Lime Cake from Scratch
You are going to love this bright and flavorful Lime Cake from Scratch! I love all sorts of cakes year round, but when summer arrives, I'm in the mood for something a little fruity!
Bring me strawberry cake, lemon cake, coconut cake, Piña Colada Cake, and now, lime cake! (By the way, don't miss our post of 100+ Cakes with Fruit!!)
In the past week, we have tried at least six versions of lime cake, along with various combinations of frostings and fillings. This was the clear winner!
Table of Contents
Lime Extract vs. Lime Simple Syrup
One thing that we discovered in our experimenting is that it is difficult to achieve a strong lime flavored cake from lime juice and zest alone.
We found the same for our favorite lemon cake recipe but we had lemon extract to bump up the flavor.
However, lime extracts are a bit more difficult to find at the grocery store.
In the end, brushing our lime cake layers with lime syrup and lime curd was the key to giving us a delicious lime cake!
**This recipe would taste great with buttercream also, but we decided to use cream cheese frosting which was divine ;0)
Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing
** This recipe calls for the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing. This refers to the order that the ingredients are mixed, and the result is a cake with a tighter crumb and velvety texture.
If you have never made a cake with the Reverse Creaming Method, you may want to watch our free video tutorial: Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing-Video Tutorial.
We frosted our cake with a delicious Cream Cheese Frosting. Find the recipe here!: Cream Cheese Frosting
Enjoy these other cakes with Lime
We've made lots of lime cakes over the years! Here are just a few of our favorites:
- Lime Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
- Coconut Lime Layer Cake
- Margarita Cake From Scratch
- Margarita Cake from Cake Mix
- Key Lime Cake- Doctored Cake Mix
Lime Cake from Scratch
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 ½ cups cake flour (285g)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder (12g)
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened (169g) unsalted butter, softened slightly, still cold to the touch (do not soften in the microwave) you can cut into ½ inch slices onto waxed paper to soften more quickly.
- 4 large eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.)
- 1 cup milk (242g)
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (18g)
- ¼ cup lime juice (We used Nellie & Joe's bottled Key Lime Juice.) (59g)
- zest of 2 limes - best done with a microplane (just the green layer of the peel)
FOR THE LIME SIMPLE SYRUP:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
FOR THE LIME CURD:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (30g)
- 1 cup water (236g)
- 2 egg yolks slightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (28g)
- 1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
- 4 Tablespoons lime juice (55g)
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round pans. I split the layers for four layers to assemble the cake, your could also bake in three 8 x 2 pans. This will give you more lime curd per slice. I used the reverse creaming method for this recipe.
- In the bowl of your mixer combine the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and lime zest.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and lime juice. Blend with a fork.
- Whisk the dry ingredients for 30 seconds to combine. Begin with your mixer on low speed, gradually increasing to medium speed as you add the slices of butter a few pieces at a time. Beat until the dry ingredients are crumbly and moistened by the butter. The look & texture will be similar to coarse sand. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure there is no dry flour.
- Slowly add approximately ½ of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed for 1 ½ minutes, the batter will become thick and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in 2 additions, beating for 20 seconds after each addition.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes (25 to 30 minutes if you bake in 3 pans) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool 10 minutes then turn out. Makes 6 ½ cups of batter, works well for cupcakes.
For the Lime Simple Syrup
- In a saucepan over medium heat bring the water and sugar to a boil. Turn the heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear.
- Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Cool. If you want the mixture to be a thicker consistency, cook longer over low heat.
- Brush a small amount of the syrup onto your cake layers before you begin assembling your cake. Apply sparingly so that the cake does not become soggy. We apply while the cakes are still warm but you could also do this at room temp just before assembling. We prefer to use a pastry brush. With lime juice added to the mixture it will last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
For the Lime Curd
- Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, pour in water. Over medium heat, stir the mixture constantly until it thickens and comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, remove the pan from the heat.
- Spoon about ½ cup of the hot mixture into a small bowl containing the egg yolks and stir quickly until combined.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Return pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, approximately 1 min. The mixture will thicken slightly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lime juice and lime zest. Cool before using.
To Assemble the Cake
- After lightly brushing our layers with lime syrup, we filled with the lime curd, and then crumb coated and frosted the cake with our Cream Cheese Frosting recipe (linked above the recipe).
Can I use freshly squeezed lime juice
Hi Claudia, Yes, the cake can be covered in fondant.
Hi Bukoye, Yes, you can use freshly squeezed lime juice. You will get a more intense flavor if you are able to use key limes.
My cake didn't rise... it was super heavy/dense. The rest turned out great. I made it twice with the same results. Totally disappointed.
Hi Jennifer, I'm sorry that your cake didn't turn out. If you've never made a recipe using the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing, I've added a link to our video tutorial above the recipe that may help.
When adding the butter, you should stop mixing when it takes on the consistency/look of coarse sand. Mixing beyond this can lead to the cake becoming super dense. Also, the egg mixture should be added slowly or it could cause problems.
If you prefer using the conventional method of mixing rather than the reverse creaming method, we are working on having many of our reverse creaming method recipes listed with a conventional method alternative. (Conventional method results in a fluffier cake.) I hope this helps!
Would conventional creaming of ingredients work with this recipe?
Hi Vivi, Yes, you can use the conventional mixing method with this recipe. I suggest writing it out in the conventional format and counting the ingredients to make sure nothing has been overlooked. Hope you like the recipe.
I planned to make this for my mom's birthday, paired with the coconut cream cheese frosting. The cake rose a little while baking, then fell immediately. I ended up with two very dense thin layers. The curd is delicious, but otherwise, we probably have to toss it!
I'm just craving. Moreover delicious and mouth watering cakes and cupcakes are here at Dreamy Creations.
Hi i followed this recepie to bake just the cake and the cake turn out well n tasty. I use fresh lime juice n my husband n kids love the taste.
It took me 45 minute 160 c to bake using fan feature.
Hi Harvin, Wonderful!! So happy you like the recipe!
This was one of the best cakes I've EVER made. My family went berserk. I used fresh lime juice. Followed the directions exactly but my cakes turned out dense and thin like some of the other commenters above but it didn't matter in the end because it was INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. Thanks for this stellar recipe!
Can you use store bought lime curd instead of making your own?