Even better, you can create an adult version by mixing three shots of tequila or rum into the frosting. This cake is what I bake for celebrations and birthdays.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
- 3 egg whites
- 1 (10 fluid ounce) can frozen margarita mix (such as Bacardi®), thawed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon grated lime peel
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13-inch cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, egg whites, frozen margarita mix, vegetable oil, lime zest, and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center shows moist crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. Cake will be very moist. Cool in the pan.
- To make frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy, and stir in the lemon peel and 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl thoroughly with a spatula after each addition. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
- You may use your favorite 1-2-3-4 cake recipe if you’d prefer to make this cake from scratch.
- To make a layer cake instead, grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans, pour the batter into the prepared pans, and bake as directed in Step 3. Cool the cakes in their pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Make frosting as directed.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 567 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 92 g |
| Cholesterol | 41 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 372 mg |
| Sugars | 80 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I needed to make the cupcakes gluten free but the frosting was amazing as is!! Would make them again in a heartbeat!
I added extra lime juice to both mix and icing! I used lemon supreme cake mix adding a few drops of green food coloring in the mix! So good we ate it warm!!!
I made this cake into cupcakes for a Cinco De Mayo party at work. I could not find Bacardi frozen mix so I used just a margarita mix and it worked perfectly . I also took the time and filled each cupcake with key lime pie filling after they completely cooled. They were an absolute hit!
Taste of cake/cupcakes/frosting very good. Very disappointed with the presentation of the cake/cupcakes they both fell in the middle every time I made them. Yes I used a fresh cake mix . That is a must. And no I did not change the ingredients. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Not sure what to it yet because I haven’t tasted it yet. BUT, where do you buy an 18.25 iz box if cake mix??? All of them are 15.25 oz. Also, I’m pretty sure because of the size issue, therevwas way too much liquid from tge whole can if margarita mix … the cake had to cook longer in order to cook all the way and the middlenof both layers is depressed. I really think something is wrong with this recipe.
Not sure what to it yet because I haven’t tasted it yet. BUT, where do you buy an 18.25 iz box if cake mix??? All of them are 15.25 oz. Also, I’m pretty sure because of the size issue, therevwas way too much liquid from tge whole can if margarita mix … the cake had to cook longer in order to cook all the way and the middlenof both layers is depressed. I really think something is wrong with this recipe.
What an awesome cake! If you want to bring a cake that will get the rave, this is it! I did a two layer cake and had the perfect amount of icing. I did add one drop of food coloring and some lime zest to the frosting for affect. Will make again!
I made this for Cinco de Mayo and almost everyone loved it! The one person who didn’t was a friend who doesn’t like lemon at all. But my husband still liked it even though he’s not the biggest lemon/lime fan either. This cake is very moist, which people love, and my husband said “Wow, Honey, you really know how to make good icing!” And all I did was follow the recipe; I didn’t make any changes to it.
Great recipe!! It’s our new favorite. I only used 4 cups of confectioner sugar in the icing.
This recipe is absolutely incredible! I have made this for parties, get togethers, and a Mexican themed dinner party I had. Hands down, EVERYONE loves these cupcakes! I add 3 shots of tequila to the frosting, sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt, and garnish with a small slice of lime. I don’t bake them as long as suggested. I start checking at about 15 minutes. You will have extra icing that is really good on sugar cookies! Great recipe!
Hands down the best frosting I’ve ever had! Yum.
Was absolutely delicious! Love the twang!
I didn’t get a chance to taste this cake but my daughter (I made this for her birthday), who doesn’t do cake, said she wanted it again.
Most people raved about the frosting on this cupcake more than the cake itself. I added a bit of tequila and extra lemon zest, but only made half the recipe which was plenty to frost the 2 dozen cupcakes this made.
YUMMY!!! I made this recipe with only one change – added 2 Tblsp. tequila to the batter. Also added tequila to the icing, as suggested by Tori Belle. AMAZING flavor! I do have to agree that the icing is uber-sweet (too sweet for my taste), so next time, I will most likely add more cream cheese and less powdered sugar. But there WILL be a “next time!” Very tasty and a fun treat on the right occasion! Thank you, Tori Belle!
Awesome flavor, cake and frosting. I made this for Cinco De Mayo and took to the office. I followed the recipe as written. I was not sure what they topped the cup cake with, sugar or salt. I was not able to find sugar crystals so I used Margarita salt, just a pinch. It made me nervous so I only topped it to half of them. The taste was not bad, but I would not put salt on it again. You should also add the topping the day of. I made them the night before and the salt crystals did not show up as much. There was a lot of frosting, but I was glad since I piped it on the cupcake. I will be making these again.
made only half recipe of icing. made 12 cup cakes and 3 mini loaf cakes from recipe. after icing I sprinkled with kosher salt on the icing. as icing was very sweet I believe I’ll cut back on confection sugar to 1 3/4 cup for half recipe. I noticed that the cake mix calls for a 18.25 oz box mix ..please note that only 15.25 oz box of cake mix are now available. I added 2 oz of flour to make up the difference.
Another hit with the fam. I know I need to work on my icing skills but the cake tastes just like a Margarita. I added a little Cuervo silver to both batter and butter creme icing. The cake is really light and fluffy which adds that classic ‘Rita taste.
Absolutely yummy! Must try this receipe. When making this receipe into cupcakes make sure you adjust your cooking time. my cupcakes only took 12 mins at 350 to cook.
I used this recipe to make cupcakes and followed the recipe exactly as written (except for modifying the baking time for cupcakes.) As some other reviewers have said, the cake texture was very crumbly. In fact it was so bad, even once cooled, the cupcakes couldn’t even be taken out of the pan without completely falling apart. There’s no way they could have been frosted.
I made the cupcakes and they were a hit at Mexican Potluck at the office. In Canada I was only able to find a 250 mL (1 Cup) Bacardi Frozen Mix. Used that and no other changes to the recipe. I doubled it and made 36 cupcakes. LOTS of frosting but I spread with a spatula. It was so yummy, piping it on would have been a better idea. I garnished with very thin slices of lime right before serving. Watch the time as they were a bit too brown on the bottom after 18 minutes.