This gorgeous Lemon Lime Layer Cake combines lemon cake and lime buttercream.

An inspired and mouthwatering combination just perfect for spring & summer.

Slice of two layer lemon cake with lemon lime buttercream frosting on a white plate with forks. Lemons and limes on table in background

This Lemon Lime Layer Cake is an inspired twist on my hubby’s favorite cookies, Key Lime Sugar Cookies, and my obsession with cake. Honestly, if you know me at all then you know I can eat cake any time of the day, month or year.

With being spring and almost summer the lemon and lime combination is just perfect for upcoming barbecues, parties, and get-togethers. This Lemon Lime Cake is just stunning and makes an absolutely perfect centerpiece to any table.

Two layered lemon cake with lemon lime buttercream frosting on top, on a white cake stand

I was never really a huge lemon or lime fan of anything. I mean I could eat a lemon poppyseed cake or muffins but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find or make one.

That all changed when I started dating my hubby and his obsession with limes. Literally, I remember the first time he ordered water on a date with a cup of limes. I thought it was odd.

He proceeded to grab a packet of sugar and then squeeze all the juice from the lime wedges into his water. I was so embarrassed because why not just order a Sprite and add some limes? He hates soda though, really any carbonated drinks. Weird I know.

Anyway, after 14 years I will be honest I still get a little embarrassed. With that said the one good thing that came out of this, is that I love limes now too.

Homemade limeade – yum! Lemon-lime cake – yum! Key Lime Pie – yum.

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT LEMON CAKE:

  • Make sure to grease your pans well with butter. This allows the cakes to remove from the pan easily. I love to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, allowing for a beautiful, stackable cake.
  • Be sure to allow the cake to completely cool before frosting and stacking the layers.
  • Zest the lemon fresh! Don’t do this in advance!! Do it right before you are going to mix it in.
  • Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best results.Overhead view of lemon cake with layered lemon and lime buttercream frosting on a white plate, with lime zest on top

Since you know I love cake this Lemon Lime Cake is the perfect combination of my hubby and me in a dessert. His love for lime everything and my love for cake, collide into this deliciousness.

While our kids really are the best combination of us both, this cake would be a close second.

So need an excuse to bake and eat a cake, well then email me. I have a long list and will definitely be able to give you a reason or two. And the best reason to eat this Lemon Lime Layer Cake is that it is so dang good. Grab a fork friend and get ready to devour.

XOXO San

 

Top down view of Lemon Lime Layer Cake on a blue plate on a table with lemons and limes on the table

Don’t forget to pin this recipe for LEMON LIME LAYER CAKE to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

1st Photo- Slice of Lemon Lime Layer Cake on a plate, 2nd photo Side of Lemon Lime Layer Cake on a plate, 3rd photo, side of lemon lime layer cake on a cake stand



Lemon Lime Layer Cake

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 629 kcal
This Lemon Lime Layer Cake is just perfect for spring and summer. This gorgeous cake has layers of lemon cake frosted with a lime buttercream.

Ingredients
 

Lemon Cake

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans (2 sticks=1 cup)
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, plus more for pans
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Lime Buttercream

  • 7-8 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 limes juiced
  • 6 tablespoons lime zest
  • 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
  • 8-10 tablespoons milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Lightly grease and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans. Make sure to tap out the excess flour. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
  • In a large bowl mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, or use your KitchenAid mixer like me, cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and add in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Mix in lemon juice. Alternate adding in flour mixture and buttermilk beginning and ending with flour. Mix until well combined.
  • Pour ½ of the batter into one pan and add the remaining to the second pan. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
  • Once cakes are completely cooked remove from the oven and cool. Allow the pans to cool for 10 minutes on a cake rack, then remove cakes from the pans and place back on cake rack, allowing them to completely cool.
  • While the cakes are cooling, make lime buttercream. In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners’ sugar and butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk, lime zest and juice with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.
  • 2 Layer Cake – Evenly spread the filling on top of the bottom layer, then add the second cake on top. Frost and garnish with zest if desired. Enjoy!
Calories: 629kcalCarbohydrates: 118gProtein: 4gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 412mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 1gSugar: 95gVitamin A: 545IUVitamin C: 6.9mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

Post recently updated from original post-August 2016! Don’t forget to pin this Lemon Lime Layer Cake to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Top photo: Lemon Lime Cake from side on a cake stand, bottom photo: slice of lemon lime cake on a plate
Top Photo: Slice of lemon lime layer cake. Middle Photo: Side of lemon lime layer cake, bottom photo: top down view of lemon lime layer cake

 

Love lemon or lime – be sure to check out these other recipes.

Key Lime Sugar Cookies – A Dash of Sanity

Lemon Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Blueberry-Key Lime Cheesecake Bars – Inside BruCrew Life

Lemon Cupcake with Lemon Buttercream – Shugary Sweets

Cherry Limeade Cake – I Am Baker

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96 Comments

  1. I haven’t made the cake yet but I just made the buttercream. I have to say, 1 cup of butter for nearly 8 cups of confectioners sugar is nowhere near enough. I had to use 2 cups of butter for 6 cups of sugar to make it work.

  2. Sooo looking forward to eating my birthday cake!! As soon as I get finished making it.
    I did notice that you say 2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for pans; but then in the directions you say to Lightly spray pans with baking oil. hmm.
    Personally, I butter the pans, then put a circle of parchment, then butter the top of that with a silicone brush.
    Thanks for sharing your recipe!!! Btw I love your Dashofsanity name. Perfect!

    1. I hope you enjoyed the cake! I corrected that in the recipe, thanks for letting us know! I’ve made it both ways but buttering is definitely preferred. The parchment definitely isn’t a bad idea to help remove the cakes easily. Thank you!

    1. It depends on the size of the limes that you can find, but they generally make 1-2 teaspoons per lime. One tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons, so it’ll take between 9-18 limes depending on size. You can definitely adjust depending on your taste or what you have available.

  3. For the ease of taking this to gatherings, do you think it would be possible to make as a 9×13 instead of a layer cake?

    1. I’m sure it would turn out just fine! Be sure to adjust baking time accordingly and check that it is done in the middle. Let us know how it turns out!

  4. 5 stars
    I’m actually a huge lemon/lime fan. It so perfect when I’m craving something sweet without overdoing it with chocolate. This cake sounds divine!

  5. My family has been begging me to make this again! We can’t get enough of the lemon lime combo!

  6. I just tried to make the buttercream following your recipe & there was just way too much sugar compared to the butter. Can you check the quantities & confirm if it’s correct please.

    1. Hi Sharon! I checked and the amounts are correct. It can take quite a bit of mixing to get to the right consistency as the sugar dissolves into the liquid. It is definitely easier to use a mixer than by hand! Did you add all the milk? If it is still too thick, you can add another tablespoon of milk at a time until it is right.

  7. Wondering if you could incorporate lemon curd as a filling between layers. My daughter wants a lemon lime with lemon curd cake- any thoughts?

  8. Hi could we please have this gorgeous recipe in grams. I haven’t a clue what cup sizes are also what is a stick of butter. I am from England and would like ingredients in grams please. Thank you.

  9. Wow mouthwatering lemon lime cake.

    I pinned this recipe for Lemon Lime Layer cake to my Pinterest board, will definitely try this recipe .

    Thank you for sharing, .

  10. 5 stars
    I absolutely love this cake. I noticed others said the cake was light. The 2 times I’ve made this, the cake was dense and heavy. I followed the instructions, is there something else I may have done wrong?

  11. 5 stars
    hello dear,
    First I would like to thank you for sharing this great idea for cakes. this flavor is very delicious and gives freshness. My children love it. Thank you again..

  12. Thank you for sharing this cake recipe.
    lemon cake and lime buttercream combination is such a delicious deep flavour to this cake.
    Please share more cake recipes like this.

  13. I’ve been baking this lemon cake for several years because Martha Stewart has the exact same recipe! It is delicious. I use a mock Swiss meringue buttercream (uses pasteurized egg whites) as my go to buttercream (tends to be less sweet) so I used your lime proportions and it turned out great. The lemon/lime combo is devine!

  14. I am about to make this recipe for someone who loves lemons and lime. I have grown up with the metric system and I am very frustrated with American measures.. 1 stick (?) we don’t have sticks here.. so 1 stick is about 130grams, and then there are cups and spoons all of which are not only different but also depends whether i am measuring liquids or solids such as lemon juice versus sugar or flour… this is very confusing and honestly it’s a disincentive to even make the recipe. I note that a lot of American recipe these days offer the option to convert to either ounces or metric. It would be nice if this was the case

  15. 5 stars
    I have been making this cake for years and decided I should finally leave a review. I have made it for birthdays and wedding showers and for all sorts of family dinners. Most recently I was asked to make it for a charity dessert auction and it sold for $90! I love, love, love this cake and so does everyone who tries it. Thank you for this recipe!

    1. This made my day! You are so welcome and $90 for a cake, I bet they will ask you to make that every year now. ❤️ San

    1. How long before are you thinking?
      You can make the cakes, cool them, and then wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them. Then the day before remove from the freezer stick in the fridge to defrost. Make the buttercream fresh the day of.

      1. I was thinking 2 days. I would like to make this beautiful cake for Mother’s Day, but we are celebrating a 50th birthday party on Saturday. Was wondering if I could make it on Friday or possibly early Saturday morning.

  16. 5 stars
    The “Lemon Lime Layer Cake” is an absolute delight for the senses! This delectable dessert combines the zesty and refreshing flavors of lemon and lime, making it a perfect treat for any occasion. The bright and tangy citrus notes in each layer of the cake create a harmonious balance of sweet and tart that is simply irresistible.

  17. 5 stars
    This lemon-lime layer cake is a burst of citrusy delight! The vibrant flavors and perfect balance make it a true dessert masterpiece. Bravo!

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