Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
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Rich, bright, and fluffy, my Easy Key Lime Cake with Key Lime
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.
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
Cake mix and gelatin.
Pour the oil into the mixing bowl.
Then add the eggs and mix on high speed to combine.
I got excited and didn’t take pix of adding the orange juice, lime juice, and vanilla extract.
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.
I was planning to give the key lime cake away, so I baked it in a disposable aluminum pan.
When I originally made this lime cake for my site, I made at in a 9×13-inch aluminum pan.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
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).
Easy Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 package white cake mix
- 3 ounces lime flavored gelatin
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice freshly squeezed, or lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 3 and ½ cups powdered sugar (aka confectioners) sifted before measuring
- 2 tablespoons Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice freshly squeezed, or lime juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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
Nutrition
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.
A perfect easy, delicious and fun bright color cake to make in key lime season in Florida 💚🏖
This is such a great dessert! Thanks for sharing.
This color is so awesome, kiddos thought it was great and I loved the subtle flavor!
Highly recommended! This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again!
My husband and I tried this cake , in which a family friend prepared for my father’s repass and I’ve been baking it every since
What size cake mix is used in your recipe? I only see 15.25
Thanks
That’s correct.
My cake did not rise very much. Is this normal?
It should rise the same as any cake. How did it turn out and taste?
I made this and it came out perfect first time. I read some comments and got some tips on how to adjust to a 16.5 oz. cake mix, as I couldn’t find an 18 oz one. This has such a strong lime tartness we love it. I doubled the frosting recipe the second time around so I didn’t have to skimp on it. This is so delicious, my family requests it now.
My daughter and I made this cake for the fist time yesterday for Easter!!!! It was absolutely delicious!!!!! The cream cheese icing was the best too!!!! I was wondering instead of 1/13 oil could I do half oil and half butter???? Or just lest oil and more another liquid???? Mentally I have a thing with all that oil…
I used, oil, D Cake lemon or lime box flour, lime jello, orange juice. Can I substitute the oil??
If not again this cake is awesome!!!!!😄😃😀
You can do half oil and half butter. Or, if you want to reduce the fat overall you can use half oil and half applesauce. The cooking time should be the same using applesauce, but watch it the first time. Fat makes it moist so with less you def don’t want to overcook it. I’m happy you enjoyed it!
How big should the cake box be? Recipe does not specify and I have read comments about 2 different box sizes. I have the 15.25 oz size, I want to know if the amounts in this recipe are for the 15.25 cake box. If they are not what are the adjustments?
Thanks!
It’s for 15.25 ounce cake mix