The perfect summer dessert! This recipe features light and spongy layers of lime cake, sandwiching a creamy lime pastry cream, and all frosted with the best cream cheese frosting. It's bright, fresh, and so unbelievably soft!
the cake components
This cake is made up of 3 delicious alternating layers of fluffy lime cake, lime pastry cream, and classic cream cheese frosting.
- Lime pastry cream: We're starting out this recipe with a lime flavored pastry cream. My absolute favorite birthday cake growing up was vanilla with pastry cream filling and this is essentially a lime version of it! The pastry cream comes out an adorable yellow color, but you can add some green food coloring if you'd like to give it a greenish tint like mine.
- Lime cake: We need egg yolks for the pastry cream, so I wanted to create a cake that would use up the remaining egg whites. I love a good white cake because of how light and tender it is and it felt like the perfect base for the delicate lime flavor to shine! You're also able to see the little specks of green thanks to the whiter finish to the cake.
- Cream cheese frosting: We're keeping things classic with a traditional cream cheese frosting. The cheesy flavor pairs beautifully with the lime in the cake and pastry cream!
limes vs. key limes
It's important to note that this recipe calls for limes - which are quite different from key limes. While most of the differences between the 2 aren't very noteworthy or relevant to this recipe, the most notable difference is the fact that key limes are less acidic than regular limes - so swapping one for the other can negatively impact the rise and texture of the cake.
working with pastry cream
Pastry cream may sound rich and fancy, but it's actually very easy to whip up! Here are a few of the most important tips to keep in mind when working with pastry cream:
- Heating the milk: Only heat the milk until it's steaming and the edges are slightly bubbly. Leaving the milk on the heat until it boils runs the risk of scorching the bottom, and if the milk is too hot, it can scramble the eggs when it's added in.
- Tempering the egg yolks: On the topic of scrambling the eggs, tempering eggs is simply the process of slowly incorporating a hot liquid into the eggs to gradually bring them up to a warmer temperature. Slow and steady is best here because adding in the hot milk too quickly can cook and curdle the egg yolks, which will result in a chunky pastry cream!
- Cooking the pastry cream: While you cook the pastry cream, it's important to do so on medium to low heat and to whisk constantly as it cooks. The bottom will begin to thicken and set before the top, so whisking ensures even heating. Setting the heat too high can cause the bottom to clump up / burn and (again) results in a lumpy pastry cream.
- Cooling: When cooling any sort of pudding or pastry cream (or similar dessert), you'll notice most (if not all) recipes will call for pressing plastic wrap against the surface of the pudding. This helps protect the surface from air, which could otherwise cause the mixture to develop a skin.
- Using: Right before using the pastry cream, it's a good idea to give it a light mix with a wooden spoon or spatula. It'll firm up as it sits in the fridge, so mixing helps soften it to an easier to work with consistency.
how to make lime cake
1. Make the pastry cream: Start by whisking together egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth and liquid. The mixture will start off looking dry and will be a bit difficult to mix, but as you continue to whisk, it should loosen up and become liquid.
2. Heat milk and lime zest until steamy. Once warm, slowly mix the milk into the egg mixture to temper.
3. Pour the whole mixture back into your pot and cook until thickened. Strain it into a clean bowl and whisk in butter and food coloring (if using). Cover with plastic wrap and chill until cool.
4. Make the lime cake: Combine sugar and zest in a bowl. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar - this helps draw out the natural oils in the zest and makes the cake extra flavorful!
5. Whisk in the dry ingredients then cut the butter into the mixture. We're using the reverse creaming method which just makes the whole process a lot easier and more fail-proof! Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it's very fine and crumbly.
6. Whisk together remaining wet ingredients. In 2 additions, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and butter. Whisk until streak free and combined, then give it a few additional whisks to build up its structure. Cake batter made with the reverse creaming method is a lot harder to overmix, so you don't need to worry about it quite as much in a recipe like this.
7. Pour batter into cake pans and bake. Cool the cakes for a few minutes in the pans then flip onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely.
8. Make the cream cheese frosting: Whip together cream cheese and butter until combined.
9. Add in salt, vanilla, and about half of the powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add the remaining sugar and mix. You can add lime zest to the frosting if you'd like, but I personally just sprinkled some on top of the decorated cake.
10. Assembly time! Pipe a little cream cheese frosting boarder around the cake layer then fill the center with the cooled lime pastry cream. You can use a spoon to scoop the pastry cream onto the cake or use a piping bag.
Layer your cakes and frost the outside. Decorate with some lime zest if you'd like or serve as is! You can slice and serve the cake right away, but for cleaner slices, place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until firmed up slightly.
FAQs
Can I use lemons instead of limes?
I wouldn't recommend it. Lemons and limes have slightly different acidities, so a 1:1 swap may not work out. If you're looking for a lemon cake, try out my lemon curd cake instead!
Can I skip the food coloring in the pastry cream?
Absolutely! The pastry cream will have a natural pasty yellow hue to it. The only thing to note is that the color can kind of blend into the cake, but I'd say it's still perfectly pretty and delicious!
Can I store this cake at room temperature?
The cake layers can be safely stored at room temperature, but the pastry cream and cream cheese frosting should not sit out for more than about 30-60 minutes (depending on the temperature of your home). So if your cake is fully assembled, then it needs to stay in the fridge. That being said, you can set the cake out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving to allow it to come back up to room temperature if you'd like.
check out these other recipes!
• Lemon Monkey Bread
• Easy Lemon Pudding
• Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes
• Gooey Lemon Cookie Bars
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
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Lime Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 layer cake
Description
The perfect summer dessert! This recipe features light and spongy layers of lime cake, sandwiching a creamy lime pastry cream, and all frosted with the best cream cheese frosting. It's bright, fresh, and so unbelievably soft!
Ingredients
For the lime pastry cream:
- 4 large egg yolks (save the whites for the cake)
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups (480mL) whole milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest (about 1-2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
- green gel food coloring (optional)
For the lime cake:
- 1 & ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime zest
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch
- 2 & ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120mL) whole milk, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80mL) vegetable oil (or any neutral flavored oil)*
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces (225g) block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 cups (650g) powdered sugar
- lime zest (optional - for decorating)
Instructions
Make the lime pastry cream:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth and a pale yellow color. The mixture will start off seeming dry, but as you whisk, it should become smooth and liquid. Set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepot, combine milk and fresh lime zest. Place over medium heat and cook until the edges just start to bubble and the mixture is steamy. Do not boil.
- Now it's time to temper the eggs. Slowly drizzle the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you do. If you find it difficult to whisk and pour at the same time, you can pour about ¼ cup of the milk, pause to whisk, then continue gradually adding the milk in like this.
- Pour the milk and egg mixture back into your pot then return to medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until it boils and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Strain the pastry cream using a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add butter and food coloring (if using) and whisk until smooth and combined. The mixture will separate a bit at first, but just keep mixing to bring it together.
- Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap pressed against the surface of it (to prevent pudding skin). Refrigerate for about 2 hours or until slightly firmed up and cooled.
Make the lime cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of 3 (8 inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Lightly dust the sides with flour and tap out any excess.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar and lime zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils and flavor the cake.
- Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl with the sugar and mix to combine.
- Add butter in. Using a fork or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a very fine and crumbly mixture.
- In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, combine remaining ingredients for the cake (egg whites, sour cream, milk, oil, lime juice, and vanilla). Whisk together to roughly combine.
- Pour about half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk together to combine. Add in the remaining wet ingredients and whisk until the batter is well combined and streak free.
- Once streak free, give the batter a few additional whisks (about 5 or 6) to ensure it's evenly combined and to help develop structure - cake batter made this way is very difficult to overmix, so don't worry about that!
- Evenly divide the cake batter between your prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes in the center of your preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cakes for 5 to 10 minutes in the pans then invert onto wire racks. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment, whip together until smooth. You can also do this by hand with a wooden spoon, but it'll take some work!
- Add in salt, vanilla, and about half of the powdered sugar. Mix together on low speed until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix again on low speed until dissolved. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for about 1 minute or until smooth.
- If the frosting is too stiff, you can thin it out with a splash of milk. If the frosting is too soft, mix in an additional 1 cup of powdered sugar. If it's still too soft for you to comfortably work with it, chill in the fridge for about 30 to 60 minutes or until firm enough to use.
Assemble the cake:
- Before you start: This cake bakes up nicely flat, but if your cakes domed in the oven, level them off with a sharp serrated knife or cake leveler before starting. After sitting in the fridge, the pastry cream will firm up a bit. So it's a good idea to give it a light mix before using to loosen it up again.
- Lay one of the cooled cake layers on your serving plate or cake stand. Pipe a cream cheese border all the way around cake (this helps hold in the pastry cream filling).
- Fill the center with the cooled pastry cream (see above post for visual). I like to use a large piping bag to pipe the filling onto the cake, but you can just spoon the pastry cream onto the cakes if you prefer.
- Lay a second cake layer on top and repeat the filling process. Then lay the final cake on top.
- Chill the cake in the fridge for about 30 to 60 minutes or until firmed up slightly - this will make frosting the outside a lot easier!
- Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting and zest some more lime on top if desired.
- You can slice and serve this cake right away (but it will be messy) or chill in the fridge for another 30 to 60 minutes or until the outside frosting has set slightly. Keep leftovers stored in the fridge until ready to enjoy!
Notes
* If you don't have vegetable oil, any oil with little to no flavor will work. Some great options include peanut, corn, or canola oil. Avoid oils with a harsh or bold flavor (like olive oil for example) as they can overpower the flavor of the cake.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Bake Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Enjoy!
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