This key lime cake from Trisha Yearwood is bursting with fresh citrus flavor. The key lime gelatin, orange juice, and lemon juice help make this cake super moist and flavorful.
Trisha’s cake is very similar to the box cake mix that is on the back of a box. It calls for oil and eggs which helps produce a very moist cake. Some of the comments below point out that they think there isn't enough flour in this recipe but it's only 2 cups. The key lime gelatin from the box helps the cake turn green and gives it that key lime flavor. Then you poke holes in the cake and pour the key lime glaze on top and frost. Just the type of recipes I like. Easy and delicious.
This key lime cake is so delicious but I always find that sheet cake is so hard to photograph because of how it sits at an angle on a countertop. Oh well though right? As long as it tastes good.
FYI: I am not Trisha Yearwood, just a fan that likes her recipes. This post was updated on 10/5/2020 with new pictures and content.
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Ingredients Needed
- Lime flavored gelatin - the secret ingredient to help give this cake its nice lime flavor!
- Granulated sugar - Or regular granulated sugar, I do not use sugar substitutes in any of my recipes but if you know the conversions feel free to do so
- Sifted all-purpose flour - is a type of wheat flour that is commonly used in cooking and baking. It is versatile and can be used for a variety of recipes, including bread, cakes, cookies, and pastries.
- Baking powder is a leavening agent used in many baked goods, such as cakes, muffins, and biscuits. It is made up of a combination of baking soda, cream of tartar, and sometimes cornstarch.
- Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a white crystalline powder that is commonly used in baking as a leavening agent1 ½ cups vegetable oil
- Orange juice
- Lemon juice - Â Is a citrus juice made from squeezing fresh lemons. It is commonly used as a flavoring agent in cooking, baking, and beverages. Bottled lemon juice is also ok to use.Â
- Vanilla extract - It is made by macerating and soaking vanilla beans in a mixture of water and Vodka. Use a good pure vanilla instead of the imitation vanilla extract.
- Eggs, slightly beaten - The best type of eggs you can buy at the store are organic or free-range eggs, while others may prefer eggs from specific breeds of chickens
- See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Key Lime Cake
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour one 9-by-12-by-2-inch cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the gelatin, granulated sugar, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir to mix well. Add the oil, orange juice, lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until well combined. Pour the batter evenly in the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness by lightly touching the tops or inserting a toothpick. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
For the glaze: While the cake is still hot, mix the lime juice and confectioners' sugar together well. Pierce the cake with a fork to allow the glaze to soak in better and pour it over the cake on the cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely as you prepare the icing.
For the icing: Cream the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the confectioners' sugar until mixture is smooth and easy to spread. Spread the icing on the top and sides of the cake.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
If you don’t like lime try doing a lemon or orange flavored cake.
This cake is very moist and can be greasy from the amount of oil used. To cut back on that use half the amount of oil than what the recipe calls for.
The gelatin does not have to be made according to the package directions on the box. It gets added in dry to the cake batter.
Test the cake to make sure it's done by sticking a tooth pick in the middle. It should come out clean.
Other Recipes to Try
If you tried this Trisha Yearwood’s Key Lime Cake or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
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Trisha Yearwood's Key Lime Cake
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 1 hr
- Yield: 12
Description
Trisha’s cake is very similar to the box cake mix that is on the back of a box. It calls for oil and eggs which helps produce a very moist cake.
Ingredients
Glaze
½ cup key lime juice (from about 25 small key limes or 4 large regular limes)
½ cup confectioners' sugar
Icing:
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour one 9-by-12-by-2-inch cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the gelatin (dry), granulated sugar, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir to mix well. Add the oil, orange juice, lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until well combined. Pour the batter evenly in the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness by lightly touching the tops or inserting a toothpick. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
- For the glaze: While the cake is still hot, mix the lime juice and confectioners' sugar together well. Pierce the cake with a fork to allow the glaze to soak in better and pour it over the cake on the cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely as you prepare the icing.
- For the icing: Cream the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the confectioners' sugar until mixture is smooth and easy to spread. Spread the icing on the top and sides of the cake.
Notes
This cake is very moist from the amount of oil that the recipe calls for. If you don't like using that much use half the amount then what the recipe calls for.Â
- Category: Easy
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 631
- Sugar: 41.7g
- Sodium: 290.7mg
- Fat: 39g
- Saturated Fat: 9.4g
- Carbohydrates: 59.4g
- Fiber: .9g
- Protein: 13.3g
Keywords: key lime cake
Jenna says
I'm going to guess maybe 12 to 15?
S. Dawson says
I've been using this recipe for many years. It is my husband's favorite, hands down. I've never divvied to far from the recipe but wanted to try cupcakes. How many do you think it would make?
★★★★★
Vicki Bray- Fagan says
I’m making this cake tonight for my daughters birthday, she loved the key lime cake Publix made for her wedding and so did all the guests. Wasn’t a sliver left. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with Trisha Yearwood’s recipe. I’ll keep you posted
Jenna says
Congrats you just made your own recipe!
Deb says
I saw a pic for this cake as a 3 layer and thought I'd give it a try. I read all the comments and REALLY changed the recipe and it turned out great with all the changes.
1 c. oil, no orange or lemon juice - sub lime juice, 1/2 t. baking soda, add lime zest to both cake and frosting, 350 deg. for 30 mins. For the frosting - 3 c. powdered sugar instead of 1 box and add lime juice to thin the frosting or it is too thick and has no real lime taste. Also added the lime zest.
Also used parchment paper on bottom of pan. Next time I'll try 8" round and change the time because the layers were too thin - 1" high.
So with my changes, I'd give it 4.5 stars.
Janice crissman says
I have made this cake several years ago. It was for my brother in law and made one for my family. I do not have a picture, I made mine in layers .torted each layer ..made a from scratch pineapple filling .. then iced with mascarpone cheese frosting..it was delicious.going to make this in July for a birthday gift. I’m not on Instagram
★★★★★
Jenna says
This cake is a very moist cake and if you don't like how moist it is from all the oil you can only use half of what the recipe calls for.
Paula says
I followed the recipe as it said and must have done something wrong. The cake sank in the middle during baking and not bc it didn’t bake long enough. It had already sank before I tested it and when I tested it, the toothpick was clean. Something went wrong with the filling bc this cake was extremely wet and greasy when I cut it. The icing is excellent and the cake had a good taste but I just can’t get past how much moisture is in the cake. I can usually do better with Betty Crocker cake mix than how this turned out.