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Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting! The BEST Lime Cake Recipe! www.modernhoney.com #limecake #keylimecake #citruscake

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting!

I work long and hard to perfect my cake recipes. I take baking cakes pretty seriously and want to pass on these tried and true recipes to my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren…so they better be perfect!

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting! The BEST Lime Cake Recipe! www.modernhoney.com #limecake #keylimecake #citruscake

I have been baking since the time I could climb up on a stool and help my Mom in the kitchen. Baking cakes and cookies for my friends and family have always been my favorite thing to bake! I shared how my kids get to choose the flavor of their birthday cake every year and they get pretty creative! Since my daughter, Sadie, is obsessed with anything lime flavored, I knew this had to be her special birthday cake.

This is literally one of my husband’s favorite cakes I have ever made. It is seriously the best lime cake!

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting! The BEST Lime Cake Recipe! www.modernhoney.com #limecake #keylimecake #citruscake

We just returned home from a Caribbean cruise with the family and had the best time! It was so nice to be away from cellphones and laptops and reconnects as a family.  My kids felt like Kings and Queens with access to unlimited food and drinks! Our favorite virgin non-alcoholic drink was definitely the mojito — made with fresh lime juice and mint. This drink was definitely the inspiration for this fresh key lime cake!

This Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting can be made as a layered cake with two 9-inch cake pans or three 8-inch cake pans or in a 9 x 13 pan.

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting! The BEST Lime Cake Recipe! www.modernhoney.com #limecake #keylimecake #citruscake

How to make the Best Key Lime Cake (the best tips and tricks):

  1. Whip oil, eggs, whole milk, lime juice, and lemon zest for about 2-3 minutes.  I would highly suggest using FRESH lime juice for this cake. It makes such a difference in the flavor. Also, zest the limes first before juicing since it is much easier to zest while the limes are hard and round.
  2. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into greased cake pans. It is so important to grease the cake pans well so the cakes easily come out of the pans. You can choose to use two 9-inch cake pans or three 8-inch cake pans, depending on preference. If you use three 8-inch pans, the layers will be thinner and will need less baking time. This can also be made in a 9 x 13 pan.
  3. After cakes have baked, set aside to cool. Make frosting by whipping softened cream cheese and butter for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. This makes the frosting extra light.  Add powdered sugar and whip for 1 minute.  If you want a stiffer frosting, add more powdered sugar.  Fold in lime juice and lime zest.
  4. Remove cakes from pan. Spread frosting on top of one cooled cake layer. Place the other cooled cake layer on top and spread frosting all over. I use this angled spatula to spread frosting all over the cake layers. Garnish with freshly sliced limes.

If you love cakes, here are some of the most popular cake recipes:

Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Orange Cake
Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting! The BEST Lime Cake Recipe! www.modernhoney.com #limecake #keylimecake #citruscake

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4.95 from 168 votes

Key Lime Cake

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Moist key lime cake with sweet cream cheese frosting. A light and fluffy citrus lime cake with the perfect lime buttercream frosting! The BEST Lime Cake Recipe! 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients  

Key Lime Cake:

  • 1 cup Canola or Olive Oil
  • 3 large Eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup Whole Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Zest
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt

Lime Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup Butter (softened)
  • 8 ounce Cream Cheese (softened)
  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Lime Zest
  • Fresh Limes (sliced for garnish)

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add oil, eggs, whole milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Cream for 2 minutes.
  •  In a large bowl, add sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into egg mixture and fold. 
  • Spray two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place batter into baking pans. If using three 8-inch pans, bake for 20-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. If using two 9-inch pans, bake for 30-36 minutes. Cool.

To make Lime Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often. Add powdered sugar, lime juice, lime zest, and cream together. Chill.
  • Remove cakes from pan. Spread frosting on top of one cooled cake layer. Place the other cooled cake layer on top and spread frosting all over. Garnish with fresh lime slices. 

Video

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Keyword: key lime cake
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Hi, I'm Melissa Stadler!

I am an Award-Winning Recipe Creator. Cover of Food Network Magazine. Two-Time Pillsbury Bake-Off Finalist. I am passionate about sharing the best recipes so you have success in the kitchen!

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Recipe Rating




168 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Seriously this cake was Divine! I’m pretty famous for my baking amongst my friends and neighbors, and this was a huge hit. It’s soooo moist and flavorful. I actually added more lime juice and took out a little milk. It’s a pretty liquidy batter so I was a lil concerned but it baked up beautifully. The frosting also was amazingly yummy ????. I think I added more juice to it as well and the sour kick was perfectly refreshing. Than you so my h for sharing this recipe, I just subscribed (: ????????

  2. 4 stars
    Good but a little too sweet. Super moist and easy to make cake, the cream cheese frosting was almost overkill with sweetness. Lightly sweetened whipped cream might be better.
    I might try baking in a tube pan and just using a cream cheese lime glaze.
    My daughter suggested decorating the cake with graham cracker crumbles on top of the frosting.

  3. 5 stars
    Followed recipe to a T. I used Key Limes to be authentic and put smidgen of green food coloring in frosting to let it stand out from the 3 other cakes I made for a bridal shower. Was amazing, moist and tons of flavor. I am thinking this might be my new favorite cake over carrot cake.

  4. 5 stars
    I substituted 1/4 cup of the milk for 7 tbsp of key lime juice, added extra zest and 1 tbsp vanilla. Added a little extra lime juice to the frosting and it came out DELICIOUS.

  5. 5 stars
    I made this for my family and they loved it even though I put in 2 1/2 cups milk instead of the 1 1/3 — way too much — ha! Different cake texture but very moist and yummy!

  6. 5 stars
    The Keylime cake recipe is fabulous! I made it for an anniversary dinner and the family all want it for their individual birthdays! Thank you for sharing it!

  7. 5 stars
    I cannot begin to tell you how big of a hit this recipe was in my household!! I made this for my brother’s birthday and my family was literally fighting over the last slice. I will definitely make this again. Thanks so much!! 🙂

  8. can i use regular limes instead of key limes? would you use more zest and juice if you use regular limes?

  9. 5 stars
    This is one of the best recipes I’ve made with such ease in a long time. Turned out perfect. Will use again.