Key lime loaf cake
Makes: 12 slices
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Key lime loaf cake
Inspired by the American classic Key lime pie, this sweet-but-tangy bake features regular limes (Floridian Key limes are more intensely aromatic), condensed milk and a crunchy biscuit crumb topping – divine!
Makes: 12 slices
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
437Kcal
Fat
20gr
Saturates
12gr
Carbs
56gr
Sugars
36gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
7gr
Salt
0.8gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Ingredients
- 90g soft butter, plus extra to grease
- 75g caster sugar
- zest of 3 limes, plus1 extra lime to decorate
- 225g condensed milk
- 3 large eggs
- 200g plain flour
- 40g cornflour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
For the topping
- juice of 2 limes (use 2 of the zested limes from the cake ingredients)
- 60g caster sugar
- 100g icing sugar
- 2 digestive biscuits, crumbled
Step by step
Get ahead
Keeps for up to 4 days in an airtight container or slices can be frozen.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C, fan 150°C, gas 3½. Grease and line the base and sides of a 900g loaf tin (10cm x 20cm base measurement) with baking paper.
- Beat together the butter, sugar and zest of 3 limes until pale and creamy. Mix in the condensed milk until smooth, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour with each egg. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little curdled, it’ll come back together.
- Sift in the remaining plain flour, cornflour and baking powder with a pinch of salt and fold into the mixture until no pockets of flour remain.
- Scrape into the prepared tin, level the top and bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Cover with foil for the final 5-10 minutes if the loaf is browning too fast
- Once the cake is out of the oven, squeeze the juice from 2 of the zested limes and place in a small saucepan with the caster sugar. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes until syrupy. Poke holes into the warm cake with a skewer and brush with the lime syrup. Leave to cool in the tin.
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To finish, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix in about 1 tablespoon of water to make a thick but pourable icing. Remove the cake from the tin and discard the baking paper. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake and scatter with the biscuit crumbs and the zest of the extra lime.Make it gluten freeUse gluten-free baking powder and flour, adding 1⁄2 tsp xanthan gum to the mixture, plus a tablespoon of milk or lime juice. Use gluten-free digestives for the topping.
