Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

This post may contain affiliate links that won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Rich, bright, and fluffy, my Easy Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting has a tangy lime flavor with decadent cream cheese frosting. It’s great for spring and summer special occasions!

Easy Key Lime Cake

This cake is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The cake layers or tender and moist and absolutely a must-make recipe for your next celebration… or no special occasion at all. This is a refreshing cake that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser and guilty pleasure.

If you can find key limes use them if not use regular limes.

Plated slice of three layer key lime cake with key lime cream cheese frosting.

Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Citrus makes me think of Spring. This cake makes a great springtime dessert. St Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day would be the ideal time to enjoy this cake.

One of my favorite things to do is take an extensive recipe and make it easier to prepare. (You know how impatient I am!) I would love to spend hours in the kitchen baking and decorating cakes, prepping and preparing beautiful meals. But, the truth is, I just don’t have that kind of time. My boys have activities and need help with homework and such. I did implement a chore system for them to follow this summer, but they still need supervision. Therefore, for now, it’s simple, easy, and quick dishes!! (Mostly)

Tips and Method

This recipe was inspired by Trisha Yearwood’s Key Lime Cake, but I made it easier! I started with a cake mix with additions that make it taste homemade. The Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting is completely from scratch.

cake mix and gelatin in a mixing bowl.

Cake mix and gelatin.

adding oil to citrus cake batter.

Pour the oil into the mixing bowl.

adding eggs to a stand mixer.

Then add the eggs and mix on high speed to combine.

batter for key lime cake in a stand mixer bowl.

I got excited and didn’t take pix of adding the orange juice, lime juice, and vanilla extract.

green cake batter in a disposable pan.

Pour the batter into the pan, then bake until the cake sets. You’ll know it’s baked when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs.

green cake baked in an aluminum pan.

I was planning to give the key lime cake away, so I baked it in a disposable aluminum pan.

bowl of frosting

When I originally made this lime cake for my site, I made at in a 9×13-inch aluminum pan. I made it again for a celebration and made three 8-inch round layers. For both cakes, I topped them with a Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe given below)!

How to frost a layer cake

Tip #1: Begin by ensuring your cakes are level; if they’ve domed during baking, trim the tops with a serrated knife or a cake leveler. If they’ve caved, no need to level them; simply fill the cavity with frosting.

Place the first cake on a cake board or plate using a cake lifter, then place the plate on a cake turntable. Add approximately 1/2 cup of frosting. Use an angled spatula to spread it evenly.

Tip #2: Evenly measure the frosting for each layer. Spread the frosting evenly over each layer, pushing any excess towards the edges.

Continue stacking the layers, ensuring equal portions of frosting between them. If it’s the final layer, place it with the flat side up and add about 1/2 cup of frosting on top. Smooth it evenly, and then apply a thin crumb coat of frosting to the sides.

Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes to set the crumb coat. Afterward, spread another 1/2 cup of frosting on top and frost the sides with a thick coat. Use a cake knife to smooth the sides, and then apply the same technique to smooth the top.

Tip #3: For easier smoothing, frost the cake with a thick layer of frosting. Following these steps will give you a clean canvas for your cake decorating endeavors.

If you like this Key Lime Cake you’ll like my Key Lime Coconut Marbled Pound Cake (pin it) and my Key Lime Pound Cake (pin it).

Plated slice of key lime cake with cream cheese frosting.

Easy Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Rich, bright, and fluffy, my Easy Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting has a tangy lime flavor with decadent cream cheese frosting.
Author: Paula
4.86 from 108 votes
Print Rate
Save To Your Recipe Box
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 27 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients

For the cake

For the Frosting

Instructions

For the cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 – 8 inch round cakes pans or 1 – 9×13 cake pan.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix and gelatin. Add 1 cup oil and ¾ cup orange juice and beat on low. 
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add lime juice and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes on med hi, scraping sides. 
  • Pour into cake pans. Bake 8 inch layers 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Bake 9×13 inch cake 27- 30 minutes. Cool completely before icing with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting.
  • *For the stacked layered cake, I used three 8 inch pans and cooked them for 27 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the Frosting

  • Beat 1/2 cup butter and 8 ounces cream cheese until smooth, add confectioners sugar with a mixer on low. Add lime juice and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Frost cake. 

Notes

Recipe from Paula @CallMePMc.com All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission that includes copying the ingredient list or entire recipe and posting in the comments on Pinterest for Facebook. If you want to share this recipe, please simply link back to this post for the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 366mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 467IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.

Want to save your favorite recipes?Create an account or login & ‘Save Recipe’ to your Recipe Box. You can access your saved recipes on any device & generate a shopping list for recipes in your collections. For more info visit Recipe Box FAQ!
Tried this recipe?Please take a moment to comment letting me know how you liked it & consider giving it a 5 star rating. I love hearing from you!

162 Comments

  1. I think I would substitute out the orange juice as would rather have a pure lime flavor. Wondering if I could just use water with possible addition of True Lime packets (crystalized real lime juice)? That is what I always use to replace lemon, lime, and orange juice. Only buy them when I need rind.

    1. I’m not familiar with those lime packets, but if you’ve used them in the past they’ll probably work. I can’t get a handle on the all lime, but I’m sure it would work.

  2. I made the Easy Key Lime cake and it was scrumptious!!
    It was my first PMc recipe to make and it surely won’t be the last..
    Can hardly wait to try others!! Hotty toddy!

    1. Yayy!! oh, that’s one of my favorite, that one and the Easy Strawberry Cake. I’m so glad you liked it. Hotty Toddy… just 45(or so) more days! 🙂

  3. I just came by to pin this recipe, and ended up browsing and pinning tons more! You have an awesome site. I hope you’ll visit “One Creative Weekend” on OneCreativeMommy.com (open Fri-Wed)and link up some of your great recipes!

    New GFC follower.

  4. mmmmmm- I love key lime and pretty much anything with cream cheese frosting. Thanks for sharing on Whatcha Whipped Up

  5. Yum!!! I love how bright the green is! Looks delicious!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!

4.86 from 108 votes (89 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your email address will not be published. Have you tried this recipe? Consider giving it 5 stars!