| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 3 hr 5 min |
| Active: | 55 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for the pans
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup pastel sprinkles
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 cups (one 1-pound box) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest, 2 to 3 tablespoons key lime juice and key lime half-moon slices, for garnish
- Pastel sprinkles, for garnish
Instructions
- For the vanilla cake: Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment rounds. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter and granulated sugar together in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the egg whites. Beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla.
- Reduce the speed to medium and add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on high to smooth the batter, 10 to 15 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold the sprinkles in by hand.
- Divide the batter between the 2 pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the cakes on a rack for about 15 minutes, then remove from the pans, peel off the parchment and cool completely.
- For the key lime buttercream: Cream the butter and cream cheese in a clean mixer bowl in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and beat on the lowest speed until combined. Add the vanilla, lime zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice, then slowly increase the speed to high and beat until very light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, adding the last tablespoon of lime juice if the buttercream seems too stiff to spread easily.
- Set one cake layer on a serving platter or cake turntable if you have one. Spread the top with about 1 1/2 cups buttercream almost to the edges. Top with the other cake layer, flat-side up. Spread the top of the cake with a heaping cup of buttercream and smooth with a large offset spatula. Spread the remaining buttercream on the sides of the cake. Hold the offset spatula at a 45-degree angle to the cake and rotate the cake (or turntable) to smooth the edges, leaving a thin layer of buttercream with the layers slightly showing through.
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with sprinkles and decorate the edge with the lime slices. Chill the cake to set the layers for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 881 |
| Total Fat | 47 g |
| Saturated Fat | 29 g |
| Carbohydrates | 112 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 84 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 160 mg |
| Sodium | 332 mg |
Reviews
If you put the bottom cake layer on your plate upside down, you won’t have to deal with a hump and your cake layers wanting to slide off. Learned this from my mother.
I made this cake for my daughters birthday. Followed recipe exactly. Cake turned out dry only baked 28 mins.
But taste was very good. Not sure if my oven cooked high.
But the frosting was delicious and I made with just regular limes.
I did not make the cake because I needed a GF cake but I did make the key lime frosting and it was absolutely AMAZING!! This frosting was so good and it really made the my GF cake taste great. Thank you Trisha for an amazing frosting recipe.
I made this for my mom’s birthday after we saw it on TV, and it was delicious! I halved the frosting recipe because the version we saw on the episode was a “naked” cake, and it was the perfect amount! It wasn’t too rich and perfect for summer! I would make this again.
Used a box cake as this was a last minute cake. The icing is so wonderful! Not overpowering-This is such a keeper for our family.