Coconut Lime Pound Cake
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Coconut Lime Pound Cake is an incredibly moist and delicious lime-flavored pound cake with a decadent, but simple, coconut lime glaze.
For more cakes you’ll never want to stop eating, head on over to my popular posts for Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake, Strawberry Poppyseed Cake, German Chocolate Cake, Almond Loaf Cake, and Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.
Why This Recipe Works
This one’s for the coconut lovers — You love it or you hate it, I don’t feel like there’s an in between when it comes to coconut. But me, well you can probably tell I LOVE it. No matter how I try other ingredients, I keep coming back to coconut. And if you love it too, then this recipe is for YOU.
So addicting — This was one of the first recipes I ever developed for this blog and it’s still one of my all-time favorites! It’s truly addicting. It’s a coconut lover’s paradise to begin with. Then add lime? Fughetaboutit. You will need one whole cake for yourself.
Yogurt is the secret ingredient — Luckily, I discovered early on the magic powers of adding yogurt. A great vehicle for flavor and texture and it shaves a few calories off adding all the oils into desserts. I think it’s a great way to make a moist cake, and it offers a nice, tangy, tart undertone.
Perfect for hot summer days — You know those days when it’s hot and you’ve maybe been working in the yard or running around with your kids all day and cake just doesn’t sound great after a long day? Well, this is definitely the exception. With such summery, fruity flavors, one bite and you’ll want this cake every night for dessert all summer long. Also? It makes a great breakfast (wink, wink).
Ingredients
- Butter — I use unsalted butter, but you can use salted if that’s what you have. Make sure it’s softened before you add it to the batter.
- Sugar — Refined, white sugar is what you need in this recipe.
- Plain Greek Yogurt — I like to use plain Greek yogurt for its creaminess and slightly tart taste. But you can also substitute sour cream.
- Eggs — Large eggs are good here. They help to bind the cake together.
- Vanilla — I like to use real vanilla extract but you can use artificial if that’s what you have.
- Lime zest — The fresh zest of a lime is key here! Make sure to only zest the green part of the outer layer of lime. Once you start zesting the pith it gets bitter.
- Lime juice — Again, I love the fresh lime juice in this pound cake and glaze. If you have the lime for zesting then just use the same lime for juicing.
- Flour — All-purpose white flour is what you’ll need in this recipe.
- Coconut extract — Not everyone has this in their spice cabinet, I realize. If you don’t have coconut extract, don’t worry, you can skip it. It just adds a little more coconut flavor to the glaze, but it’ll taste great without it too.
- Heavy cream — If you don’t have heavy cream, you can substitute half-and-half, or use other milk you have on hand. If you’re using milk the glaze may not be as thick.
Here’s How You Make It
Making this coconut lime pound cake couldn’t be easier. Just mix together the wet and dry ingredients, bake, and glaze!
- First, turn the oven on to preheat at 325 degrees. Then, line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with wax paper or nonstick foil and spray with cooking spray. (not pictured)
- Next, get out a large bowl and cream together the sugar and butter until it’s light and fluffy. Then, add the Greek yogurt (or sour cream if substituting), the eggs, vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice and blend until smooth. (photos 3-6)
- In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. (photos 1-2)
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them all together just until combined (do not over-mix!). Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and put in the oven to bake for 55-75 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (photos 7-9)
- Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. (not pictured)
- When the cake is cooled off, make the glaze (or make the glaze while the cake is cooling, but refrain from pouring over till the cake has cooled all the way). Use a hand or stand mixer to mix together the powdered sugar, lime juice, coconut extract, and heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk) until it’s smooth and pourable. (photos 10-11)
- Once it’s pourable, tip the bowl over and pour the glaze over the cooled cake, using a rubber spatula to get it out of the bowl and also to spread the glaze evenly over the pound cake. (not pictured)
- Sprinkle the wet glaze with shredded coconut if you like a little extra coconut flavor and texture. (photo 12)
Frequently Asked Questions
Adding Greek yogurt to this coconut lime pound cake (and all baked goods) makes the cake moist due to its creaminess. It also adds a lovely tangy flavor, and the acidity of the yogurt helps the baking soda activate, making your cakes fluffy and light.
The ideal tool for zesting a lime is a zester or microplane. If you don’t have one of those, you can use the smallest side of a cheese grater.
I wash and dry my lime, and then, holding the zester or microplane in one hand, I run the lime back and forth, turning as I go to only zest the green part of the lime. The peel will come right off. I like to hover my zester right over the bowl and the peel falls right into it as I go.
In a pinch, you could also use a peeler and peel the outermost green layer, then finely dice and add to the glaze.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Recipe makes one 4×8 or 5×9 inch loaf. You could also pour the batter into muffin tins for mini coconut lime muffins.
- Store the coconut lime pound cake in an airtight container. Keep on the counter for up to 3 days, or up to 5 in the fridge.
- If you’re going to freeze the cake, freeze it without the glaze, then make the glaze later when you’re ready to serve it and the cake has come up to room temperature.
More Cake Recipes
- Best Carrot Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Oatmeal Cake with Vanilla Sauce
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Coconut Lime Pound Cake
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
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you like this Coconut Lime Pound Cake, you’ll enjoy my Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and Mango Blackberry Smoothie.
This looks so good! If I use salted butter, do I still add the salt?
Tiffany:
Coconut Lime Pound Cake: Baking powder? Or baking soda? Your recipe says both!
The recipe has been updated to use baking powder now 🙂 sorry for the confusion!