Description
Everything you love about key lime pie in a moist cake.
Ingredients
Key Lime Curd
1 1/2 cups sugar
1-cup key lime juice
4 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, sliced into 8 tablespoons
Lime Scented Cake
1-cup cake flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
grated zest of two limes
4 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons key lime juice
Lime Meringue Butter Cream
3 egg whites
10 tablespoons sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-tablespoon key lime juice
pinch salt
finely crushed graham cracker crumbs for garnish
Instructions
Key Lime Curd
- Whisk sugar, key lime juice and eggs in saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves.
- Add butter and continue whisking until curd thickens and begins just to bubble; cook 1 more minute.
- Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh to remove any bits of over cooked egg.
- Cover and chill. Makes 3 cups.
- For the Lime Scented Cake: Heat oven 350F. Spray three 9-inch cake pans with no-stick baking spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper circles. Spray parchment with baking spray.
- In bowl, whisk both flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In stand mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lime juice; blend well.
- Fold in flour mixture by hand until fully incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared pans.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Turn out the cakes onto a wire rack, peel off the paper; cool completely.
- For the Lime Meringue Butter Cream:Place egg whites and sugar in the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the egg whites and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 140F on an instant read thermometer.
- Transfer bowl to stand mixer and using the whisk attachment at medium speed whisk mixture to stiff peaks. The bowl should now feel cool.
- Switch whisk attachment to paddle attachment.
- Reduce speed to a notch lower and start adding butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure each tablespoon is well mixed before adding another. It may look curdled, but that is normal.
- Now beat for 10 to 15 minutes until smooth.
- Add lime juice and salt; beat well.
- Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; top with 1/3 of the lime curd.
- Place second cake layer on top and spread with half of the remaining lime curd.
- Top with remaining cake layer and remaining curd leaving an edge of about ½-inch.
- Place about ½ to 1 cup of butter cream into a piping bag with a star tip.
- Spread remaining butter cream on sides of cake.
- Pipe butter cream around top edge of cake and at bottom edge.
- Dust cake rim and sides with finely crushed graham crackers.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American