Key Lime Cake Recipe
Oi Gente!!
This beautiful key lime bundt cake is moist, crumbly, and made with easy-to-find ingredients. But the best part is, this pretty cake is topped with a sweet limy cream that tastes JUST like key lime pie! It’s seriously so good! And to make things even better, this key lime cake recipe is super easy to whip up and great for any occasion!
If you love limes as much as I do, then check out my Brazilian lemonade (I swear it’s full of limes!), and my classic Caipirinha cocktail.
Why I love this Key Lime Cake Recipe
I love lime desserts! That sweet and tart combination of flavors is definitely my thing, which makes this easy limy cake rank really high on my list. I swear to you, the creamy lime frosting on top tastes just like a key lime pie, and it’s one of my true weaknesses in life. It’s so sweet and so good that I can eat it with a spoon, meus amigos!!
I have to award this recipe a few more points based on how easy and simple it is to make. It’s great for when you just need a sweet fix, and at the same time, it’s just so nice that it can be a beautiful centerpiece dessert, or even a gift!!
The bright and vibrant flavors in this cake sure can bring a little sunshine on a cloudy day to any sweet and tart lover out there. So, if you are simply looking for a “pick me up” dessert to improve your mood, this is definitely it!
I hope you love it as much as I do!
Bom Apetite!
Beijinhos xx
Key Lime Cake Recipe Ingredients
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Limes! You guessed it! haha The most important ingredient in making this key lime bundt cake from scratch are the key limes. You’re going to need about 6-8, maybe even 10, depending on their size and how juicy they are. Grab a few extras, just in case, and if you can’t get your hands on key limes, you can use regular limes, too!
The best tip that I can give you here is to make sure that you always zest the limes BEFORE juicing them. This makes it significantly easier to do both, without any waste.
The other ingredients you’ll need to make this cake are your usual cake baking ingredients like all purpose flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and baking powder. Besides that, you’ll need some sweet condensed milk for the frosting.
See recipe card below for the full ingredients list and amounts.
You’ll also need:
- Bowls
- Spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Hand mixer, or whisk
- Baking spray
- A bundt cake pan – I used this one that I love!
- Cooling rack
How to make a key lime cake
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Preheat your oven & Prepare the pan. Anytime you’re baking a cake, start by preheating your oven, so that by the time you’re done making the cake, the oven is nice and hot and ready to bake. Same goes for prepping the pan. You need to have the pan sprayed, or greased and floured before the batter is ready. This way, your cake batter won’t sit a few extra minutes with active baking powder, waiting for you to get the pan set up.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
Mix the butter and sugar. Good news, alert! You don’t need to cream the butter and sugar together, which means, you don’t actually need to use a hand mixer if you don’t want to. I do, but, my mom always whips everything together by hand with either a wooden spoon or a whisk! Anyway, all you need to do is mix the butter and sugar until it resembles sand. Then, add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition.
Add the dry ingredients & hydrate with the milk. This is a 5 part mixing process that always starts and ends with the dry ingredients, and the wet, in this case, the milk, goes right in between. In other words, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk with 3 additions of flour and 2 of milk. Make sure to mix well, so all ingredients are incorporated after each addition.
Add in the key limes! After that 5-part process of mixing dry and wet ingredients, gently mix in the lime juice and lime zest with a spatula.
Bake. Pour the batter into the greased bundt pan, and bake.
Key lime cake frosting
Whisk together the juice and condensed milk. You’ll want to whisk just the juice and the condensed milk really well to form form a light cream. Then, using a spatula, gently fold in some of the zest and reserve the rest to sprinkle on top of the finished cake. We do it this way because, if you whisk the zest aggressively while creaming the condensed milk, the zest becomes bitter.
Frost away! Then, just pour the cream frosting on top of the cake and sprinkle with with some of the lime zest you have left. I also like to fill the hole of the cake with loads of frosting, because then, when you slice the cake, all the delicious cream comes oozing right out for you to scoop some more on top of your slice! Yes, please!
Key Lime Bundt Cake Serving Ideas
This pretty key lime bundt cake is perfect for many occasions. It’s a great springtime dessert that can be served during Easter, after church, at your next tea party, a full-on celebratory brunch, like Mother’s day, or even as a birthday cake for that lime lover in your life!
The sweet and tart lime flavors also make this a great cake for any summertime cookout, tropical-themed barbecue festa, or simply just because!!
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Does key lime cake need to be refrigerated?
Not really! While you can choose to keep your key lime bundt cake in the fridge, keeping it well covered on the counter for a few days is also a great way to keep it stored and staying fresh.
What is the difference between a lime and a key lime?
A key lime is a smaller hybrid of lime that is much more flavorful and floral in nature making them perfect for baking and recipes! Key limes look a little more yellow/green and often contain more seeds than a regular lime.
Can I use regular limes in this recipe?
Yes! You can use regular limes if you can’t find key limes near you (they can sometimes be a seasonal thing).
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Other Cake Recipes You’ll Love
Key Lime Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 eggs
- 2.5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk room temperature
- 4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature one stick
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp key lime zest* about 2 limes
- 2 Tbsp key lime juice* about 2 limes
- 1 tsp salt
For the Frosting:
- 1x 14oz can sweet condensed milk
- 1-2 Tbsp key lime zest* about 4 limes
- 1/2 cup key lime juice* about 4 limes
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Spray, or grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
- Add the all purpose flour, the baking powder and the salt to a large bowl, and whisk to combine – set aside.
- Mix the butter and the sugar in a large bowl, using a hand mixer until it looks sandy. Then add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined between each addition (a few minutes on medium speed).
- Alternate adding flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk), fully incorporating after each addition.
- With a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and give it a stir. Then, add in the key lime juice and zest and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into the greased bundt pan, and bake until a cake tester/toothpick inserted to the middle comes out lightly crumbly to clean (about 35-40 mins)
- Move the cake pan to a cooling rack and let it cool for about 5-10 mins, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool on the rack
For the Frosting:
- Add in the condensed milk and the key lime juice to a medium bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, or a hand whisk**, whisk the mixture until creamy and frothy – about 3 minutes on high. Sprinkle in a little bit of the zest and gently stir it with a spatula.
- Pour the lime cream over the cake, and sprinkle with the remaining key lime zest.
This recipe is so delicious! I love key lime pie so this was amazing! Will be making again very soon.
Thanks, Kathryn!! So happy you liked it!
Oh Aline, this is gorgeous! What a lovely cake! And I’m extra-excited because when we bought our new house, I discovered that a regular-old-looking-tree … was actually a key lime tree! I was thrilled, and now I’m on the hunt for terrific recipes to make with my little limes! 🙂 Thank you so much!
Hi Shelley – you’re welcome! I’m jealous!! I wish I had a lime tree, too!! Enjoy your limes and all the yummy recipes!
I am a big fan of your Brazilian limeade with condensed milk, so I rightfully trusted you on this one too – I love the drink and I definitely loved this cake, too!
ahaha Thank you, Eva!!
This is the perfect summer cake! It’s bursting with tropical flavor, and it was so easy to make. I’m definitely making this cake again the rest of the summer!
Hi Amanda!! Thank you! So happy you liked the cake – it really is a great summer dessert!
Key lime pie is my absolute favorite, and I loved this cake. Thank you!