Key Lime Pound Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Icing

Baked Goods, Desserts

Servings: Servings: one 10-inch cake Source:

Ingredients

4 sticks butter, that’s 1 pound, room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fresh key lime juice

1/4 cup evaporated milk, (I always keep a good number of those small, 5 ounce cans in my pantry.)

4 teaspoons key lime zest, minced

1 teaspoon vanilla


Key Lime Cream Cheese Icing

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3-4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

2-3 teaspoons key lime zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°. Cover inside of 10 inch tube pan with non-stick spray. My pan is 10 1/2″ and it’s just fine. Set aside.

Using a stand-up mixer or electric hand-held, beat the butter well until light in color and fluffy.

Add the sugar and again beat well for at least 5 minutes. I use a stand up mixer and beat the mixture 10-15 minutes. I don’t like a “grainy” cake.

One at a time add the eggs and beat only until the yellow disappears.

Stir juice, milk, zest and vanilla together.

Now, mixing by hand, gradually add flour to the butter-egg mixture, alternating with the key lime juice and milk mixture. Begin and end with flour. Mix well, but just enough to incorporate all ingredients.

Pour evenly into the tube pan and tap the pan on the counter to loosen any air bubbles.

Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for 20-25 minutes in the pan, then transfer from pan to the cooling rack. Cool another hour, or until completely cool.

The cake is far better a day or 2 later.

Icing
Using a hand mixer beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl, until well mixed.

Add confectioner’s sugar and beat well, until completely smooth and fluffy.

Add the key lime juice, zest and vanilla. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Ice the cake.

This makes quite a bit of icing. After icing the entire pound cake, I fill the middle hole with the excess icing. When the cake is served, icing can be taken from the middle and dolloped along the side the slice of cake.