If you’ve been around these parts, you know my daddy loves a mean key lime pie. So I had to make a cake remix, and my key lime cake recipe straight up delivers. I keep the texture moist and soft with a cream cheese base but then I add in a ton of key lime zest to get that citrus flavor popping. Finally I finish it off with a delish cream cheese glaze that’s thick, creamy and just plain amazing. Get at it boos.
Video Tutorial
How to Make Key Lime Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Step 1: Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray a 12-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray. In your mixer bowl, add butter, oil or shortening, and cream cheese and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add in sugar beat on high speed for an additional seven minutes until very pale yellow and fluffy.
Step 2: Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
Step 3: Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt, zest and juice. Be careful not to over beat.
Step 4: Lastly, add in vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until well combined and turn off mixer. Pour cake batter into prepared bundt pan.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 5: Bake for 1 hour and 15 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake on serving plate for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to the touch.
Step 6: Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and key lime juice until smooth then pour over top of cooled cake and serve. Note: this icing must be refrigerated so keep that in mind.
Key Lime Cake Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 tbsp shortening or oil
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups plus 1 tablespoon of sifted cake flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp key lime zest
- 2 1/2 tbsp key lime juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp key lime juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray a 12-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In your mixer bowl, add butter, oil or shortening, and cream cheese and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add in sugar beat on high speed for an additional seven minutes until very pale yellow and fluffy.
- Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt, zest and juice. Be careful not to over beat.
- Lastly, add in vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until well combined and turn off mixer.
- Pour cake batter into prepared bundt pan, and bake for 1 hour and 15 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake on serving plate for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to the touch.
For the Glaze
- Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and key lime juice until smooth then pour over top of cooled cake and serve. Note: this icing must be refrigerated so keep that in mind.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Help
- Room Temp: Make sure your cream cheese, butter, and eggs are room temp when working on this cake. It makes a difference in the smoothness of the batter and also the icing.
- Don’t Overmix: You gotta use a gentle hand once you add your dry ingredients so the cake doesn’t become dense.
- Keep An Eye on the Bake: I believe in checking a cake earlier than even the guideline I suggest. Ovens all bake differently so just check early to prevent it overbaking and getting dry.
pinterest 
facebook 
twitter 
email
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve been trying to slowly work my way through your amazing pound cake recipes! If I wanted to convert this to loaf pans, what do you recommend changing for bake time and oven temp?
I have not tested this recipe in a loaf pan, so honestly I am not sure what the bake time would be.
The cake was denser than I thought it would be, but it was very tasty. The cake release recipe (equal parts oil, shortening, flour) was needed for it not to stick to the pan.
Hi Katherine, I’m so glad you like the flavor, and thank you for the feedback. This is a pound cake recipe, so it is supposed to be dense compared to a layer cake, which is lighter and airier.
The cake came out of the pan perfectly! Haven’t tried it yet but I’ll report back when I do!
I sprayed my pan heavily with non stick cooking spray and it still stuck. The pieces taste good but I’m disappointed it’s a disaster.
I’m sorry that happened Colleen. It definitely is a problem with the pan and not the recipe itself. Make sure you aren’t using an older pan, and also maybe try my homemade cake release, which I tend to use because it helps my cakes slide out easier as well. You can find that here: https://grandbaby-cakes.com/homemade-cake-release/. However to save your cake now, maybe think about turning it into a trifle. Add pieces to a nice trifle dish with whipped cream and berries to serve.
Colleen…try spraying the pan and then putting it in the freezer. When the batter is ready, pour it into the pan and then straight into the oven. I’ve never had this cake stuck using this method.
Be sure it’s a cooking spray with flour