I love all sorts of cakes year round, but when summer arrives, I’m in the mood for something a little fruity! Bring me strawberry cake, lemon cake, coconut cake, Piña Colada, and I have a new one now–mmmm…..Lime Cake from Scratch!!
Today I’m going to share the most DELICIOUS homemade Lime Cake recipe. It is moist, flavorful, and has a freshness that feels like summertime!
Mom (aka our BeBe) is the mastermind behind many of our wonderful scratch recipes. Lucky for me, we work together every day and I get to taste test.
In the past week, we have tried at least six versions of lime cake, along with various combinations of frostings and fillings.
Lime Extract vs. Lime Simple Syrup
One thing that we discovered in our experimenting is that it is difficult to achieve a strong lime flavored cake from lime juice and zest alone.
We found the same for our favorite lemon cake recipe but we had lemon extract to bump up the flavor.
However, lime extracts are much more difficult to find, especially locally. We wondered if adding a bit of lime jello would be the answer– but it wasn’t…. the flavor was too artificial.
In the end, brushing our lime cake layers with lime syrup and lime curd was the key to giving us a delicious lime cake!
**This recipe would taste great with buttercream also, but we decided to use cream cheese frosting which was divine ;0) You can find the recipe here!: Cream Cheese Frosting
Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing
** This recipe calls for the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing. This refers to the order that the ingredients are mixed, and the result is a cake with a tighter crumb and velvety texture.
If you have never made a cake with the Reverse Creaming Method, you may want to watch our free video tutorial: Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing-Video Tutorial.
We frosted our cake with a delicious Cream Cheese Frosting. Find the recipe here!: Cream Cheese Frosting
Don’t forget to save this AMAZING Lime Layer Cake Here!
Enjoy these other cakes with lime
Key Lime Cake- Doctored Cake Mix
Lime Cake from Scratch
Delicious Lime Layer Cake from Scratch with Lime Curd Filling
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 ½ cups (285g) cake flour
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons (12g) baking powder
- 1 ½ sticks (12T) (169g) unsalted butter, softened slightly, still cold to the touch (do not soften in the microwave) you can cut into ½ inch slices onto waxed paper to soften more quickly.
- If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate for a few minutes.
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (242g) milk
- 2 Tablespoons (18g) vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (59g) lime juice (We used Nellie & Joe's bottled Key Lime Juice.)
- zest of 2 limes - best done with a microplane, just the green of the lime
FOR THE LIME SIMPLE SYRUP:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
FOR THE LIME CURD:
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch
- 1 cup (236g) water
- 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
- 4 Tablespoons (55g) lime juice
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round pans. I split the layers for four layers to assemble the cake, your could also bake in three 8 x 2 pans. This will give you more lime curd per slice. I used the reverse creaming method for this recipe.
- In the bowl of your mixer combine the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and lime zest.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and lime juice. Blend with a fork.
- Whisk the dry ingredients for 30 seconds to combine. Begin with your mixer on low speed, gradually increasing to medium speed as you add the slices of butter a few pieces at a time. Beat until the dry ingredients are crumbly and moistened by the butter. The look & texture will be similar to coarse sand. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure there is no dry flour.
- Slowly add approximately ½ of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed for 1 ½ minutes, the batter will become thick and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in 2 additions, beating for 20 seconds after each addition.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes (25 to 30 minutes if you bake in 3 pans) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool 10 minutes then turn out. Makes 6 ½ cups of batter, works well for cupcakes.
FOR THE LIME SIMPLE SYRUP:
- In a saucepan over medium heat bring the water and sugar to a boil. Turn the heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear.
- Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Cool. If you want the mixture to be a thicker consistency, cook longer over low heat.
- Brush a small amount of the syrup onto your cake layers before you begin assembling your cake. Apply sparingly so that the cake does not become soggy. We apply while the cakes are still warm but you could also do this at room temp just before assembling. We prefer to use a pastry brush. With lime juice added to the mixture it will last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
FOR THE LIME CURD:
- Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, pour in water. Over medium heat, stir the mixture constantly until it thickens and comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, remove the pan from the heat.
- Spoon about ½ cup of the hot mixture into a small bowl containing the egg yolks and stir quickly until combined.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Return pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, approximately 1 min. The mixture will thicken slightly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lime juice and lime zest. Cool before using.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
After lightly brushing our layers with lime syrup, we filled with the lime curd, and then crumb coated and frosted the cake with our Cream Cheese Frosting recipe (linked above the recipe).
The Best Online Cake Tutorials and Recipes!
Looks and sounds delicious!
Thanks Ellen!!?
Sounds delicious! Printing it out to try in my own way :)
Yummy!
I made this cake tonight into cupcakes. I brushed them with the simple syrup and filled them with the lime curd. The balance of lime was perfect and the cake was very moist. I used the fluffy vanilla cream frosting from this site. My family loved them, perfect for summer.
@Heather- I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks for your feedback! xoxo
Sounds great, wondering if I could substitute buttermilk for the milk?
I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday last weekend. I was concerned about the lime flavor coming through, so I took about a cup of lime juice and cooked it over a very low heat until it was the required 1/4 cup. The lime flavor was amazing! I didn’t even do the syrup glaze. I paired it with a coconut cream cheese filling. Thanks for the great recipe!
HI Trisha, Great tip on heating and reducing the lime juice, I’m going to try that the next time I make this cake. It sounds divine paired with coconut cream cheese filling!
Can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Hi Cynthia, If you do not have cake flour, this is a substitute you can use. For each cup of flour, measure out (lightly spoon and level) one cup of all purpose flour. Remove 2 Tablespoons from the cup and replace it with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk to blend. For this recipe you would measure out 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, remove 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoons of the all purpose flour and replace it with 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoons cornstarch and whisk to blend.
Hi Melissa! Can I cover this cake with fondant? Thanks
Can I use freshly squeezed lime juice
Hi Claudia, Yes, the cake can be covered in fondant.
Hi Bukoye, Yes, you can use freshly squeezed lime juice. You will get a more intense flavor if you are able to use key limes.
My cake didn’t rise… it was super heavy/dense. The rest turned out great. I made it twice with the same results. Totally disappointed.
Hi Jennifer, I’m sorry that your cake didn’t turn out. If you’ve never made a recipe using the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing, I’ve added a link to our video tutorial above the recipe that may help.
When adding the butter, you should stop mixing when it takes on the consistency/look of coarse sand. Mixing beyond this can lead to the cake becoming super dense. Also, the egg mixture should be added slowly or it could cause problems.
If you prefer using the conventional method of mixing rather than the reverse creaming method, we are working on having many of our reverse creaming method recipes listed with a conventional method alternative. (Conventional method results in a fluffier cake.) I hope this helps!
Would conventional creaming of ingredients work with this recipe?
Hi Vivi, Yes, you can use the conventional mixing method with this recipe. I suggest writing it out in the conventional format and counting the ingredients to make sure nothing has been overlooked. Hope you like the recipe.
I planned to make this for my mom’s birthday, paired with the coconut cream cheese frosting. The cake rose a little while baking, then fell immediately. I ended up with two very dense thin layers. The curd is delicious, but otherwise, we probably have to toss it!
I’m just craving. Moreover delicious and mouth watering cakes and cupcakes are here at Dreamy Creations.
Hi i followed this recepie to bake just the cake and the cake turn out well n tasty. I use fresh lime juice n my husband n kids love the taste.
It took me 45 minute 160 c to bake using fan feature.
Hi Harvin, Wonderful!! So happy you like the recipe!
This was one of the best cakes I’ve EVER made. My family went berserk. I used fresh lime juice. Followed the directions exactly but my cakes turned out dense and thin like some of the other commenters above but it didn’t matter in the end because it was INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. Thanks for this stellar recipe!
Can you use store bought lime curd instead of making your own?
Hi Heather, yes, it will be fine to buy the lime curd.
Wow, this is absolutely Wonderful!! I can’t stop eating. it! So moist! Refrigerate it a couple hours before serving to let the frosting harden and the flavors to settle in the cake.AAA+++
YAY!! I am so happy you like it. Thanks for posting!
Hey, I’m having trouble with the measurement for the butter is it 1 1\2 cups or sticks also the grams are not adding up to the cup measurement… Please help….
Hi Kathy, yes the recipe above calls for 1 1/2 sticks of butter which is the equivalent of 12 Tablespoons. I’m not sure why the gram weight isn’t working out for you, unless maybe your scale isn’t zeroed out…should be right around 170g.
I tired this recipe twice.the first time it came out dense and barely rose.I tried it again and when it came out the oven it immediately sank dense.both times very pale in colour.
Hi Kelly, It sounds as though you had a problem using the reverse creaming method. If you ever decide to try the recipe again you might want to use the conventional mixing method, which is: In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and lime zest. Whisk and set aside. In another bowl, combine the milk, vegetable oil, and lime juice. Set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter until softened, gradually add the sugar and mix 3 to 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until the yellow of the yolk is blended in. Alternately add the flour and milk mixture. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture (3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of milk mixture. Mix until just blended, do to over mix or mix above medium speed. Pour in pans. Hope all goes well.
my layers were very dense and small. I tried the reverse creaming even timed the beating time. Flavor was good. Not sure if it is supposed to be so dense. used 3 8″ pans cake was small?
Can u use green food coloring in the batter? If so how much ?
Hi Judy, You can tint the cake layers green. Add a small amount at a time until you get the tint of green you are happy with. If you wait until the end of mixing before adding color, be careful not to over mix the cake batter.
How many egg yolks do you use for the curd? I’ve read the recipe and ingredients several times and can’t find that anywhere.
Hi Hannah, if you look under “Ingredients”, you’ll see “Lime Curd” where we have 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Bebe, hi
Thank you for the recipe, it is delicious!
I made this for Mother’s Day, but with reverse creaming method it came out very dense, I thought that maybe I put to much syrup. But reading the comments I saw that I am not the only one, I just finish baking it again with your recommendation of traditional creaming method and came out great!! I have some left over curd and a coconut buttercream (from another baking project) so I will be trying it again.
My question would be, what could I have done wrong with the reverse method? To be honest I rarely use this method, so I am not very knowledgeable of it kinks.
I loved this cake! My family wasn’t too excited about the curd but I did only 2 layers so there was a lot of curd between them. But the quality of the cake itself was what I would imagine mousse would be like if it were baked: tender and soft, not dense. The buttercream frosting was a huge amount and seemed too loose. I had no problem with the reverse creaming method. I will make this cake again!
Hi Sue, Thank you so much for posting your thoughts on the recipe. Did you use full fat cream cheese for the frosting? It will be too soft if you use reduced fat. It can also become too soft if it is mixed for too long. Refrigerating it for a short while will firm it to a good spreading consistency .
Do you use key limes or regular limes for the juice and zest in this recipe?
Hi Darla, We used Nellie and Joe’s bottled Key Lime Juice and for the lime zest we did not use key limes, just regular limes. It would be fine to use key lime zest, we did not have any available to us at the time we were making the cake. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Hi. I would like to use buttermilk instead of milk. Would I need to make any other changes to the recipe (ie baking powder and baking soda). Thank you!
Hi Sam, Using buttermilk…..change the leavening to 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
I normally do not post, but this cake was excellent. I made a celebratory meal for my 8th grader because he was not able to participate in any of the 8th-grade transition activities. I am not a baker, so I had a little trouble. I added a small amount of lime gelatin to the mixture to give it a green flavor. I sprinkled the top with coconuts. For people new to baking when trying to complete the layers put it in the freezer, it will help with frosting the cake. (All of you experts don’t laugh!:)
Hi Leslie, Thanks so much for your nice comment on the recipe, so happy you enjoyed it! It looks great in the picture! Your comment on chilling the cake layers before frosting is helpful advice to new bakers. Thank you for taking the time to post.
I fallowed the directions very carefully and not only did I get 5 cups of batter instead of 6 1/2 but the cakes came out like pancakes and pale.
Hi Claudia, I am sorry your cake was a failure, that is always disappointing. If you only had 5 cups batter, then definitely something was under measured. We all have these mistakes happen every now and then, don’t be discouraged.
Can you please tell me what tip you used for the buttercream decoration?
What would be the timing if I did 2 9inch pans, as I don’t have 8 inch. Thank you
Hi Blair, This recipe makes 6 1/2 cups batter. The suggested amount for a 9 inch round cake pan is 5 1/2 cups. It is fine to use 2 nine inch pans but since there will be less batter in the pans I would keep the same time and temperature for baking, just keep an eye on it. We also used less than the suggested amount for our three 8 inch pans, because we wanted a 3 layer cake. Are you familiar with the Reverse Creaming mixing method? If not, you might want to watch Melissa’s video on the method, link below. Hope you will enjoy the cake
https://www.mycakeschool.com/blog/reverse-creaming-method-of-mixing-a-cake-video-tutorial/
Applause, applause, applause! The people who are having problems need to watch your tutorials. You’re more thorough than what I was taught in Culinary Arts school!!! I’m always checking the internet for new recipes; your site is the only one I’ve subscribed to. My son is going to elated when he tries your lime cake! It turned out perfect! Thank you for making yourself available!
Hi Kimberly! Thank you so much for your comment, that is music to our ears! ;0) I’m so glad that you made this cake and are enjoying our recipes! xo
Amazing recipe! I messed up a couple steps and it still came out great. I didn’t even ice it, but I did add basil to the simple syrup and as garnish because I ran out of lime juice ?
So happy you enjoyed the cake! Thank you so much for you nice comments!
Did this for our new year’s eve dinner. It was a hit! I didn’t have lime extract, just lime juice, so the lime flavor was just subtle, but sure was still delicious! I also covered it with a cream cheese frosting, still your recipe. Thank you!
Such a pretty cake, Loriane! It makes our day to know that everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for posting!!
Did you use all the lime syrup on this cake? If not, approximately how much did you use?
Hi Dana, I do think we had some leftover but I did not make a notation of how much. Also, the longer you simmer the lime syrup the less you will have.
Baking this right now and it sure looked the way it was described in terms of the batter. I could not smell the lime in the batter, which I used the same key lime juice that BeBe used and I too, like another baker said, reduced the key lime juice. I could sure taste it in the batter though. High hopes! Will report back! Thanks to MyCakeSchool for this recipe!
Nope.
Made using the traditional creaming method, worked perfectly! Next time I would skip the lime syrup as my curd seemed limey enough. I plan on trying as cupcakes next. Such a delicious recipe and the cake keeps well for a number of days (If you can keep people away from it!!)
Nina, Thank you for your nice comments on the recipe! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe.
I’m making this cake for the fourth time tonight. I made it once about 3 and 1/2 years ago, and my son decided he wanted it as his birthday cake that year. He’s asked for it every year since then for his birthday, too! It’s his favorite cake. One thing that always puzzles me is how the instructions say to lightly brush the layers with the lime simple syrup, which I do. But then I have almost the whole amount left. Why do we make so much simple syrup? Am I using too little? I’m using a pastry brush to put it on, and I’m always concerned about the layers getting too soggy, but they look to be plenty wet with the syrup that I do use. I also wonder about the technique you used to decorate your cake in the photo. I have attempted that a couple of times myself, and it’s not as pretty as yours, but then I don’t display it with your cake photo next to it, so everyone still oohs and ahhs over how pretty it looks–lol. I would like to improve in my technique, however! Thank you for the great recipe!