You’ll love the bright key lime flavor in this moist and fluffy cake.
If you’ve ever been to Florida, particularly the Florida Keys, you’ve probably had the dessert they’re most famous for: Key Lime Pie. Sure, you can get Key Lime Pie all over the U.S., but to indulge in its most authentic version, you’ll want to have it in Florida; after all, in 2006, it became the state’s official pie. But you won’t have to leave home to get all the tart, citrusy flavor of that iconic pie in another favorite dessert form when you make this scrumptious Key Lime Cake.
Yep, now you can have your cake and your key lime, too. Although key limes are native to tropical Southeast Asia, they made their way to the Florida Keys around the early 1800s. As a result, growing them became a thriving industry there, which is why the fruit is so closely associated with the Keys (and it is believed that Key Lime Pie originated in Key West). But then, in 1926, the Great Miami Hurricane devastated the area, which affected the commercial key lime crop in the Keys. While key limes are still grown there, the industry never really recovered, so most of the key limes we see in the States now are grown in Mexico.
Although they’re not always available, when they are, you’ll see that key limes are a lot smaller than the limes we normally use. It takes a bit more effort to zest and juice these little darlings, but it’s totally worth it for the unique flavor they bring to this moist and fluffy Key Lime Cake. Tender with a light crumb, the cake’s wonderfully balanced sweet and tart taste, made even more delicious by the tangy cream cheese frosting, will have you swooning with delight. Perfect for parties or a weeknight treat, Key Lime Cake is the ultimate dessert for lime lovers (and might just turn you into one if you’re not there yet).
Key Lime Cake, like all cake, goes great with coffee, but I also really like it with this refreshing Mint Lime Iced Tea Cooler. I love the way the drink’s lime flavor echoes the citrus in the cake.
Key Limes vs Regular Limes
As I said, Key Limes, also known as West Indian or Mexican Limes, are smaller than what we would probably refer to as regular limes. The limes we buy in the grocery store, called Persian Limes, are a widely cultivated hybrid of a key lime and a lemon. Key Limes also have more seeds (Persian Limes are seedless), a thinner, slightly yellow skin, and a distinctively tart yet floral flavor; they are also noticeably more aromatic than the Persian variety. If you come across Key Limes in your grocery store (usually summer through early fall), it’s definitely worth it to use them in Key Lime Cake. That said, you can make this cake with regular limes, and it will still be citrusy and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest
- 1/4 cup key lime juice
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
How to Make Key Lime Cake
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: In another bowl, mix vegetable oil, eggs, key lime zest, key lime juice, and buttermilk until well combined.
Step 4: Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
Step 5: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Step 6: Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Step 8: For the frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until creamy.
Step 9: Frost the cooled cake layers, and if desired, garnish with additional key lime zest.
FAQs & Tips
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil, the cake layers can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for 2 days or in the freezer for up to a month; the frosting, in an airtight container, will last in the fridge for a week. The assembled cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can this cake be made with lemon zest and juice instead of lime?
It can…but then you’ll have to call it Lemon Cake!
What if you don't like cream cheese frosting?
Then, by all means, frost the cake with the kind of icing you like best! A classic Vanilla Buttercream is delicious on Key Lime Cake.
Serving Suggestions
When I make this Key Lime Cake, I serve it with White Dream Ice Cream because I love the squishy marshmallows and the crunchy white chocolate chips. Not to mention, the rich vanilla flavor pairs with the tartness of the cake. But then, I also think about other fruits that go really well with lime, and sometimes that means having Key Lime Cake with Strawberry Ice Cream. And don’t forget blueberries: not only is a lovely drizzle of Blueberry Sauce a delicious companion to lime, but it looks really beautiful dripped over this cake.
And if you’re a lover of all citrus, I think you’ll like this version of Key Lime Cake that I invented for my cousin’s birthday: she loves lime and lemon and orange and I couldn’t decide which one to focus on for her celebratory dessert, so I combined all three! I spread a layer of Orange Marmalade on top of the first cake layer; then I covered that with the frosting before setting the second cake layer on top; next, I spread Lemon Curd on top of that cake and completed the frosting process (I decorated with the zest of all three fruits so everyone would know what flavors were in the cake). They all melded so beautifully together, and that cake was great with Creamsicle Smoothies for the kids and Mango Margaritas (with a sugar-salt-lime rim!) for us grown-ups.
Key Lime Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest
- 1/4 cup key lime juice
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, mix vegetable oil, eggs, key lime zest, key lime juice, and buttermilk until well combined.
- Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- For the frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until creamy.
- Frost the cooled cake layers, and if desired, garnish with additional key lime zest.
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