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    Home » Cakes and Cupcakes

    Vegan Key Lime Cake

    Published: Sep 29, 2016 Updated: Aug 13, 2022 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Key Lime Cake

    This vegan key lime cake is light, fluffy and moist with so much delicious lime flavor. Ideal for a birthday or any special occasion.

    Sliced key lime cake on a white cake stand.

    This vegan key lime cake was heaps of fun to make. I made it for my sisters birthday. And everyone loved it.

    The thing with being a food blogger is if someone is having a birthday you don’t just go making something you’ve made before, it has to be a new thing!

    So when my sisters birthday was coming around I went looking for new cake ideas and landed on the idea of a key lime cake.

    It makes an ideal birthday cake or special occasion cake. It’s light, fluffy, moist, flavorful and all those lovely things.

    You’ll also love our vegan key lime cupcakes and vegan key lime pie.

    Ingredients You’ll Need For The Cake:

    Ingredients for vegan key lime cake.

    Ingredients You’ll Need For The Frosting:

    Ingredients for key lime frosting.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Lime juice and lime zest – both regular limes and key limes will work great here, so just use whatever is easiest.
    • Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil.
    • White vinegar – distilled white vinegar reacts with the baking soda creating the rise for this cake. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
    • Soy milk – can be replaced with a different non-dairy milk.
    • Vegan butter – if your vegan butter comes in a tub then there is no need to soften it first. If it’s a very firm stick-style vegan butter then let it soften out the fridge first OR simply beat it in your stand mixer for a couple of minutes to soften before adding the other ingredients for the frosting.
    Sliced key lime cake on a white cake stand.

    How To Make Vegan Key Lime Cake

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt and whisk together.
    Dry ingredients added to measuring bowl and mixed.
    • Add soy milk, canola oil, vinegar, lime juice and lime zest and mix into a batter. Don’t overmix.
    Wet ingredients added to measuring bowl and mixed.
    • Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch round cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom).
    • Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    Key lime cake in cake pans before and after baking.
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    Key lime cakes cooling on a wire cooling rack.
    • Add softened vegan butter, powdered sugar and lime juice to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat together until smooth and fluffy.
    Powdered sugar and lime juice added to stand mixer and beaten into frosting.
    • When your cake layers have cooled completely then spread on the frosting.
    Frosted key lime cake on a white cake stand.
    • Slice the cake and serve.
    Sliced key lime cake on a white cake stand.

    Baker’s Tips

    Spoon and level or weigh the flour. If you don’t have a food scale then spoon and level the flour. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup. If you do have a food scale then the easiest thing is just to weigh it out on your food scale.

    Don’t overmix the batter. Mix it until just mixed. If you over-mix it, it can affect the rise and texture.

    Make cupcakes. This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Bake time will be around 20 minutes. Alternatively take a look at our vegan key lime cupcakes for a perfect 12 cupcakes.

    Baking pan sizes. You can also bake this cake in two 9-inch cake pans. The layers will just be a little thinner. Baking time can reduce by 5 minutes (to 25 minutes).

    Make it gluten free. If you’d like to make this cake gluten free then try a gluten free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. We have not tested it with this recipe but that is usually what works.

    Slice of vegan key lime cake on a cake lifter.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep it stored at room temperature for 2-3 days (covered) or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving.

    It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then come to room temperature on the counter before serving.

    Slice of vegan key lime cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Delicious Vegan Cakes

    1. Vegan Lemon Cake
    2. Vegan Strawberry Cake
    3. Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    4. Vegan Chocolate Cake
    5. Vegan Biscoff Cake
    6. Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
    Slice of vegan key lime cake on a white plate.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Sliced vegan key lime cake on a white cake stand.

    Vegan Key Lime Cake

    This vegan key lime cake is light, fluffy and moist with so much delicious lime flavor. Ideal for a birthday or any special occasion.
    4.89 from 26 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 507kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    Key Lime Cake:

    • 2 ⅔ cups All Purpose Flour (330g)
    • 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
    • ¾ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 ½ cups Soy Milk (360ml) or other non-dairy milk
    • ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice Freshly Squeezed
    • 2 Tablespoons Lime Zest

    Key Lime Frosting:

    • ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
    • 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
    • 3 ½ Tablespoons Lime Juice Freshly Squeezed
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray.
    • Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt and whisk together.
    • Add soy milk canola oil, vinegar, lime juice and lime zest and mix into a batter. Don't overmix.
    • Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch round cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom).
    • Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    • Add softened vegan butter, powdered sugar and lime juice to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat together until smooth and fluffy.
    • When your cake layers have cooled completely then spread on the frosting.
    • Slice and serve.

    Notes

    1. Spoon and level or weigh the flour. If you don’t have a food scale then spoon and level the flour. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup. If you do have a food scale then the easiest thing is just to weigh it out on your food scale.
    2. Lime juice and lime zest – both regular limes and key limes will work great here, so just use whatever is easiest.
    3. Vegan butter – if your vegan butter comes in a tub then there is no need to soften it first. If it’s a very firm stick-style vegan butter then let it soften out the fridge first OR simply beat it in your stand mixer for a couple of minutes to soften before adding the other ingredients for the frosting.
    4. Make cupcakes. This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Bake time will be around 20 minutes. Alternatively take a look at our vegan key lime cupcakes for a perfect 12 cupcakes.
    5. Baking pan sizes. You can also bake this cake in two 9-inch round cake pans. The layers will just be a little thinner. Baking time can reduce by 5 minutes (to 25 minutes).
    6. Make it gluten free. If you’d like to make this cake gluten free then try a gluten free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. We have not tested it with this recipe but that is usually what works.
    7. Storing: Keep it stored at room temperature for 2-3 days (covered) or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
    8. Freezing: It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then come to room temperature on the counter before serving.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 360mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 65g | Vitamin A: 479IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    22.9K shares

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kar says

      July 24, 2020 at 2:54 am

      I just came across this cake recipe because I am a vegan and I wanted a nice homemade cake. I enjoyed the cake thank you for sharing the recipe. 5 stars

      Reply
    2. Pixie @ Cheerfully Vegan says

      June 11, 2020 at 6:00 pm

      Somehow, I didn’t find the spot to click on stars until I already posted my review. Must add stars!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        June 12, 2020 at 9:05 am

        Thank you so much! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Pixie @ Cheerfully Vegan says

      June 11, 2020 at 5:58 pm

      My adult daughter wanted a different birthday cake this year. Everybody was tired of the old recipes. I sent her options, including your lime cake. This was incredibly delicious and got rave reviews! Three of us had seconds, because it was just that tasty. The frosting was amazing! So sweet/tart (I used regular limes as you suggested.) I doubled the recipe into a 9×13″ cake pan, and frosted it in the pan for a homey look. I didn’t need a doubled recipe of frosting that way. (Since you asked for indispensable tools for baking – the following website is one of them for figuring out how to use other pans! https://food52.com/blog/13239-how-to-make-your-baking-recipe-fit-your-pan-size )

      I did use whole wheat pastry flour, because we are accustomed to whole wheat cakes, dropped the baking powder (my daughter’s allergies…), and I replaced the vinegar with lemon juice. I used melted coconut oil for the oil.

      I sent the leftovers home with my daughter, because I would have eaten the rest of it all myself here at my house! YUM! I would give extra stars if I could.

      I can’t wait to try some of your other cake recipes.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        June 12, 2020 at 9:05 am

        Thanks so much for sharing! Yes that is a good article from Food52! So glad the cake was a success!

        Reply
    4. Rachel says

      February 13, 2020 at 1:31 am

      I just made this cake and while the cake part was good, the frosting was way too sweet for me. I may try just getting regular frosting and adding like flavor of I make this again.4 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 13, 2020 at 2:28 pm

        Thanks for sharing Rachel! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Amanda says

      November 03, 2019 at 1:11 am

      Hi – can I make this cake in advance? If so how would you recommend I store it? Fridge/ pantry/iced/not iced til serving. Thanks!!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 03, 2019 at 10:29 am

        Hi Amanda, it depends on how far in advance, if it’s just the day before then frost it and cover it and store in the fridge, it will be perfect the next day.

        Reply
    6. Mae says

      June 08, 2019 at 2:02 am

      Hi You used Baking powder and Baking soda. Can I just use Baking powder or do I have to use both. Have will it come out if I only used Baking powder? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        June 08, 2019 at 11:26 am

        Hi Mae, in this case if you left out the baking powder it wouldn’t be a big deal, but leaving out the baking soda would be. If you only use one it needs to be the baking soda.

        Reply
    7. Kennedy says

      May 31, 2019 at 6:23 am

      This recipe sounds amazing and I want to try it, but do you think it’s okay for me to bake in a bundt cake pan or would modifying the recipe have to happen to use that particular cake pan.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 31, 2019 at 11:36 am

        Hi Kennedy, I think you could do it in a bundt pan it would just take a longer baking time. I’m not sure exactly how much longer, if I were to guess maybe 20 minutes or so longer cooking time.

        Reply
    8. Larissa says

      May 11, 2019 at 5:52 pm

      Hi Alison, I have seen your other vegan cake recipes and you use flaxegg to replace the real eggs(chicken), however for this Lime cake you dont use it or any other, is it not necessary? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 12, 2019 at 7:31 am

        Hi Larissa, I don’t always use it, it’s not needed in this cake. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Nicole says

      March 30, 2019 at 4:21 pm

      All of my non-vegan friends LOVED this cake, moreso than all the other desserts at the party we were at. I’m curious as to how long you’d bake as cupcakes. I’m terrible at timing, and don’t want to over bake ?❤️5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 30, 2019 at 4:45 pm

        Hi Nicole! So happy it worked out great! Thanks for the awesome review! We have adapted this recipe for cupcakes, you can find it here: vegan key lime cupcakes. 🙂

        Reply
    10. Jamie says

      March 17, 2019 at 11:11 pm

      This was yummy! I didn’t dye it, and I didn’t make the icing because, sadly, I was out of confectioners sugar. I had a bunch of limes to use up and came across your recipe. So, I used them for the cake. I must make this for my vegan parents! Very fluffy and perfectly sweet! Thank you for sharing!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 18, 2019 at 9:14 am

        Wonderful! So glad it worked out great, thanks so much for the great review! 🙂

        Reply
    11. Libby says

      October 06, 2018 at 10:14 pm

      Hi!! I’m writing you guys from a small town in Mexico. My husband’s birthday is coming and there’s nowhere I can find refined coconut oil. Is there any substitute for Vegan butter I can use for this recipe?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 07, 2018 at 8:53 am

        Hi Libby, in other recipes commenters have noted that they used coconut oil (regular kind) as a replacement for vegan butter so you could try it like that. All the best! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Agnes says

      September 05, 2018 at 8:29 am

      hi, I have been looking for this recipe, I will be trying this in the next hour

      Reply
    13. Mary M Barrett says

      August 26, 2018 at 3:31 pm

      Made these into cupcakes last night. Came out great! Really perfect texture: fluffy and light. Really appreciate how quick and one-bowl this recipe is! Thanks!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 27, 2018 at 7:28 am

        Awesome Mary! Thanks for sharing! ?

        Reply
    14. rsp says

      August 25, 2018 at 5:01 pm

      Question: I am a bit of a fanatic when it comes to whole grains vs. processed, and I always try to substitute whole wheat flour for just a portion of the white in almost all my baking. Can I use, say, 1/3 whole wheat here? I use the white whole wheat, milder in flavor than regular. Or, can I even do it with whole wheat pastry flour?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 25, 2018 at 5:10 pm

        Hi there, it might be fine, but I’m not sure. I haven’t tested this recipe that way so it would be an experiment! 🙂

        Reply
    15. Soly says

      August 14, 2018 at 5:24 pm

      Hi, lime is a little expensive in my country. So can I use lemon instead of lime? Would it still be as good as lime?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 15, 2018 at 7:55 am

        We do have a lemon cake you might want to try in that case. 🙂 I’m not sure about switching this recipe to use lemon, it might be fine but I haven’t tested it like that. 🙂

        Reply
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