Triple Layer Key Lime Cake
Triple Layer Key Lime Cake recipe takes only 10 minutes to put together, is the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and the perfect green for St. Patrick’s Day!
It’s almost spring and I have a Triple Layer Key Lime Cake for you! Citrus flavors always make me think of this time of the year and how much I love it. This winter FLEW by and I could not be happier about it.
Do you need a festive, pretty looking cake for St. Patrick’s day or Easter? Look no further, people. This is the prettiest cake I have ever made and it starts off using a cake mix and then fancies it up quite a bit. The frosting, however, is completely made from scratch. I loved how the sweet and tart to play off of one another in this Triple Layer Key Lime Cake!
Though I prefer “from scratch” cakes most of the time, everyone loved this recipe. It came out moist, light, and with a good lime flavor. Of course, everyone’s favorite part about this cake was the bright green color which contrasted beautifully with the homemade white frosting. My layers baked in 20 minutes so keep a good eye on them in your oven as they all seem to bake differently.
I hope you find an occasion where you will have an excuse to make this cake because it will steal the show. You can’t beat that color! Or maybe I am just partial to green food (and by “maybe” I mean I am totally obsessed). If you want to see my other St. Patrick’s Day recipes, they are all right here. Enjoy!
- 1 (15-16 ounce) package lemon cake mix
- 1⅓ cups vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 (3 ounce) package lime flavored Jell-O mix
- ¾ cup orange juice without pulp
- ½ cup butter
- 1 (8 ounce) package regular cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons fresh key lime juice (fresh or bottled)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Combine cake mix, Jello mix, oil, eggs and orange juice and mix until well incorporated.
- Pour into three 8 inch cake pans. Bake according to instructions on box. Allow to cool completely, then frost.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Add lime juice and powdered sugar. Mix well until no lumps remain.
- I suggest refrigerating the icing 20-30 minutes prior to icing the cake so that it firms up a bit, if time allows. Use an offset icing spatula to make it easy to frost.
- Enjoy!
Recipe source: adapted from allrecipes.com
What a pretty cake, Ashley! I love key lime pie desserts, so hearing that this a TRIPLE layer key lime cake made my tastebuds do a little happy dance. Love!!
Ashley, this is one gorgeous cake! Love how you doctored up a cake mix cake to come up with this citrusy combo!
Key lime pie is my favorite! Never had key lime cake, though. What a terrific idea! And it looks so pretty! Really fun recipe — thanks so much.
Looks like one I need to make, i presume the cream cheese is for icing?
Hi Ruth, yes the cream cheese is for the frosting. It’s in the directions on when to add it 🙂 enjoy!! -Ashley
I LOVE the colour inside! So pretty! YES! Bring on Easter and Spring and the promise of Summer 🙂
I love that lime green color! Never really think to make a key lime cake and why not! Looks so moist and delicious.
Made this cake when cake mix was 18+ounces. They make the smaller now. I was worried about what adjustments I needed to make. I assume it will still come out alright since your recipe use exact same ingredients but smaller box of cake mix. Thank you for calming my fears and for posting this recipe.
Joy did your cake come out with the new ounces for Duncan Hines? My cake will not rise. I even added 3 oz more of cake mix
My cake will not rise either. Used to. I assumed it was the smaller box size. Added three ounces and it still doesn’t rise.
I made this 3-layer cake for the holidays the layers were very thin and they did not rise. So, I tried it again today, thinking maybe I made a mistake. This time I put it in a 13×9 pan and it still did not rise. Used Duncan Hines cake mix. Not giving up. Next time I’ll alter the recipe a little. Or maybe try another brand of cake mix.
I made this 3-layer cake for the holidays the layers were very thin and they did not rise. So, I tried it again today, thinking maybe I made a mistake. This time I put it in a 13×9 pan and it still did not rise. Used Duncan Hines cake mix. Not giving up. Next time I’ll alter the recipe a little. Or maybe try another brand of cake mix. Still taste ok though.
I’ve made 3 cakes in one week. Still not rising. What did u do? Still tastes good.
Has anyone found a fix to getting cake to rise since the ounces have changed on mix? I tried adding more cake mix from another box and it’s still not rising. This is so frustrating
What is the purpose for orange juice? Thanks
I made this cake several times and it turned out simply outstanding each time. No substitutes. I do double up on the frosting but other than that, I follow to the letter.
Glad to see I’m not the only ones with problems since they changed the size. I also added more cake mix and the layers still sunk in the middle.
My key lime cakes also sank in the middle.. I thought it was my oven needing to be calibrated. Please help me with this problem.. it’s my favorite cake!!!