This delicious lime and coconut cake is so easy to make and will feed a crowd. The perfect combo of tart limes and sweet icing.

I had some fresh limes given to me by a friend up the road, so I got creative and made this delicious recipe for Lime and Coconut Cake with them. I didn't have any butter in the house so I decided to make it dairy free by using oil and coconut cream. This gives it a lovely light and tropical flavour. If you like this cake you might also enjoy my Pineapple Coconut Cake.
The tartness of the lime zest and juice is perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the icing. It is such an easy recipe to make, you just mix all of the wet ingredients together then sift in the dry. Pour it into a baking tray then bake until golden.
Ingredient notes:

- Limes: This is a great recipe to use when limes and in season and affordable. You could also use lemons if that's what you have.
- Coconut cream: You can also use coconut milk if you prefer.
- Oil: This recipe calls for a neutral oil like canola or vegetable oil.
Step by Step instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. In a large bowl mix together lime zest, lime juice, oil, sugar, eggs and coconut cream until well combined. Add the desiccated coconut and sift in flour, baking powder and soda.


Fold all ingredients slowly to mix everything together. Pour into a lined cake tray (Mine is 22 x 30cm) and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.


Once cooked remove cake from tray after 10-20 minutes and place on a wire rack to cool.


Mix all of the icing ingredients together then smooth over the cooled cake.

Recipe FAQs:
My cake tray is 22 x 30cm. But this would also work in a round cake tin, you may have to adjust cooking time though.
Yes it is! This cake is made with oil and coconut cream in place of butter.
Storage:
Store your coconut and lime cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Top tips:
This cake could also be made with lemons instead of limes if you like.
Related Recipes:
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Lime and coconut cake
This delicious cake is baked in a tray so it feeds a crowd, the perfect balance of tart limes and sweet icing.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp lime zest (zest of 2 limes)
- ¼ cup lime juice (juice of 2 limes)
- ½ cup canola oil (or other flavourless vegetable oil)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
Icing
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp coconut cream
- Zest of 1 lime
- 2 Tbsp lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C fanbake.
- In a large bowl mix together lime zest, lime juice, oil, sugar, eggs and coconut cream until well combined.
- Add the desiccated coconut and sift in flour, baking powder and soda.
- Fold all ingredients slowly to mix everything together.
- Pour into a lined cake tray (Mine is 22 x 30cm) and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Once cooked remove cake from tray after 10-20 minutes and place on a wire rack to cool.
- Icing: Mix all of the ingredients together then smooth over the cooled cake.
Notes
- This cake is dairy-free and you can make it with lemons instead of limes if you like.
- My cake tray is 22 x 30cm. But this would also work in a round cake tin, you may have to adjust cooking time though.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 2gSugar: 52gProtein: 4g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya










Hannah says
Hello can the coconut milk be substituted with normal milk?
VJ cooks says
Yes that should work.
Stacey says
I subbed the coconut cream for cow milk and worked well. Just did a second batch and used Greek yogurt and that was even better
VJ cooks says
Great to know!
Tracy Smith says
Absolutely delicious! Moist and light. Verging on crumbly, but perhaps because I overcooked by 5 minutes it so. Having said that, absolute no complaints from family or me, just be careful not to overbook. Thanks for this recipe, this is a keeper!
VJ cooks says
Thank you for the feedback 🙂
Nicole M says
Delicious! My first recipe from the website and I’m very happy. I halved the sugar in both the cake and the icing and it is still amazing (even with gluten free flour too). I will try even less sugar next time. I have already eaten way too much of it. So fresh and zingy. Absolutely love the method, ain’t got time for beaters or fancy techniques. My 3 year old only cried once when helping to make it, a success!
PN says
hello, can I use a cake tin instead of the tray? Thanks!
VJ cooks says
Yes that would be fine. Depending on the size of your cake tin, you may need to amend the cook time. The thicker the cake, the longer it will take.
Leonia says
This came out so delicious and fluffy. Only thing I changed was the amount of sugar. Half a cup of sugar is more than enough sweetness for this wonderful cake. Thank you so much!
vanessa says
Dyeing to try this! I only have lemons no limes so will be using lemons. just wondering if the addition of blueberries would be any good in the batter?
VJ cooks says
Oh I haven't tried that sorry! Let me know how you get on!
Robyn Targa says
Just made as of an abundance of limes the cake itself is super moist and very yummy but I found the icing significantly runny added a heap more icing sugar but still it ran off when I applied it to the cake. Next time I would use less liquid.
Candice Coetzee says
Hello! Would it be okay to substitute canola oil with coconut oil?
VJ cooks says
I haven't tried that sorry. I'd be concerned it would solidify differently.
Anthea says
Is this suitable to freeze
VJ cooks says
Yes 🙂