Coconut Lime Cake Recipe
Updated April 28, 2011
If you are a regular reader of our blog, you know we love all things lime. When I saw Pinch My Salt’s Coconut Lime Cake, I immediately bookmarked the recipe. I knew I had to try it.
Joshua had a meeting the other day, so it was the perfect time for me to bake him a cake. I usually don’t bake cakes because it is just the two of us, but I knew Josh would devour this one and I was right. He loved it!
The cake was moist with a tender crumb. The cake part was really good, but the glaze is what made it shine. The lime flavor was perfect, not too tart, just right. The dusting of coconut also made it a very pretty cake.
When Josh got home, we enjoyed a piece of cake for dessert. Pure bliss! I will be making this one again.
Coconut Lime Cake
(adapted from Pinch My Salt)
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut, divided
1 stick butter, softened
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
2 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
5 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1 cup powdered sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom with a round of parchment paper then butter the parchment paper.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Measure out ½ cup of shredded coconut and process in a mini food processor until very finely chopped (you can also finely chop it with a knife). Stir the chopped coconut into the flour mixture and set aside. Combine buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of lime juice; set aside.
3. Beat together butter, sugar, and lime zest with an electric mixer until very fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Turn mixer to low speed, add one third of the flour mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
4. Spoon batter into the buttered cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of a preheated 350 degree oven until golden and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool to warm, then turn out of pan and discard parchment.
5. Whisk together powdered sugar and the remaining three tablespoons of lime juice. Poke top of cake all over with a fork then pour glaze over the cake. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of coconut.
That looks delicious!!! I’ve been wanting to make something like this for a while now, definitely bookmarking the recipe!
I love the lime too – such a refreshing flavor!! And of course it’s meant to go with coconut – classic pairing!!
Potential birthday cake for my Josh for next year! Looks great! Love the coconut.
That sounds delicious and so full of yummy flavor!
I love coconut and lime together. I especially love coconut cakes!
Looks heavenly
What a great combination of flavors. I think I’ll makes this for my birthday!
YUM!! I’ve been on such a coconut/lime kick lately and I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing!
This looks fantastic Maria.. absolutely delicious!Lime coconut can not go worong!
Can never go wrong with lime and coconut. Nicely done!
Now that sounds and looks so tropical!
I’m am all about coconut lately – I think it’s the combination of Spring and Easter! This cake looks wonderful!
Yummy it looks amazing! I’m making this for our next gathering for sure, I can’t wait!
I rarely bake cakes for the same reason as you, but this looks like I may have to make an exception!
I love coconut cake, I bet the addition of lime is delicious and cuts some of the sweetness.
this cake is so fresh and yummy~~~ 😀
This sounds absolutely delicious and it looks gorgeous too!
that sounds delicious! i’m allergic to coconut, but i could easily go for just a lime cake. mmmm.
Yum- yet another winner 🙂
This is a fantastic looking cake. And once again, how are you guys not, like, 400 pounds? 🙂
Oh how I love coconut! :::printing this one::::
Wonderful my friend!
Oh! this one is tempting! 🙂
The coconut and lime combination is very hard to resist. The cake looks heavenly.
Yum! This sounds great. I am such a big lime fan. Much more than lemon for some reason. This looks like a perfect springtime dessert.
Love the combo of the lime and coconut can’t wait to try looks great.
So yummy looking and a good combo. If you like cakes, but don’t want to make a whole one, you should look into mini pans. They’re awesome for small batches!
Thanks everyone! The lime and coconut combo is divine!
Barbara-You shouldn’t make your own b-day cake! That is your day to get spoiled! Let me know if you want me to bake:)
Sugarlens-A lot of exercise, we eat healthy, and we share our treats!
Esi-Thanks for the tip. I will look for the mini pans!
Yum!! That looks delish!
Love the lime and coconut combo! Baking cakes when you only have 2 people in the house can be dangerous… still doesn’t stop me though 😉 hehe
moist. so moist. and so much coconut. i do love this, maria–thanks for sharing!
Maria this looks awesome! It look like a rich cake but with the coconut and lime I bet it was delish!
That looks pretty dang tasty!!!
Yum!! This looks SO yummy!!
This looks wonderful, and you know I’m always looking for new ways to use buttermilk! 🙂 And I am a believer in that coconut/lime combo after making Dorie’s coconut butter thins. This cake looks fabulous!
Yummy cake! You can never go wrong with coconut and lime 🙂
It’s absolutely beautiful! I love lime and coconut together. The glaze sounds awesome.
Oh I love lime too and this coconut lime cake looks so refreshing just like spring we have here in the u.k. Beautiful combo of flavours Maria.
Hey Maria! We were in Clearwater Beach, which is on the Gulf Coast…I think Palm Beach is on the Atlantic coast, so the other side of Florida. It will be beautiful there though I’m sure! When we went the weather was *perfect*! Enjoy your vaca.!
this looks fabulous!! So beautiful and delicious! I need to try this asap
Yum, I love coconut and this cake sounds so good! Yours looks so moist!
Cathy-I always think of you when I make a recipe with buttermilk:)
Kristen-Thanks for the info! Glad you had a fun trip. I can’t wait to go to the beach!
A wonderful combination! I love coconut and lime! So exotic!
Cheers,
Rosa
YUM. sounds delicious!
Your so sweet always baking something for Josh! He’s gonna get chubby! I love the look of this cake and the recipe sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
This is a keeper, you can see how moist it is!!
Omg! It looks so soft! It’s the perfect time of year for a coconut lime cake! 😀
This looks great…I’ve been craving lime and coconut cake/pie!! May have to try this soon!
wow that looks amazing– such a great summer dessert, so refreshing!
It looks so refreshing and tropical! yum!
I made a Florida Pie from Dorie Greenspans book Baking. It was wonderful so I can imagine the flavors in that cake. This is a keeper!
That looks heavenly! You had me at moist and tender!
Beeeeee-utiful! I bet I could eat the whole thing too!
oh my goodness, this looks amazing!!
Mmmmm, this is the third blog I’ve seen this on and it looks even better the third time around!
~ingrid
Mmm, coconut and lime are the perfect combination… and perfect for spring.
It looks delish!
OH…YUMMY! I will definitely be trying this one! It’s so pretty too!
I didn’t see it on PMS, but I bookmarked it here! Totally making this, probably next week when I’m in town at my Mom’s. It will be the perfect thing to make together! She reads your blog btw!
Mmm, this cake does look totally divine. I love lime and coconut together. And that glaze sounds FABULOUS. Man, I wish I could’ve come home and gotten a piece of this cake, too. Lucky Joshua!
oh that coconut cake looks sinful!
This does look delicious. Beautiful cake, Maria!
Ummm, like a fluffy cloud of coconut!
Nicole was one of the 1st blogs I started reading…good eats – great gal.
Great combo of flavours!
Maria
x
It’s beautiful – what a fantastic flavor combination!
I’ve being looking for a good coconut cake since last week (fb and twitter included!!) I finally found it!!!!
thanks
That looks so good and I love that it’s not slathered in a thick, fattening frosting!
I really like the sound of this coconut and lime cake!
now i’m craving coconut…. love the lime 🙂
My daughter made this cake today,it is so good,between the three of us(husband included).We finished half of it.It is pretty awesome.It is definitely a keeper!!
i love coconut and lime together!
Wow.. this is looking awesome. I will try to make it today, very very thanks for recipe.
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hi..do u use metric cup or US cup? because i usually measure in grams
my flaked coconut is unsweetened, do u think i should add more sugar? plz reply..waiting for ur reply to make this cake
i sent to my daughter in law ans she made this for my birthday, i must say we all LOVED it…it is everything you said and then some..
Glad you enjoyed the cake for your birthday! Happy Birthday:)
I made these as cupcakes for my sister’s birthday 2 days ago. I used gluten-free flour and since I had no flaked coconut I just put in 3 tablespoons of coconut flour and subbed some coconut oil for some of the butter. On top of the glaze I put a heavy cream-ground lime zest-icing sugar frosting and then candied lime slices. They disappeared. Thank you!
I made this cake last night for a Cinco De Mayo party at work today and it was fantastic! Everyone was raving about the cake and how they had never had anything like it before. It had a light texture and wasn’t too sweet like I was expecting. The lime flavor really came through (definitely use freshly squeezed lime juice) and the coconut was a great addition on the top. It was easy to make as well!
Thanks for sharing a great recipe – this will for sure get filed away in my dessert arsenal 🙂
I just made a double double recipe for Fathers’ Day and all four cakes turned out great! We live in Costa Rica at altitude so I had to adjust the baking time a bit, but they turned out very much like the picture. Thanks for the great recipe!
what will be a good cake flour to buy? and can i try this without the coconut?