Key Lime Bundt Cake made with sour cream, lime zest and buttermilk. Delicious key lime bundt cake recipe with a simple powdered sugar glaze.
I really love the flavor of key lime, but I don’t really love the consistency of key lime pie. This dessert recipe has tons of that delicious lime flavor, but it is all baked into a delicious pound cake.
KEY LIME BUNDT CAKE
Key Lime Pound Cake is made with flour, sugar, butter, eggs and some other basic ingredients. The lime flavor comes from lime juice and lime zest and the rich texture comes from the sour cream and buttermilk in the recipe. Once the cake is baked and cooled, a delicious powdered sugar glaze is drizzled over the top.
Ingredients in Key Lime Bundt Cake
Eggs – 3 large eggs help to bind everything together.
Sugar– Can’t have a cake without sugar, right? Regular granulated sugar works best.
Butter – Real butter works best. Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature before mixing it in with the other ingredients.
Flour – All purpose flour works best, but you can use cake flour if you’d prefer.
Baking powder & baking soda – These act as the leavening agents in the cake, so for best results, make sure they aren’t expired.
Salt – Just a half teaspoon of salt will help all of the other flavors to pop.
Vanilla extract – You will need two teaspoons of vanilla extract to add some extra flavor to the cake.
Sour cream – Just 1/4 cup of sour cream will help to make the cake perfectly rich and moist. You can swap this out with plain or vanilla greek yogurt if you’d like.
Buttermilk – Buttermilk also helps with the flavor and texture of the cake. You can buy buttermilk or make your own by adding 2 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk. Let it sit for a few minutes before adding to the recipe.
Lime juice – You can use fresh lime juice or just pour some out of a bottle. Either one works great!
Lime zest – You will need about a tablespoon of lime zest, although you may want to add a little more to the batter. You also may want to zest another lime to add some zest to the glaze.
INGREDIENTS IN GLAZE
Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar makes the glaze smooth and sweet.
Heavy whipping cream or milk – You will only need about a tablespoon of cream or milk to mix with the powdered sugar. You can add a little more or less to get the glaze to the desired consistency.
Vanilla extract – Just a half teaspoon of vanilla extract adds a little bit of flavor to the glaze.
How to make Key Lime Bundt Cake
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk and set aside.
In another bowl combine the eggs, sugar, and butter. Mix until light and fluffy and it has doubled in size (about 3-4 minutes).
Add vanilla and sour cream to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk and mix just until combined.
Add the lime juice and mix the batter on medium until creamy, scraping the sides before completing mixing. Do not overmix.
Fold in lime zest until well incorporated. Pour into the greased bundt pan. Drop the pan lightly on a hard surface 1 or 2 times to remove air pockets.
Bake for 30-35 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean.
Allow to cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on the wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze, use a fork to stir all of the ingredients together until smooth and then drizzle it over the cake.
Key Lime Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup butter softened to room temperature
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¾ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup lime juice (fresh or bottled)
- 1 tablespoon lime zest (you'll need to zest about 2 medium limes)
Simple glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream or milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk and set aside.
- In another bowl combine the eggs, sugar, and butter. Mix until light and fluffy and it has doubled in size (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add vanilla and sour cream to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk and mix just until combined.
- Add the lime juice and mix the batter on medium until creamy, scraping the sides before completing mixing. Do not overmix.
- Fold in lime zest until well incorporated. Pour into the greased bundt pan. Drop the pan lightly on a hard surface 1 or 2 times to remove air pockets.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean.
- Allow to cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on the wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, use a fork to stir all of the ingredients together until smooth and then drizzle it over the cake.
Nutrition
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SHOULD YOU LET A BUNDT CAKE COOL BEFORE FLIPPING IT?
Bundt cakes should always (unless otherwise specified) be allowed to cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. This allows the cake to naturally pull away from the sides as it cools making it more likely to come out of the pan in one solid piece instead of breaking. Letting the cake cool completely in the pan can lead to the overcooked cake as the pan will continue to finish the cooking process due to the heat.
TIPS FOR MAKING A CAKE IN A BUNDT PAN (AND GETTING THE BUNDT CAKE OUT OF THE PAN TOO!)
There is nothing worse than making a delicious bundt cake and then having it get stuck when you are trying to get it out of the pan! It may take a little bit of trial and error depending on which kind of Bundt pan you are using, but over the years I have learned a few tips that help make sure your cake comes out successfully!
–Use a quality non-stick pan like this one. They aren’t very expensive and the investment will be worth it when your cakes come out beautifully every time!
–Grease your pan! I know. You are wondering why you need to grease a non-stick pan because usually you don’t! In fact, most of your non-stick pans will tell you not to use cooking spray at all because it will build up on the pan and make it less effective over time. That is true, but you still need to grease the pan somehow or it will likely stick. I have a very nice non-stick Bundt pan and I was excited to try it out because I was told that nothing would stick to it and that it didn’t need to be greased at all. The cake was totally stuck in the pan when it was done baking!!!
- If you have a non-stick pan, grease it with melted shortening. I have had better luck with shortening than with butter. Just melt a little bit of shortening and then apply to the entire inside of the Bundt pan with a pastry brush.
- If you don’t have a non-stick pan, you can use this type of cooking spray – it works miraculously because there is flour mixed in with the spray. I have an older pan that is not non-stick and when I use this spray, my Bundt cakes come out perfectly every single time. If your pan is really old and the inside is really scratched up and your cakes keep sticking, it may be time to get a new pan!
- Also, make sure to grease your pan right before pouring the batter in. If you grease the pan too far ahead of time, the oil may drip down to the bottom of the pan, leaving the sides less coated.
Do you need the glaze on the pound cake?
The cake can be enjoyed as is because it is so moist and delicious. But at least try the glaze because it really does make it even better! If you want to you can add a little lime zest to the glaze for some added flavor.
CONVERTING A BUNDT CAKE INTO A REGULAR CAKE
You can use a regular 9X13 cake pan for this cake recipe, but I like to use a Bundt pan when making cake recipes because the presentation is a little bit fancier and you can make a cake look prettier without really having to decorate it at all. If you use a regular 9X13, make sure to reduce the cooking time to about 25-30 minutes.
Another way to make the cake recipe is to make the cake in two round 8-9″ pans. Just divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake for about 20-25 minutes. You can add your favorite buttercream frosting in the middle of the cakes and also frost the top if you want to make a traditional layer cake.
How to store Key Lime Bundt Cake
Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature or up to 7 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze slices by double wrapping in heavy plastic wrap and placing in a plastic storage bag. The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
MORE DELICIOUS CAKE RECIPES:
- Key Lime Cake
- Blueberry Pound Cake
- Easy Pineapple Cake
- Banana Pound Cake
- Easy Lemon Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake
- Raspberry Jello Poke Cake
- Lemon Pound Cake Muffins
- Oatmeal Cake
- Buttery Blueberry Cake
- Caramel Apple Poke Cake
- Reeses Chocolate Dump Cake
- Apple Dump Cake
- Chocolate Chip Banana Cake
- Peaches and Cream Poke Cake
- Frosted Applesauce Cake
Key Lime Bundt Cake made with sour cream, lime zest and buttermilk. Delicious key lime bundt cake recipe with a simple powdered sugar glaze.
Donna says
Oh my gosh this was so good! Such bright zesty flavors from the lime!
Brad says
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Loving the fresh flavors with the bundt
Liz says
I love key lime pie so I was excited to try this bundt cake and it was so good!! Such a fun twist!