This lime drizzle cake with a soft and light lime sponge and sharp and zesty lime drizzle is a great recipe for using up a glut of limes. Delicious for afternoon tea, picnics and bake sales, it also makes a delicious light summer dessert served with fresh raspberries.

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We love drizzle cakes! From the classic lemon drizzle cake, to chocolate orange drizzle cake I have been making them for years. That zesty citrus drizzle which makes the cake super moist (sorry for those who hate that word, but it’s true!), and an extra layer of zingy citrus flavour, make them one of my favourite types of cake.
Why we love this recipe
- Easy Recipe – make the cake in one bowl!
- Delicious recipe for limes
- Packed with lime flavour
- Freezer friendly
Ingredients Notes
- Limes – try to buy unwaxed limes if you can, as you will be eating the zest. If you have kaffir limes, you can use them in this cake too.
- Plain Flour – I use plain flour in this recipe, and add baking powder to make the cake rise.
- Butter – unsalted butter. Room temperature. If you only have salted, it’s not the end of the world, just don’t add any more salt.
- Granulated sugar – This cake recipe uses granulated sugar in both the cake and the lime drizzle. You can use caster sugar if you prefer.
How to make this recipe
For full recipe see recipe card below.
- Place butter, sugar and lime zest in a bowl.
- Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add an egg and stir.
- Tip in half the flour and mix to combine.
- Add the other egg.
- Tip in the rest of the flour
- Stir to combine.
- Spoon the mixture in a lined loaf tin.
- Prepare the lime drizzle.
- Prick the cake with a fork – or a skewer – all over, and spoon over the lime drizzle.
FAQ
Yes! I used a stand mixer in these photos as my butter was a little hard, but I often make this cake by hand. You could also use a food processor too.
Yes, you can. This recipe uses plain flour with baking powder rather then self raising flour.
Yes you can. Wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months. You can also freeze individual slices of the cake.
Line the tin with baking paper.
You can use a vegan or plant based butter in this cake. I haven’t tried this though.
Roll the lime against the counter top, then use a juicer rather than your hands to squeeze the juice out of the lime.
If your cake batter is really thick and not falling off your spoon, add a small splash of milk. Only add a little at a time and stir lightly to prevent over mixing your batter.
My Recipe Tips
- Make sure you preheat the oven before you place the cake in it.
- Loaf tins can vary in size – I use a 21cm x 12cm (8″ x 5″ ) loaf tin
- For mini lime drizzle cakes, use 2 mini loaf tins (15cm x 8.5cm / 6″ x 3″) and cook for 20-30 minutes.
- Wait a couple of minutes before you spoon the drizzle over the cake. If you do it straight out of the oven it can burn on the hot metal tin.
- The best way to zest limes is to use a microplane zester.
Storage
- Room Temperature: in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I find any longer than this and the cake starts to go dry.
- Freezer: Wrap the cake well, and freeze for up to 2 months. I find the best way to freeze a lime (or lemon) drizzle cake is to slice it first and wrap the slices individually, then you can take out as many as you need at a time. And it takes less time to defrost.
More Easy Cake Recipes
Lime Drizzle Cake
Author: Robyn
Ingredients
- 100 g butter softened
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 150 g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 limes zest
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (approx 1 lime)
Lime Drizzle
- 1 lime zest
- 4 tablespoons lime juice (approx 2 limes)
- 100 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan/ 180˚C/ 320˚F convection/ 356˚F
- Line a 21cm x 12cm (8" x 5" ) loaf tin with baking paper.
- Beat the butter, sugar and lime zest until light and fluffy.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Add 1 egg to the butter mixture, and stir before adding half the flour and mixing well.
- Add the other egg, the rest of the flour, the lime juice and mix to combine.
- Spoon into the baking tin and bake for 40 minutes, until light golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, make the lime drizzle:
Lime Drizzle
- In a small saucepan, add the sugar, lime zest and lime juice, and place over a low heat.
- Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, take off the heat.
- Prick the cake all over with a fork or a skewer, then spoon the drizzle all over the cake, taking care to cover the whole of the top of the cake.
- Leave for 5 minutes in the tin, then remove the cake from the tin to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Store at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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