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
Store your cake in a cool, dry place at room temperature. Make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil or in an airtight container. It should stay good and moist for up to 5 days.
This key lime pound cake is also freezer friendly. Wrap very well in aluminum foil and/or freezer paper and store in the back of the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw by unwrapping and sitting at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
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
This was quite good. I will add more lime zest to the cake next time I make it.
I made this about a month ago for a friend’s birthday. I didn’t have two loaf pans, so I used a Bundt pan, and it was perfect! Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Hi! Have you ever made this with a gluten free flour? I’d love to try it but not sure if it’d be a 1:1 ratio.
I have not- but you should be able to do it with GF flour that says “1:1 ratio” on their packaging.
Great recipe although you can barely taste the key lime. I will play around with the amount of key lime juice.
I might also split the recipe in half next time to make just 1 loaf.
Day 1 – I was not a fan but by Day 2 – I was hooked! The flavor was amazing! I added a bit of the lime juice in the glaze and it was terrific! I hope I can try it with key limes someday!
I typically use the superfine sugar for baking.
When you say large grain do you mean regular sugar or a different kind?
Just regular granulated sugar for the cake and powdered sugar for the icing.
Thank you.
LOVE this recipe! I had a request for Keylime something and found this recipe. I’ve tried limes, NO GO. I did Keylime juice, better but it wasn’t giving what I was looking for. Finally got my hands on Keylimes and they totally gave me the flavor I wanted.
I tweaked the recipe by adding a heavy 3 tbls of fresh key lime juice in the batter and drizzled about 1 tsp in with the zest to fold in. I use more in the glaze also, I do that to taste. So good!
I only have an 8×4 loaf pan. Will this recipe work in that one do you think?
Yep! Just keep an eye on it for small differences in the baking time.
Can I make this recipe in mini loaf pans?
Yep- just reduce the baking time.
Tasted much better the next day. 55 minutes was too long in my oven. Overbaked and stuck to bottom of pan. I probably lost 1/2 inch of cake. And very brown on top – had a thin crust layer on top. Overall, I would try it again and bake about 40 min and stsrt checking it. Never had an overbake problem before. (I did 55 min).