Lime Cake (Lime in the Coconut Cake)

You’ve had lemon cake before, but have you ever tried a lime cake?

How about a lime coconut cake?

I certainly never had.  That is, until I developed this Lime in the Coconut Cake recipe. 

(How could I possibly call it anything else?)

Lime Cake Inspiration

I’ve always been a fan of lemon desserts.  (Try my Doris Day Lemon Cake or White Chocolate Lemon Blondies!)  

But last year, I really started getting into lime as a secondary dessert flavor, like in my Pear Pie.

I decided to experiment with a dessert where that crisp, sweet, yet tart lime flavor would be more prominent.  The coconut in these cakes adds a delicious, unique texture, but the lime flavor really takes center stage. 

And it’s heavenly.

Enhancing the Lime in Lime Cake

There’s nothing that disappoints me more than a lemon-flavored dessert that doesn’t taste all that lemony.  And that was definitely something I wanted to avoid with these lime cakes!

My secret to getting an intense lime flavor here is three-fold.

Lime Juice

Lime Zest

Lime Extract

Yep, lime extract.  Did you know that existed?

It was a new discovery for me, and now I can’t get enough!  You can find my favorite lime extract here on Amazon [aff. link].  Using lime extract in these cakes really brings out the natural lime flavor of the lime juice and zest.  And the thing that I love most about this particular lime extract is that it’s completely natural tasting itself.  This lime extract really is the ultimate reason why these perfectly moist little cakes are also so perfectly sweet and tart.

Two Things!

You may remember how much I love baking with desiccated coconut from my Boy Meets World Cookies.  Desiccated coconut is shredded coconut that has been dried.  So there’s no moisture in desiccated coconut, unlike most shredded or flaked coconut you find at the grocery store.  I use desiccated coconut again here, and it adds a great textural note to the smooth and moist crumb of these cakes.  Desiccated coconut can be hard to find at the grocery store, so I buy favorite here on Amazon [aff. link].

And one more thing!  You can certainly make this Lime in the Coconut Cake in an 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan.  But I recommend using this gorgeous bundtlette pan from Nordic Ware [aff. link]. 

Can you believe how stunning this pan is?!!!  I’m such a fan of all Nordic Ware products, and this bundtlette pan is definitely a favorite.  You won’t believe how easy it is to get these cakes out of the pan, and a beautiful mold like this can turn any cake into a work of art.

A New Favorite

Make these lime cakes ASAP, and I’m sure you’ll find yourself as big a fan of lime flavored desserts as I am. 😋

5 from 2 votes

Lime in the Coconut Cake

You’ve had lemon cake, but have you tried lime cake? Sweet and tart, the lime flavor in these little cakes takes center stage, complemented by coconut!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time21 minutes mins

Total Time41 minutes mins

Servings: 7

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

For the wet ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp oil, I use canola oil
• 2 Tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 Tbsp lime extract
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ tsp lime zest
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ cup almond milk, or milk of choice
• 2 egg whites

For the dry ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1/3 cup coconut, shredded and desiccated
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the icing:

• 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar, plus a few more Tbsp if the icing is too thin
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 2 tsp lime extract
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• Dash of salt

Instructions

Whip the egg whites

• Separate 2 egg whites from their yokes (we won’t need these yokes in the recipe), and put the egg whites in a very clean mixing bowl.
• With a handheld or stand mixer with very clean beaters, beat the egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
• A quick note: when you begin beating the egg whites, they will first become a bubbly foam, but after 3-4 minutes the egg whites will get really light and fluffy—like clouds—and stiff peaks will form. You know the peaks are stiff enough if when you take your egg beaters out of the egg whites, the peaks hold their shape and kind of lift out of the bowl with the egg beaters. (Check out my Chiffon Cake Recipe for photo reference!)
• Set aside, and proceed quickly with the following steps.

Cream the wet ingredients

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, use a handheld or stand mixer to cream together the oil, melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, lime extract, and lime zest until well combined, about one minute.
• Now add the egg. Beat with your mixer until combined.
• Now add in the milk, and again mix until the milk is completely incorporated.

Mix in the dry ingredients

• Add the flour, coconut, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the other ingredients, and mix with your handheld/stand mixer until smooth and combined, but don’t over mix!

Fold in the egg whites

• Now fold in the egg whites with a silicon spatula (see photos in my Chiffon Cake recipe for folding technique.) You want to completely combine the egg whites into the cake batter, but fold softly so as not to deflate them.

Bake the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the bundtlette pan

• If using the Nordic Ware bundlette pan (I highly recommend!!!), oil the pan well, and fill each bundtlette cavity about 3/4 of the way full. You will have just about 3/4 cup of batter left over. I use a little 8 oz ramekin for the remaining batter, and I bake the ramekin alongside the bundtlettes.
• Bake for 21-23 minutes, until the cakes are mostly firm to the touch—there will be a slight jiggle. Don’t overbake!
• Let the bundtlettes cool for 10 minutes, then carefully take them out of the pan. I like to use a butter knife to help loosen the cakes a little bit, if necessary, then I carefully use my hands to pull each cake out.

For an 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan

• If not using the Nordicware bundtlette pan, pour the cake batter into an oiled 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is mostly firm on top—there will be a slight jiggle—and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.

Make the icing

• While the cakes cool a bit, make the icing.
• In a medium sized bowl, add 1 2/3 cup powdered sugar, lime zest, lime extract lime juice, and salt.
• Mix it altogether with a fork until smooth. You want the icing to be thick enough that it doesn’t pour easily. We’ll drizzle the icing over the cakes, and if it’s too thin, the icing won’t stay where it’s drizzled.
• If the icing is too runny at this point, add 1 Tbsp more powdered sugar. If it’s still too runny, add 1 more Tbsp of powdered sugar.

Ice the cakes

• After you’ve removed the bundtlettes from the pan, ice them while they’re still slightly warm.
• I like to dip a butter knife in the icing, and drizzle it over the top of the cakes, but feel free to get creative, and use as much or as little icing as desired.

Serve and enjoy!

• Serve the cakes alone or with a nice cup of almond milk. Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe can be made in my recommended Nordic War Bundtlette pan, or 8 oz ramekins.

This recipe can also be made in an 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan.

3 limes will safely give you enough zest and juice to make the cake and icing.