This Key Lime Pound Cake recipe brings a delightful twist to the classic pound cake with its sweet, moist texture and a tangy key lime glaze. Perfectly balancing sweet and tart, it’s a delicious Southern treat you’ll love!
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Quick Recipe Overview
WHAT: A classic tender pound cake infused with key lime juice and zest, finished with citrus glaze.
WHY: Buttery richness meets bright lime flavor for a perfectly balanced, crowd-pleasing dessert.
HOW: Cream butter with sugar, alternate flour and milk, add lime, then bake in a tube pan.
Jump to:
- Quick Recipe Overview
- Why You’ll Love This Key Lime Pound Cake Recipe
- Ingredient Notes
- Key Lime Pound Cake Recipe
- How to Make The Best Key Lime Pound Cake
- FAQs for Key Lime Pound Cake
- My Best Tips for Making Key Lime Pound Cake
- What to Serve With Key Lime Pound Cake
- Storage & Reheating Tips
- My Favorite Pound Cake Recipes
- More Delicious Cake Recipes to Consider
Why You’ll Love This Key Lime Pound Cake Recipe
- Simple to Make: With easy-to-find ingredients and straightforward steps, this cake is simple enough for both beginner and experienced bakers. You won’t need any special tools or techniques to create this flavorful dessert.
- Perfectly Balanced Flavors: The combination of sweet, moist cake and tangy key lime glaze offersa delicious balance of flavors in every bite. The tartness of the key lime contrasts beautifully with the richness of the pound cake.
- Quick Prep Time: With just 10 minutes of prep time, you can have this cake ready to bake in no time. The ingredients come together quickly, making it a perfect recipe for busy home bakers who want a delicious homemade dessert without spending hours in the kitchen.
- Flexible Baking Options: Love to make choices? This recipe gives you the flexibility to bake in a traditional tube pan or split between two smaller bundt pans. This means you can adjust the size based on your needs or how many people you’re serving.
🩷 Melissa
This key lime pound cake is a delightful Southern-styledessert that brings a burst of citrusy brightness to the classic pound cake. What makes this cake special is theunique combination of butter and shortening in the batter. While you might be tempted to use all butter, the mix creates a lighter texture with incredible flavor.
The cake itself has a mild key lime flavor, but the real magic happens with the tart glaze that adds a bright, zesty punch. Don’t worry if your cake looks a bit rough when it first comes out of the pan. The glaze usually transforms it into a gorgeous dessert that you will all enjoy.
Ingredient Notes
Key Lime Juice: Fresh key lime juice provides the most authentic flavor with floral, slightly bitter notes that complement the sweetness. Key limes are smaller and more aromatic than Persian limes, typically requiring 10-12 limes for ¼ cup juice. If unavailable, bottled key lime juice from the baking aisle works well and stays consistent batch to batch. Regular lime juice is an acceptable substitute with a brighter, simpler citrus profile.
Shortening: Vegetable shortening contributes to the tender crumb and extended shelf life characteristic of traditional pound cakes. It remains solid at room temperature, which helps the cake maintain its structure. Use plain shortening, not butter-flavored varieties, as they can overpower the lime.
Tube Pan: A 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom works best for this recipe, providing even heat circulation and easy removal. The center tube ensures the thick batter bakes through completely without overbrowning the exterior. If you only have bundt pans, use two 6-cup capacity pans and reduce baking time to 50-55 minutes. Dark pans bake faster than light-colored ones, so check doneness 5 minutes earlier.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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Key Lime Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- ¼ cup fresh Key lime juice
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and shortening at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended.1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup shortening, 3 cups sugar, 6 large eggs
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.1 cup milk
- Mix in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan. (I used two 6-cup bundt pans.)1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lime zest, ¼ cup fresh Key lime juice
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Bake half size Bundts for 50–55 minutes.) Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
- Prepare glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice, and ½ teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Immediately brush or drizzle over top and sides of cake. Cool completely before serving.1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make The Best Key Lime Pound Cake
What makes this cake special is the unique combination of butter and shortening in the batter. While you might be tempted to use all butter, the mix creates a lighter texture with incredible flavor.
Step 1: Begin by preheating your oven to 325°F and preparing your baking pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, and salt.
Pro Tip: Crisco Baking Sticks make measuring shortening a breeze!
Step 2: In a stand mixer, cream the butter and shortening until smooth, then gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated.
Step 3: Carefully alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, mixing at low speed just until blended. Finally, fold in the vanilla extract, lime zest, and fresh key lime juice, creating a beautifully fragrant batter.
Step 4: Pour the cake batter into a prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once baked, allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.
Pro Tip: When I’m using bundt cakes as gifts, I will bake it in two half-sized bundt pans instead of a 12-cup tube pan. This makes a great gift size, or for eating one now and putting one in the freezer for later.
FAQs for Key Lime Pound Cake
Yes! While key limes have a more intense, slightly more tart flavor, you can substitute regular lime juice and zest. Just use the same measurement of fresh lime juice and zest. The cake will still have a delicious citrus flavor, though it might be slightly less pronounced than with key limes.
If you don’t have shortening, you can use all butter, but the texture might be slightly denser. The original recipe uses a combination of butter and shortening to create a lighter, more tender crumb. If substituting completely with butter, use 1½ cups of unsalted butter instead of 1 cup butter and ½ cup shortening.
Overbaking is the most common culprit. Start checking at 1 hour 10 minutes. Also ensure butter and eggs are room temperature—cold ingredients don’t incorporate well and create denser texture.
My Best Tips for Making Key Lime Pound Cake
☞ Don’t Overmix the Batter: Mix the ingredients just until combined to avoid a dense or tough cake. Overmixing can develop too much gluten in the flour.
☞ Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter, eggs, and cream are at room temperature before starting. This helps the batter blend smoothly and creates a tender texture.
☞ Let the Cake Cool Before Glazing: Allow the cake to cool completelybefore pouring on the glaze. A warm cake can cause the glaze to run off instead of setting nicely.
☞ Enhance the Glaze: Add a pinch of lime zest to the glaze for an extra burst of citrus flavor and a decorative touch.
What to Serve With Key Lime Pound Cake
Stunning served simply with whipped cream and a lime slice. The whipped cream balances the sweetness while lime hints at the citrus inside. Fresh berries—blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries—complement the lime beautifully. I also love pairing it with vanilla ice cream or lime sorbet. Perfect with coffee or tea for afternoon gatherings, or serve with coconut ice cream and toasted coconut for tropical parties.
Storage & Reheating Tips
Room Temperature
Store the cooled, glazed cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container to prevent drying. The combination of butter and shortening keeps the crumb moist for several days without refrigeration.
Refrigerator Storage
For longer storage, refrigerate the wrapped cake for up to 1 week. Bring slices to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor, or warm briefly in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Cold cake is still delicious but won’t have the same tender mouthfeel as room temperature cake.
Freezer Storage
Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, freeze without the glaze and make fresh glaze when ready to serve. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Individual slices can be wrapped and frozen separately for easy portion control.
Make Ahead
Bake the cake up to 2 days in advance and store at room temperature. Apply the glaze the day of serving for the freshest presentation, though pre-glazed cake tastes excellent too. The flavors actually improve after a day as the lime notes develop and meld with the buttery cake. This is an ideal make-ahead dessert for entertaining.
My Favorite Pound Cake Recipes
- Cinnamon Coffee Cake-A moist, buttery cake with a delicious cinnamon-sugar swirl and crumbly streusel topping. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or as a sweet treat with coffee.
- Strawberry Pound Cake-A fruity twist on the classic pound cake, made with fresh strawberries for a burst of flavor and a pretty pink hue. It’s light, moist, and ideal for spring or summer.
- Healthier Chocolate Pound Cake From A Mix-A quick and easy chocolate pound cake recipe made lighter by using substitutions like yogurt or applesauce, yet still rich, moist, and chocolaty.
- The Best Ever Coconut Bundt Cake-A fluffy, tender bundt cake infused with coconut flavor and topped with a creamy coconut glaze. It’s a tropical delight that’s perfect for coconut lovers!
More Delicious Cake Recipes to Consider
Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram.
Barbara
Check around to find Nellie & Joe’s Famous Lime Juice in a bottle that way you don’t need to squeeze the little limes which don’t have much juice!!!!
Kim Beaulieu
This is absolutely gorgeous. I would be hard pressed to share with my family.
michael
It looks very delicious! Did you is regular shortening or butter flavored?
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Michael – I always buy the butter flavored.
michael
great, thank you!! Have a great weekend!
Norma Frazer
Hi Barbara,
I cannot buy butter flavored shortening here in New Zealand,would you suggest I use all butter or regular shortening? I SO want to make this pound cake
Thanks
Norma Frazer
Barbara Schieving
Hi Norma – you can just use regular shortening. You’ll get enough butter flavor from using half butter. Enjoy!
Chris Binnion
Hi Barbara I live in the uk what are key limes is it the same as ordinary limes that we get here ur cake sounds lovely and would love to try it
Chris
Barbara Schieving
Hi Chris – Key limes are the most common lime found throughout the world. Most U.S. supermarkets carry the larger Persian limes, and the small Key limes may be more difficult to find. I’m not sure what ordinary would be in the UK. Key limes are about the size of a ping pong ball.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme
A perfectly southern finish for our Summer in the South progressive dinner! Love this recipe, Barbara!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
I love your bundt cakes Barbara! I actually blame you for my recent bundt tin purchase. They look so pretty!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Claire! I’m so happy I inspired you get buy a bundt. They really are the best cakes 🙂 Have fun!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
A gorgeous pound cake, Barbara. It has such a smooth and light texture. Perfect!
MIss @ Miss in the Kitchen
What a gorgeous cake! I love all things lime and I’m going to have to try this soon!
Kathy in Oregon
Hi Barbara,
This sounds like a wonderful, light and tasty summer dessert! I would like to print it, but when I click the “print” button it brings up 2 blank pages…..?? Am I doing something wrong? I have printed many of your other recipes and they all printed just fine.
Thanks for letting me know…and thanks for always providing us such wonderful recipes 🙂
Loved your article on your first RVing experience, and glad you chose our beautiful state to explore!! 🙂
Kathy
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Kathy – your state is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. I’m glad you enjoyed my post. Sorry you’re having trouble printing. Strange, the print feature is working fine for me. Can you try printing using another browser, Chrome or Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. Sometimes even restarting your computer will do the trick. Email me if you need me to send you a pdf to print. I know you’ll enjoy it.
Kathy in Oregon
Thank you so much Barbara. I am using Chrome, and it still won’t work. I just copied and pasted it into a Word doc, but thanks for the offer of the PDF, I would much prefer to have it in PDF format if you don’t’ mind sending it to me 🙂
Yes, we are so blessed to live in the beautiful state of Oregon!!! We live about an hour from the coast…right on the Umpqua River….so we have the best of both worlds!! So glad you had a good time and enjoyed all the beauty!
I truly enjoy all of your articles and recipes 🙂 Thank you so much!! Kathy
Caryn/The Mid Life Guru
I love this idea of a virtual potluck!! The last Tuesday of the month is going to be one of my favorite days!!
I like your idea of a Key Lime Bundt Cake. The Key Lime Pie is too sweet for me. Just in time to make it for a friend who loves Key Lime anything. However, I’ve never bought Key Limes before (or never paid attention) Are they kept in the citrus section of the produce aisle?
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Caryn – that’s so nice. Yes, key limes are generally in the produce section along with the other lemons and limes. They’re often package with about 20 lime in little green mesh bags. Feel free to sub regular limes if you can’t find key limes.
Caryn/The Mid Life Guru
Made this cake on Monday. When I went to purchase the key limes, my regular market said they don’t usually carry them but that “they just happened to get some” that morning. Score!!! The cake was a big hit for my friend’s birthday!!
Jessica @ Sweet Menu
More beautiful key lime recipes! And yet another reason to get my hands on a bundt pan!
Ansh
This cake looks simply out of this world. I wish I could glaze a cake so beautifully. Lovely connecting with you through Progressive eats . It’s such a delight to get to know everyone through their food.
Julie
I love a good pound cake! This lime version looks incredible – especially that glaze!
Barbara | Creative Culinary
I love any and all things made with key lime and this looks wonderful. I love that you include high altitude information; great idea.
Thanks so much for joining with us Barbara; I think we have a great group and I’m delighted you are part of it!
PassTheKnife
Not only does this cake look delicious, but it is so beautiful. The key lime glaze gives it such an elegant look.
Liz
I love Key lime anything and your glazed pound cake looks divine! So glad to be joining you at the Progressive Eats table…I have a feeling I’d be hankering for a second slice of your spectacular cake!
Jane, The Heritage Cook
Barbara, you hit another home run! This key lime pound cake is absolutely beautiful (I need to take glazing lessons from you, LOL) and would the perfect ending to our Progressive Supper. Fantastic job!!
Jenni
Gorgeous pound cake, Barbara! You know how much I love pound cake, right? 🙂 So happy to be in this group with you and all the other talented bloggy folks! How many cups do your half-size Bundts hold (I may need to invest–love the idea of two smaller cakes)!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I wish Crisco was available in any sort at all in Australia but it’s not. Not in a tub and not in a stick. It just doesn’t exist. There’s not an Aussie equivalent either. I can buy it but I have to get it at the import company for 5 times what it costs you. 🙂
I will spend some of my cherished Crisco on this cake because it looks delicious!
Rosa
Faulous texture and flavor!
Cheers,
Rosa