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Perfectly moist lime cake, topped with a homemade lime buttercream frosting, and sprinkled with lime zest!
Try my classic chocolate sheet cake, or switch it up with lemon, cherry, or strawberry flavored sheet cake!
another tasty sheet cake
Hi, it’s me Lily – again! Today, I want to share with you a new recipe for Lime Sheet Cake. Remember the Lemon Sheet Cake, Strawberry Sheet Cake and Cherry Sheet Cake we’ve shared over the last few months? My mom is on sheet cake fix, so we tried one with limes.
I really like limes, so I thought this lime cake was delicious!!
It’s super easy because you just use a box of white cake mix that you buy at the store, along with a package of lime jello mix, and some lime juice. But don’t worry, it’s not sour at all! It’s just enough lime juice to make it tasty, without being sour.
My most favorite part is the homemade lime buttercream frosting with lime zest. It’s super yummy and goes perfectly with the lime cake. If you like, you can also put some lime zest on top of the frosting to make it look pretty! Trust me, it tastes as good as it looks!
tips for making your lime cake
This recipe is really easy to make like I said, and I had a lot of fun making it. I bet your kids would like to make it with you too! Here are some tips to make sure your lime sheet cake turns out perfectly:
If you don’t have an 11×16 baking pan… You can use any of the following. Just make sure to keep a close eye on it while it’s in the oven and use a toothpick to check for doneness. (Note: 11×16 is a half-sized small metal sheet pan.)
- Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F fill the cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes
- Bundt Pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour the pan. Pour in batter and bake for 40-45 minutes.
- 9×13 cake pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Full sized sheet pan: You will need to double the recipe for it to fill up a full-sized sheet pan (cookie pan with rimmed edges). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
What is lime zest? The zest is an ingredient taken from the outermost part of a piece of citrus. To make your own zest, be sure to remove any wax and wash the fruit thoroughly. Next, grate the peel very finely.
You can use a citrus zester, the fine side of a box cheese grater, a microplane or even a sharp paring knife. Carefully remove the outermost layer of the peel (the colorful part). Stop before you get to the white layer.
A medium sized lime will create about 1 tablespoon of zest.
Other topping ideas: If lime zest isn’t your thing, you could add…
- Shredded or toasted coconut
- Crushed graham crackers
- Sliced strawberries, raspberries, banana, pineapples
- Chopped Macadamia nuts
Got leftovers?
If you’re making a sheet cake, you probably have quite a few people you were trying to feed, so send some home with them. 😉 Or, keep it all for yourself and store one of these ways:
- Room temperature: covered, for 1-2 days
- Fridge: cover tightly and store for 3-5 days
- Freezer: Flash freeze first. You do this by placing the entire cake in the freezer or place cut pieces on a baking sheet, be sure they are not touching. Freeze for 2-3 hours, or until the outside is frozen. Remove and wrap the cake with plastic wrap then again with foil. Label and return to the freezer. Freeze for 4-6 months. If the cake is unfrosted you do not need to flash freeze first.
For more fruity cakes, check out:
- Cherry Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Banana Pudding Poke Cake
- Berry Icebox Cake
- Strawberry Jello Poke Cake
Lime Cake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box white cake mix plus ingredients on box
- 1 lime juiced
- 3 oz package lime JELLO gelatin mix
Frosting
- 1/4 c butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TB lime juice you can use more if you want a stronger citrus taste
- a few tsp lime zest
- 1-2 TB milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Add white cake mix and gelatin mix to a medium bowl.
- Add the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box and lime juice. Beat until well combined.
- Pour into a greased 11×16 pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Let cool.
- While cake is cooling make frosting by creaming together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, lime juice, lime zest and milk. Beat until smooth.
- Frost cake and ENJOY!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have you ever made this as a 9 x 13 cake, and if so hoes that change anything, like oven temperature and baking time? Thank you.
Made these for my class and co teacher. I was surprised the kids liked the lime but they were a hit🤗
Yay! So happy to hear that!
What size cake mix? They no longer make 18oz ones. There are some 15oz. and 13oz. What would you suggest?
What would you suggest I add to this recipe to give me a more dense or more like a pound cake?
Don’t try to make this into a pound cake. It won’t work. Find a lemon pound cake recipe and use lime instead of lemon. JMHO
Easy instructions. I made 2 batches giving me 4 small loaf cakes for my Sunday school class treat. The icing is amazing.
very good recipe
Tried this recipe a while back for fun not knowing it would become my son’s FAVORITE cake and his request for his birthday cake last year and again this year ❤️ Making it today for his 16th. Thanks for this great recipe!!!
MY LIME JELLO DOES NOT SAY INSTANT??
My apologies! The recipe says “instant” but there technically isn’t any “instant” lime Jello. Thank you so much for catching that! I will change the wording in the recipe card.
MY LIME TREE HAS SMALL LIMES AND HUGE LIMES. HOW MUCH JUICE IS TO MUCH?
Usually a lime will yield about 2-3 tablespoons of juice so I would stick with that amount in your recipe. Hope this helps!
I’m going to attempt this for a Grinch themed cake! Fingers crossed!
Oh so fun!! Can’t wait to hear how it goes! You’ll have to let us know.
My husband loves limes so why not in a cake version? If you like lime you’ll love this cake.
Clever way to add lime flavoring to cake mix. The taste was bright and delicious.
This cakes tastes amazing! So refreshing and delicious. Thanks!
Can this cake be baked in a 9×13 pan?
Looks delicious!
This turned out PERFECT for our Easter celebration this weekend. Thank you so much!
Yum! This looks so delicious and so easy! My family is going to love this for Easter! Can’t wait to give this a try!
I’m not usually a lime person, but I do love this cake! The lime flavor isn’t over-powering & it’s incredibly moist! I make it for my in-laws all the time!
Can you make this cake as a lime poke cake? Would it be better the way the recipe is listed? Thanks
You definitely could. I use this recipe for Lime poke cake. If you don’t want the lemon, you could just add the whipped topping on top. https://lilluna.com/lemon-lime-poke-cake/
Thanks so much. I really like the cake being entirely green, so I will make that sometime. But our family loves the poke cakes…they are a hit!!
You are so welcome!! Enjoy!!
Wow!!! This is a great recipe for a fun dessert!! My family and I loved it. My only suggestion is to double the Icing recipe as it is sooooooo delicious, we wanted more of it.
Nothing wrong with more icing 🙂 I am so glad your family loved it! Thank you!
I have made this once before. It was great! So many people raved about it at my church. And they can’t lie there!
I’m making it for Super Bowl gathering, St. Pat day, Easter and summer!
LOL!! I am glad it’s a hit! Thank you!
Can I use the sugar free jello
Sure could 🙂 ENJOY!!
Can’t wait to try this.
Let me know what you think 🙂 Thank you!
Great cake recipes. The old, genuine flavor type.
Rachel Leavitt.
Oh, thanks so much!! Hope you’ll give it a try!
I have three grandsons and they were all over the Key Lime Cup Cakes I made. They wanted to start to eat them before the icing went on. But I won in the end and was happy to see them happy. The color was vibrant, strong and had good eye appeal. I will make them over and over. Granny can do no harm as long as these cupcakes are seen.
Haha…love it!! Thanks so much for letting me know!! SO, glad they loved them!!
making this cake right now
🙂 Hope you liked it!! Thanks for giving it a try!
Please let me know if I am supposed to add the juice of one lime in with the cake mix since it looks like it is listed as part of the cake but is not mentioned in the cake instructions. Thanks, I can’t wait to try this!
Oh, yes..you add it with the cake ingredients in step 3. Sorry, about that! I’ll have to fix it. Let me know what you think of this cake! We love it!
This cake was delicious! I have been buying cakes for birthdays for the last couple of years but this recipe inspired me to bake and decorate a cake for my husband’s birthday. It was a lot of work (the decorating part mostly) but it tasted so much better than store bought.
Thank you so much for letting me know!! We love this cake!! I’m so glad you liked it better!!
what is lime zest
Lime zest is from the peel of the lime, it’s the outer green layer:) Hope that helps!
what is lime zest ???
Marion Wood,
Lime zest is the outer green layer of the lime peel. You can use a micro-plane zester or a fine grater, or even a peeler to get it. Just make sure that you don’t go to deep into the peel. You don’t want the whiter part, just the green on the surface. Hope this info helps. 😀
Thank you!! That is exactly what it is:)
All these sound so yummy. I did notice on the Lime Sheet Cake that there was a typing error.
Under ingredients for the frosting:
1 TB lime juice (you can use more if you want more lemon taste) NOTICE it says more LEMON and I’m sure you mean Lime.
Uh, oh…I changed it! Thanks so much for letting me know!
confusing… first it says jello, then pudding. Also, doesn’t say anywhere when or where you put in the lime juice… (I’m guessing with the cake mix since the cake turns green…)
Kind of confusing…. From the stand point of a retired kitchen manager and restaurant manager… I would clarify you description of “instant jello.” When I first looked at the recipe… I thought instant jello referred to “PUDDING”…. but when looking at all the variations of this cake and search the internet of current jello flavors… it is my guess that you are using “GELATIN”… and is it regular or sugar free?? PLEASE ADVISE if I am correct.
I added the word GELATIN to the recipe. 😉 And no – not sugar free.
This looks yummy! My husband loves stuff like this, so I’m gonna have to try it out. Do you think a 9×13 pan will work OK? Don’t think I have a 11×16.
It is!!:) Yes, that should be fine. You may need to leave it in for a couple min longer..just keep an eye on it:) Thank you!
Thank you Lily for your email and recipe. I will make sometime this summer. I have lot going on right now with moving. Have a fun summer.
How much buttermilk does the recipe call for? I do not see it in the list of ingredients.
There isn’t buttermilk in this recipe, it just calls for 1-2T of milk:) It’s is step 5, of the instructions. Hope that helps!!
TB milk how much a cup?