Coconut Key Lime Pie Cake
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I have so much to be thankful for! Starting with you! I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, reading, and creating my cakes and other recipes. So much to be grateful for!
So let’s talk all things Coconut Key Lime Pie Cake
(Such a mouthful, and also delicious at the same time)
This is like a basic key lime pie, but with a few twists and some sprinkles of coconut. Bam! You get coconut key lime pie in cake form.
Graham Cracker Crust
This is (in my opinion) the best part of the cake, texture wise. It gives the cake that crunch that I love in such a soft dessert.
This crust is like making any ole graham cracker crust. I bake it right in the cake pan for 10 minutes, let it cool, and then I add my coconut lime cake batter and let it finish baking!
For the coconut lime cake
I used the same cake recipe as I did in my coconut lime cake, although this time I added some lime zest to make sure that the lime flavor really popped!
The best lime curd
I know that’s a bold statement, but if you have tried any of my recipes, you know that I haven’t let you down yet! This lime curd is so easy and so yummy. It really does give you the lime flavor that this cake needs.
Now let’s talk about the coloring! I have made the mistake, time and time again of adding too much coloring. You have to remember that a little goes a long way! As always, I used my trusty brand americolor gel (leaf green) with just a little gel on a toothpick to give it just the right amount of color.
This cake is perfect for Thanksgiving, and to be honest, any occasion! The best part? To save you time on Thanksgiving, you can make this cake up to 2 months in advance and just freeze it. Remember to pull it out and put it in the fridge and let it come to room temperature the day before you are going to use it!
Happy Baking, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Recipe
Coconut Key Lime Pie Cake
Ingredients
For the graham cracker crust
- 2 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Coconut Lime Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large whole eggs room temperature
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons lime zest
- 1 ¼ cups canned coconut milk low or no sugar, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon coconut emulsion I use Lorann’s
For the Lime Curd
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup lime juice
- 4 teaspoons lime zest
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- optional-green food gel tip: use a toothpick, a little goes a long way
For the Coconut Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter slightly cold
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 7 cups powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 1 Tablespoon coconut emulsion
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- If you want to have extra buttercream to pipe on the top I suggest making 1.5 of the recipe.
Instructions
For the graham cracker crust
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, salt and sugar. Stir until all the crumbs come together and you can squeeze the crumbs with your hand and they stick together.
- Divide the crumbs evenly between the three pans (a little over one cup in each pan). Press down firmly with the back of a measuring cup.
- Bake for 9 minutes and then let cool. While they are cooling, start prepping the coconut lime batter.
For the coconut lime cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk or sift together the all purpose flour, baking powder, lime zest and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on high until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and beat again for 2 more minutes.
- Add the eggs and the egg whites, one at a time, and beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Then beat on medium high for 1 minute. Add the emulsion and mix on low, just until incorporated.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the liquid mixture followed by ½ of the coconut milk. Add another ⅓ of the flour mixture, and then the rest of the coconut milk, and finally add the remaining flour mixture. Don’t over mix. Only mix until just incorporated.
- With a kitchen scale, evenly distribute the batter to the prepped graham cracker crust pans (about 16 ounces of batter in each cake pan). If you don’t have a scale just eyeball it.
- Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until an inserted tooth pick has little to no crumbs sticking to it. Mine took the full 32 minutes, but it can go faster depending on your oven.
- After they are done baking, let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes and than transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool until room temperature.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge or freezer until ready to use.
For the Lime Curd
- In a medium size sauce pan, whisk the sugar, lime zest, and lime juice.
- In a small bowl, whisk the whole eggs, and egg yolks.
- On medium to high heat, and while whisking it in, slowly add the eggs to the lime/sugar mixture.
- Whisk constantly and let the mixture cook for about 7-8 minutes, depending on how hot your stove gets. Once it starts to bubble, I let it bubble for 3 minutes and then take it off!
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. It might take a few minutes. I throw my butter in the mixture, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then whisk it after it melts. (If you are adding food coloring, this is the time to add it. Remember, a little goes a long way)
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass or plastic Tupperware bowl. With a rubber spatula, make sure you push the lime mixture through the sieve.
- Press plastic wrap onto the mixture to help prevent a skin and let it sit out until it comes to room temperature, and then refrigerate at least 4 hours to set.
For the Coconut Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamed for about 2 minutes. This will help soften the butter.
- Turn the mixer off, and add the sifted powdered sugar, whipping cream, coconut emulsion and salt.
- Starting with the mixer on low, mix until everything is combined.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture. Scrape down the bottom of the bowl, and then beat again.
- To help remove the air bubbles, beat with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula before spreading onto the cake.
Assembly
- Level the cakes if needed, place a small dollop of frosting on a cake board, and place one cake layer graham cracker side down in the middle of the cake board.
- With a piping bag, pipe a small ring around the edge of the cake.
- Place about ⅓ cup of the lime curd onto the cake. With the back of a spoon, gently push the curd to the edge of the piped buttercream
- Place another one of the cake layers graham cracker side down and repeating step two by adding a rim of buttercream, and then add ⅓ cup of the lime curd.
- Add the last layer of cake with graham cracker side down/
- Apply a thin layer (crumb coat) of the coconut buttercream around the cake, and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Apply the rest of the coconut buttercream and serve at room temperature.