knives or simply
3. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. I usually line mine with parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let crust cool completely. I usually just let this sit for a couple hours before starting on the fillings.
4. Cream Cheese Layer:  In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Spread evenly over cooled crust.
5. Pudding Layer: In the same bowl, because I like to use as few bowls as possible ;), mix the lemon pudding and milk together and beat for 3 to 5 minutes. Let the mixture set slightly in the fridge if it's not thick yet. Once it has thickened a little, spread it over the cream cheese layer. I use a rubber spatula to really clean out that bowl well so I don't have to even rinse it. lol.
6. Whipped Cream: In same bowl still, but rinsed out if you'd like, beat the heavy cream and pwdered sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over pudding mixture.
7. Chill dessert until ready to serve.