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Citrusy Key Lime Cake is moist and tender and full of key lime flavor! It’s a light and fluffy cake with a sweet and tart key lime cream cheese frosting – the perfect cake recipe for citrus lovers!

Three-layer lime cake with white frosting and lime slices on top, displayed on a white cake stand. A large slice is cut out, revealing the cakes moist texture.

Recently I remade my Key Lime Pie and then I had a bottle of key lime juice and a bag of key limes left over. Not wanting them to go to waste I decided to make this moist Key Lime Cake recipe that’s full of simple ingredients, tons of key lime flavor, and a key lime frosting. It’s easy and delicious and perfect for key lime lovers (like me!)

Top-down view of baking ingredients on a white surface, including flour, powdered sugar, eggs, oil, butter, milk, lime juice, sugar, lime zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, each in separate bowls or containers.

How to make Key Lime Cake

  1. Skip the recipes that use a yellow cake mix – it’s easy to make this cake from scratch!
  2. While I recommend real key limes for zest and decoration, I always buy bottled Key Lime juice when baking. Key limes are so tiny that it would take bags and bags to get enough juice for this easy recipe, so do yourself a favor and grab the bottle of juice.
  3. You can substitute regular limes (aka Persian Limes) for the zest, but use key lime juice for best results and flavor. Key Lime Zest is where most of the flavor comes from – zest has all the citrus flavor, so don’t omit.
  4. While many of my cake recipes use melted unsalted butter, this one uses oil. Vegetable oil makes a super moist cake!
  5. Whenever I make recipes with lemon or lime I always whisk my zest with the granulated sugar before mixing – this infuses the sugar with citrus flavor.
  6. Whenever I make cake I like to whisk my dry ingredients first, then mix my wet ingredients and add them together at the end.
  7. You can bake this cake in three 8-inch round cake pans, two 9-inch round cake pans, a 9×13-inch cake pan, or as 24 cupcakes.
  8. Be sure to grease and flour your pans for easy removal, and for level cake layers (without having to cut) I love using bake even strips. They’re my new layer cake obsession!
A glass bowl containing smooth, creamy cake batter with a pale yellow color. The texture is thick and swirled, suggesting it has been freshly mixed. The bowl sits on a white surface.

How to make Key Lime Frosting

  • While you can make the cake with a simple whisk or spatula, I like using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment to make the frosting to make life easier.
  • The fresh key lime cake wouldn’t be complete without frosting – and to temper the sweetness and get the perfect balance of flavors, we’re altering my cream cheese frosting recipe to be full of tons of key lime flavor.
  • I added zest into the frosting as well to give it an extra punch of flavor.
  • Remember that fresh lime juice and key lime juice taste different – so be sure to use the latter or you’ll just end up with a lime cake and lime frosting.
A slice of yellow citrus cake with white frosting on a white plate, garnished with a lime slice. Whole and halved limes are in the background on a light surface.

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Storing and Make Ahead

  • Once assembled, store the cake in the fridge loosely covered for a few days. It tastes best room temperature.
  • You can make the cake layers and frosting up to 24 hours ahead; wrap cake layers well with plastic wrap and store frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator (or freezer for a month or so).
  • Have leftover cake? Freeze slices for cake craving emergencies.

Expert Tips

  • If you want even more tart lime flavor, make key lime curd to fill the cake with.
  • Use whole milk for best results when baking cake; the more fat in the milk the more tender the end result is.
  • You know cakes are done baking when a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.
  • Because of the oil in the cake, it will brown a lot in the oven. Don’t worry; this is normal and won’t affect the flavor.
  • When frosting a cake, I always like to give it a thin layer first (a crumb coat) then do the finished frosting so you don’t get cake crumbs all mixed up in your gorgeous finished cake.
Three-layer cake with white frosting and lime slices on top, displayed on a white cake stand. A slice is cut out, revealing the moist, golden layers inside. Light background enhances the cakes vibrant colors.

Key Lime Cake Recipe

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Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Frosting – this easy cake recipe is tart and sweet with tons of lime flavor. Make it as a layer cake or a sheet cake!

Recipe Video

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield 16 servings
Serving Size 1 serving
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Ingredients
 

Cake:

  • 2 ¾ cups (341g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Zest from 2-3 key limes (or 1 lime)
  • 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (237ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 ⅓ cups (316ml) milk
  • 1 ½ tablespoon (23ml) key lime juice
  • 3 large eggs

Frosting:

  • 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) key lime juice
  • Zest from 2 key limes (or 1 lime)
  • 5 cups (565g) powdered sugar

Instructions

Make the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour pan(s). Cake makes three 8-inch rounds, two 9-inch rounds or a 9×13-inch cake.
  • Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  • Whisk sugar and key lime zest in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). Add the vegetable oil and mix with a hand mixer (or use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer). Mixture will be grainy.
  • Add eggs and lime juice; mix until combined.
  • Add the flour and milk together in two separate additions; mix until smooth. Be careful not to over mix – mix just until the batter comes together, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  • Divide and pour batter into pan(s) evenly. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. The top of the cake will get very brown. I recommend either baking in the center rack or rotating/moving pans between the top and bottom rack during baking.
  • Bake time is approximately 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting and assemble the cake:

  • Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 2 cups powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, lime juice, and zest. Mix until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.
  • Frost top of a 9×13-inch cake or place cake rounds on a cake plate. Frost in between layers with a thin layer of frosting, then frost the top and sides. Decorate with key lime slices if desired.
  • Store cake in the refrigerator, loosely covered. You can make the cake and frosting up to 24 hours ahead and store in the fridge or freeze for up to a month before assembling.
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Recipe Notes

  • I usually use bottled key lime juice and key limes for zest. You can juice the key limes if you want but you’ll need several. You can also make this cake with regular (Persian) limes.
  • For even layers, use bake even strips around your pans. Then you won’t need to level the cake layers.
  • I find it easiest to frost outside and top cake first with a very thin layer of frosting (this is called a crumb coat to catch all the crumbs). Chill about 30 minutes and then add the top layer and you won’t get many (if any) crumbs in the frosting.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 569kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 451IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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Step-by-Step Photos

A bowl filled with white sugar mixed with small green flecks of lime zest, sitting on a light gray surface.
Infuse the sugar with the zest by whisking before making batter.
A clear glass bowl filled with white flour is placed on a smooth white marble surface. The flour is evenly distributed, creating a slightly textured appearance. The setting has a clean and minimalistic look.
Whisk the dry ingredients first. Then add to the wet ingredients.
Three round cake pans filled with smooth, pale yellow batter arranged on a white surface, ready for baking.
Place cake batter in cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

Favorite Citrus Recipes

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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3 Comments

  1. Dorothy, if I chose to make in a 9×13 pan, would I need the full recipe of the frosting?
    FYI, I would also frost the side of the cake. I would have no use for extra frosting, that is why I am asking. I do like a healthy frosting on cakes. Thanks

    Reply