Easy Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting!!!

   

 

This pretty "Key Lime Cake" just looks like Spring to me!  I love the taste of key lime and there aren't many good recipes that you use it in.  This cake is a good change of pace from Key Lime Pie!

This is a really moist cake and it great for special occasions, because even though it's really fairly easy to make, it looks like you fussed.   It's prettiest made as a three layer cake, but you can also make it in a 9"x13" pan.  

Here is what you will need:

1 box lemon cake mix (make sure you get a full size cake mix and not those they have reduced to 10.5 oz.)

1 pkg. (3oz.) lime gelatin (Jello)

3/4 cup orange juice

2 tsp. vanilla

5 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

Glaze

1/2 cup key lime juice (fresh squeezed or bottled)

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

6 cups powdered sugar

*This is basically a recipe and a half of cream cheese frosting, but you need this much for the three layers.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cake mix with lime gelatin and orange juice.  Add vanilla, eggs. and oil.  Mix until well blended, but do not over mix.  

Prepare three 9" cake pans by placing parchment or wax paper circles cut to fit in the bottoms.  Spray with nonstick spray or butter and flour them.  Divide the batter evenly.  Place in oven for 17 to 20 minutes. Remove to cool.  If you use a 9"x13" pan, bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Combine the 1/2 cup lime juice with the powdered sugar.  While the cake layers are still warm, poke a few holes in them while still in the pans with a fork or toothpick and pour the lime juice glaze over each one.   Allow them to cool in the pans. 

Prepare the cream cheese frosting by creaming the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until it is light and fluffy.

Place a layer of the cake on a cake plate and frost the top, repeating with the other two layers. 

Frost the entire cake and if you want to garnish use some lime slices!  Place in the refrigerator and keep chilled until ready to serve.  This is a very moist cake and it gets even moister the next day!

Key Lime Pie!

I really love key lime pie as a summer dessert.  Not the frozen concoction that you find sometimes in restaurants that tastes a lot like lime Jello, but a real homemade key lime pie.  It should be mildly lime flavored, not lock your jaws lime flavored.  The key is using real lime juice and preferably "key limes"  that you take the time to squeeze the life out of one by one. 

 Have you ever seen a key lime?  Well, I have seen what they sell for key limes in the super markets here and I don't think those are a good representation of the key lime species.  They are like little bright green marbles and hard as a rock.  Key limes, when ripe, are supposed to be turning a yellowish green color.   I am sure if you were in Florida in the Keys area...get it key limes, they would be more on the ripe side and not so small and hard.  

 Therefore, I used regular limes  for the lime juice in this pie and even though regular limes are not as tart and acidic as key limes, they were plenty tart for us.   I just didn't have the time or patience to squeeze a teaspoon of lime juice at a time out of each tiny key lime and they cost twice as much.

This is such a simple pie to make and has just a few ingredients, but the results are really good. This is all you need:

Graham cracker crust (I just used a premade one, but if you prefer feel free to make your own). 1 can sweetened condensed milk. 2 egg yolks, 1/2 cup lime juice, 1 Tbs. lime zest

Separate the eggs and just use the yolks.  With an electric mix, beat the eggs, sweetened condensed milk and the lime juice until it is whipped.  Add the zest and beat it in well.

Pour that into the graham cracker crust and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

 

The pie will look set when you take it out, but it's not ready to serve.  Cool it on the counter and when it's cool, place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

, Garnish with whipped cream and a thin slice of lime!     Voila, you have "Key Lime Pie"!