Lime Baby Cakes are dense and moist from buttermilk, and zingy with fresh lime flavor. A swirl of cream cheese frosting offers the perfect creamy contrast!
Mini Lime Cupcakes
These Lime Baby Cakes are for Mom.
For Mother’s Day, I wanted to share a recipe that I know Mom loves, but one that she doesn’t actually make for herself. (She likes to find them already made at our house!)
So whenever I make these mini lime cupcakes, I stash a few away in the freezer for the next time she visits us. It’s what any good daughter would do, right?
I hope you like these awesome little cakes – they’re also especially great for St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo. But really, these baby cakes would be welcome at most any celebratory occasion!
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Lime cake recipe is perfect for spring!
These lime cupcakes have my mom’s name written all over them. Not only are they green, one of her favorite colors, but they’re also bright with citrus flavor.
Because I wanted all that vibrant green color to show through in the most maximum way possible, I knew I wanted to forgo paper liners.
So I found these awesome silicone cupcake pans for this recipe. The individual cups in the pan hold just a bit more than my other mini cupcake pans – and I love this bit larger size!
Ohhhhhh, to go back in time. I smile at this photo.
This picture was taken on Mother’s Day when I was five years old (I’m in the red dress).
Notice the flowers on Mom’s lapel. Dad always gave Mom a corsage of fresh flowers to wear to church on Mother’s Day morning. I always liked that my dad did this, and anticipated seeing what he would bring home for her to wear each year.
These vibrant green cupcakes are fun, ultra tasty, and completely addictive.
The buttermilk in the batter makes the cupcakes dense and moist. And with real lime juice and zest, they are zingy with fresh citrus flavor.
And I don’t think I need to sing the praises of cream cheese frosting too loudly, as it seems most people are already fans. But the creamy frosting is the perfect contrasting topper to the brightness of the cake. They work marvelously together.
Lime Baby Cakes are perfect for a smaller dessert
I first made these for a friend’s party where a selection of smaller 2-bite desserts was served. The original recipe is for regular size cupcakes, however, I adapted it to make “baby” cakes for this occasion.
The little cupcakes went over so well that first time, I’ve never made them any other way.
This recipe has been a popular one on the blog, but especially so around St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, and springtime in general. Of course, I always think of them at Mother’s Day.
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Lime Baby Cakes
Ingredients
for the baby cakes:
- 3.5 c. all-purpose flour
- 2.25 tsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2.5 c. sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 5 T. fresh lime juice
- 2 T. finely grated lime peel – I use this zester
- neon green food coloring – I use this set
- 1.5 c. buttermilk
for the frosting:
- 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
- 1.5 c. powdered sugar
- ½ c. unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 T. finely grated lime peel
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the baby cakes: Preheat oven to 350° F. A couple notes: I prefer to use flexible silicone mini muffin pans with no paper liners for this recipe, but you can also prepare metal mini muffin pans with paper liners. I use these silicone muffin pans, which yield a little bigger mini cupcake than most – which I like! Sizes of mini muffin pans vary quite a bit, so your yield and baking time may vary. I set the silicone muffin pans on sheet pans, for sturdiness.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the lime juice, lime peel, and food coloring. Batter may look curdled, but that’s just fine. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, in 3 additions. Spoon batter into liners, about 2/3 full.
- Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean. This takes about 20 minutes for me, but it will depend on the size of your tins, so pay close attention to your baking time. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before adding frosting.
- For the frosting: In a medium bowl, beat all ingredients until smooth. With a medium-large plain round pastry tip (I like to use one that has a tip opening of about 5/16″), pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes, or simply spread it on with a knife. Sprinkle a bit of fresh lime zest over tops, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
If you liked these Lime Baby Cakes, you might also like these recipes:
- Lemon Heaven Bars – moist and chewy, with bright lemon flavor!
- Oreo Cheesecake Bites
- Lemon Bars (a traditional lemon bar, the BEST I’ve EVER had!!)
- Key Lime Coconut Macaroon Cookies from Lemons for Lulu
- Key Lime Cloud Squares from Love from the Oven
- Key Lime Cheesecake from Crazy for Crust
This post was previously published May 2010 and has been a popular recipe with family, friends, and readers. Some of the photographs and text were updated in 2018.
Can’t find the recipe! Only the ingredients! Help
Hi Kathy – the instructions are directly below the ingredients.
Thank you so much for this recipe! These are my favorite cupcakes I’ve ever had. I made them without the food coloring, but added lime zest on top of the frosting to incorporate some green. They were so delicious; everyone loved them!
I feel like I will love these cakes! Many thanks for the write-up! Your recipe is pretty much helpful!
Loooooove these lime baby cakes, Brenda!! Had to pop over and get the recipe as soon as I saw it… Nothing better than a pretty mini dessert in my book (especially one that’s filled with citrus flavor)! Such a sweet story about your dad bringing your mom a fresh corsage for Mother’s Day. Such a sweet sentiment. xo
Awe that is such a great picture and I love that your first commenter is from mom! Such a sweet post and these cakes look perfect!
Thanks, Tanya! My mom is a total fan of this recipe. :)