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When I originally made this lime cake for my site, I made at in a 9×13-inch aluminum pan.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
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice freshly squeezed, or lime juice
- ½ 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.
I look so forward to making this cake! Does the key lime juice cause the frosting to separate any? I am just wondering how the acid affects it. Thanks.
I didn’t have any trouble with it separating
Thank you so much!
I can’t have orange juice. Is it possible to replace the orange juice with lemon juice or lemonade?
Yes, you can.
We call this our Grinch cake and serve it on a red pedestal cake stand at Christmas. Everyone loves it
I made I’m a Bundt pan and bakes for 35-40 minutes. Only used about half the icing in a pastry tube (ziploc bag works, too!) to frost. Dwlicious!
I’m working up a hybrid of this that is lighter on the dairy and adapted to my cake truffles recipe. I’m so excited to see one for key lime!! I will save this and re-post when I get to make them for my son who loves key lime pie. Thank you for creative baking tips!!
I made this again yesterday during hurricane Ian! This is so easy to make. I used a can of cream cheese frosting because I didn’t want to go out. I put some vanilla and key lime juice in it. It was runny but okay. I won’t do that again! It is so good. Next time I’m using yellow cake, just because I love yellow cake. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I’m so happy you like it. If you want to bump up the flavor of canned frosting like that again, you can add a little powdered sugar to thicken it.
How long can you refrigerate.
In an airtight container, 7 days.
Hello, may you please advise about frosting?. Cake come out perfect, frosting or not thick enough, I use a whole stick of blue bonnet margarine, 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and one box of confectioner sugar, 8 oz of cream cheese. I refrigerate and it still not thick enough.
You can add more powdered sugar to thicken it.
Or, use 1stick of butter. Margarine contains oil that will make the texture of you frosting too thin. Adding extra powdered sugar will thicken it but make it way too sweet and off putting.
It’s soooo good. I have to make double batches
I loved this recipe and so did every one else! If I use a gluten free cake mix will this recipe work?
Hi Joan, yes, it should work with gluten-free cake mix.