Coconut Lime Pound Cake
Incredibly moist lime-flavored pound cake with a decadent but simple coconut lime glaze!
Servings:8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, completely softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- zest of 2 limes
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter, increase to ½ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream, or half and half, or other milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with wax paper or nonstick foil and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter until very light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Mix in the eggs, greek yogurt (or sour cream), vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice until combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir by hand until combined (do not over-mix).
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 55-75 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (see note). Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
- When cake has cooled completely, prepare the glaze. Mix together powdered sugar, lime juice, coconut extract, and heavy cream (or half and half or milk) until smooth and pourable.
- Pour glaze over the cooled cake, using a rubber spatula to spread the glaze evenly. Sprinkle with shredded coconut if desired. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature up to three days or in the fridge up to 5 days.
Notes
Softened butter: make sure your butter is completely softened, you should be able to push a finger right through the middle without any cold feeling or resistance.
Room temperature eggs: if you forgot to put your eggs out on the counter in advance, no worries! Simply place them in a bowl of very warm water for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the pan and start the cake batter and they should come to temperature quickly.
To check for doneness: wiggle the pan slightly in the oven, if the center jiggles, leave it in for another 5-10 minutes. If it seems solid, insert a toothpick or knife into the center and pull out to check for wet batter. If the top looks like it is browning too much, tent a piece of foil over the top of the pan to keep it from browning further while the center continues to bake.
2024 Recipe Update:
- This recipe has been re-tested since it was originally published in 2014. While I used to be happy with the result when baked at 350 degrees, I now know that 325 degrees will help allow your cake to cook evenly throughout without over-browning the outside of the cake.
- I've added an extra egg, another 1/2 cup of butter, and swapped baking soda for baking powder. I love the added moisture and finer, more dense yet light (how is that even possible?!) crumb in this cake with these adjustments. Hope you love this cake as much as I do!
Nutrition
Calories: 372 kcal, Carbohydrates: 79 g, Protein: 6 g, Fat: 3 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 67 mg, Sodium: 80 mg, Potassium: 91 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 61 g, Vitamin A: 155 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 46 mg, Iron: 1 mg