Key Lime Pound Cake is a riff on my favorite (and award winning) Vanilla Pound Cake. The cake itself is a little lighter than most pound cakes, but with buttery flavor and in this case, a gentle lime flavor. Think key lime pie in cake form.
What is Pound Cake?
Pound cakes, as a rule, are a little heavy. If you want a light, moist crumb, this isn’t your go-to cake. But when you need a comforting buttery dessert, they hit the spot.
They got their name because the original ingredient list was simple. One pound of butter, one pound of sugar and one pound of flour with a few eggs. Hence, pound cake.
But with no leaveners or other flavors, this also meant they were heavy and needed to be accompanied by sauce or fresh fruit. Since, many variations of pound cake have emerged. My key lime cake being one of them.
Gather This
The basic ingredients for a good key lime pound cake are pretty straightforward and simple. You probably already have them on hand, and it not they’re easily found at the local grocery store. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Unsalted Butter – Salt dries things out and brands can vary on salt content. Always bake with unsalted and then add salt as needed. Also, don’t skimp with cheap butter- it is the base for the is cake. Use a good grade A butter.
- Key Limes – Key limes are smaller than the usual limes at the store. Their skins are greenish-yellow and they have seeds. They are slightly more tart and have a floral aroma. Both the zest and the juice is more potent than regular limes.
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Lime juice
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Milk
Key Lime Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup whole or 2% milk
- Key Lime Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk , to consistency
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9×5-inch loaf pans. Set aside.
- In medium bowl, sift or whisk together the 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the 2 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup unsalted butter until light and fluffy. Add the 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice , 2 teaspoons lime zest and 5 large eggs, beating on high speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with 1 cup whole or 2% milk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
- Bake the cakes on the middle rack for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes; remove from pan(s) to wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
- When the cakes are cooled, make the glaze.
- Whisk together the 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon lime zest . Add more milk very sparingly until a drizzle-able consistency.
- Place the cake on cooling rack with aluminum foil or parchment underneath. Spoon the glaze over cakes and let excess drip below. Let glaze set and then transfer to serving tray.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments and ratings!
Video
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
More Pound Cake Recipes
I love a good pound cake! Here are some of my favorite pound cake recipes. And make sure to check out out top pound cake mistakes!
- No Churn Chocolate Chip Nutella Ice Cream from Big Bear’s Wife Sweet Summertime Cakes and Cupcakes:
- Key Lime Pound Cake from Savory Experiments
- Cherry Cheesecake Angel Dessert from Sweet ReciPEAs
- Oh My Cherry Pie Cream Cheese Spread from For the Love of Food
Great recipe! Try turning the lime (or lemon) half over when you squeeze. You’ll get so much more juice out of it!! I know it seems counterintuitive, but that’s how the tool works. 😉
What a lovely and unique buttery pound cake. The lime juice and zest adds a light touch to what is normally a very dense cake. It’s a delicious dessert that I’ll be making many times!
This lime cake was incredible. Love how easy it was to make, and was perfect for a brunch party!
I had to use regular limes but it was wonderful. Very refreshing and light.
If you like key lime pie, and I do, you will love this cake. And I do!
This is such a fun summer recipe. I made it for a picnic and it was a big hit. So delish!
looking forward to trying it but when going to print it cuts off the wording…take the border off
Hi! All of the dimensions on our end look good- maybe check to see if you are printing larger than 100% or scale it down to 90%?
I made this cake yesterday and it turned out great. I used a bundt pan and reduced the temperature to 325 for 1hr.
Very good, the only change I made was lime juice instead of milk in the glaze for a more intense lime flavor.
Thanks for the feedback, Susan!
Is it possible to use less sugar or a sugar substitute? 75 grams of sugar per serving is alot.
You can reduce the sugar by about 25% or use a sugar substitute according to what the swap directions are for that cake. But we haven’t personally tried either. It is a classic pound cake, which by definition has a good amount of sugar.
The other thing you can try to reduce it is not using the glaze, which is literally ALL sugar. Hope that helps and let us know how it goes!