Whenever it’s somebody's birthday, I always try to make them a special cake. It was my mom's birthday last week so I wanted to make her a cake from flavors that I know she likes. I’ve already made a million chocolate and vanilla cakes so I wanted to branch out and make a cake using citrusy, key lime juice.
Key lime is a popular flavor to make pies out of, so I used the flavors from a traditional pie recipe to adapt this into a cake. The addition of graham cracker crumbs and lime zest on top make this cake reminiscent of the popular pie. The cake is light and fluffy with a fresh and tangy frosting, making it perfect for spring or Easter.
You can use fresh limes and squeeze them to get the juice or you can take the shortcut and use key lime juice from a bottle. You can also add a little bit of organic green food coloring if you would like but I prefer it to be more natural.
YIELDS
1 9.5’ cake
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup key lime juice
- 2/3 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- for the frosting:
- 3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup earth balance butter
- 3 tbsp key lime juice
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 1/8 cup graham cracker crumbs
- zest from one lime
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup key lime juice
- 2/3 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- for the frosting:
- 3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup earth balance butter
- 3 tbsp key lime juice
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 1/8 cup graham cracker crumbs
- zest from one lime
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the lime juice, almond milk, olive oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
4. Ad the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour batter into a greased 9.5 inch cake pan.
5. Bake for 35 minutes and remove from oven. Place on a cooling rack and let cool before frosting.
6. To make the frosting, beat together all ingredients until smooth.
7. Frost cake and top with graham cracker crumbs and lime zest.
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Photo: Lauren Sacerdote
