Key Lime Cupcakes
Key Lime Cupcakes have all the flavors of key lime pie in a pretty little cupcake. Bright and fresh lime flavor that’s a little tart, a little sweet, that makes for a bright summery dessert. A citrus dessert is the best kind of dessert when it’s hot outside. Who wants to eat a heavy or warm dessert that weighs you down? These cupcakes are fluffy, light and very enjoyable.

Key limes are smaller than regular limes and they are also slightly sweeter which brings amazing flavor to these cupcakes. Key lime juice and zest is in the cupcakes and the cream cheese frosting. Yes, I used cream cheese frosting for extra flavor.

Being smaller than regular limes, it does take longer to juice key limes and it takes more limes to get the juice, but the results are worth it because there is nothing better than freshly squeezed juice. Only 3 tablespoons are needed for the whole recipe, so it’s not that bad of a task.

Lime zesting tip
Be sure to zest the limes BEFORE you juice them because it is next to impossible to get zest from a deflated lime, and a mini one at that!
Your eyes are not deceiving you, there is a slight green tinge to the frosting. I wanted to give the frosting a hint of lime green and I achieved this by adding a little green and yellow natural food coloring to get a vibrant lime green to a little of the frosting. I then pasted it onto the inside of the piping bag, then filled with the white so as you pipe, it mixes in a little of the green to get this two-tone effect.
You don’t have to do this, you don’t even have pipe the frosting, but I just can’t help myself. I was feeling creative that day.

Make these cupcakes for your next pool party or bring them to a friend’s summer party. They’ll be a hit!
If you’ve tried these Key Lime Cupcakes or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how they turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
Key Lime Cupcakes

Key lime cupcakes have all the flavors of key lime pie in a pretty little cupcake. Bright and fresh lime flavor that’s a little tart, a little sweet, that make for a bright summery dessert.
Ingredients
- For the cupcakes:
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup (156ml) milk, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons key lime zest
- 2 tablespoons key lime juice
- 1 3/4 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- For the frosting:
- 8 ounces (226 grams) cream cheese, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
- 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest
- 1 tablespoon key lime juice
- Green and yellow food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a 12-muffin tin with liners.
- To a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and pale using an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until mixed. Add the milk, key lime, zest and juice, beat until well mixed.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt a little at a time and beat on low until well mixed and smooth. Don’t overmix once you add the flour. If the mix is too thick, add a little more milk. You want a pourable consistency, but not too runny.
- Use an ice cream scoop to add divide the batter between all the cups, a little over halfway filled.
- Bake for 20 minutes until golden. When a toothpick inserted in the center it should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.
- For the frosting:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer. Slowly add powdered sugar while beating. Add lime juice zest. Don’t overmix or it will be too soft to pipe.
- To get the two-tone piping, transfer 2 tablespoons of the frosting to a separate bowl and mix with the green and yellow coloring until it is lime green.
- Refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes to make it firm for piping
- Add the piping tip of choice to a piping bag (I used a start tip). Hold the tip and turn the bag inside out over your hand, paste the green frosting to the side of the bag, close to the tip. Use a separate spoon to add the white frosting to the other side of the bag. Whatever ratio you use, you want more white than green. Pipe onto the cupcakes.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1 cupcakeAmount Per Serving Calories 295Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 14gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 90mgSodium 446mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 7g
This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.
34 Comments on “Key Lime Cupcakes”
Just made these for my sons birthday and they came out delish, if I could post a picture I would! The cake portion is the perfect texture, love it.
I’m so happy to hear this. I hope he had a lovely birthday and I wish you could post a pic too. Thank you for the feedback.
I haven’t made these yet. Could I use Nellie &Joe’s key lime juice instead? Would I use the same amount as I would if I used fresh key lime juice?
Thank you
Yes, bottled key lime juice will work, using the same amount. Enjoy.
Is the frosting stable to sit at room temp? If so, what timeframe? Thanks π
The frosting can sit at room temperature for up to 3 days. Enjoy.
Can I use 2% milk for this recipe
2% milk should work just fine. Let me know if you have any more questions, enjoy π
Do use use regular milk or buttermilk?
I use regular whole milk, but you can use buttermilk if you wish. Enjoy.
The cupcakes turned out simply delicious!
Thank you for the recipe!π§
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, thank you for the feedback.
Hi my name is Patricia and I have a passion for baking. I’ve bake these cupcakes twice and I’m not satisfied with the flavor of the cupcake. The 3 teaspoon of lime juice doesn’t stand out for me. What could I add or delete to get more lime flavor. Once I pipe the cupcakes I taste the lime but the flavor is in the frosting.. Help!
This is a simple fix and the solution is add more lime zest. Citrus zest always has more flavor than the juice and this way you’re not adding more liquid to throw off the balance of wet and dry ingredients. I sometimes find this with some limes that they don’t have as much flavor as others. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions.
Can I substitute gluten-free flour?
Thanks so much.
I do not have a gluten-free cupcake recipe, but you can find a good gluten-free recipe and apply it to this recipe. You can use my frosting recipe for the gluten free cupcakes. I hope this helps.
I made these key lime cupcakes yesterday. They turned out AMAZING. Especially grateful as this was the second recipe I tried. The first one from another baker was a big fail.
I’m so happy you found my recipe and you had better luck than the first one. Thank you for leaving the feedback.
Cupcakes are great, just would like more of a Stronger Key like flavor. Would it hurt to add more lime juice?Β
You could add more lime juice, but I would replace it with some of milk as you don’t want to add any more liquid to the recipe. You can also add more lime zest.
Canβt wait to try for a summer party! They look yum!
Thank you, enjoy π
making these for mothers day hope it works out
Enjoy the cupcakes. Let me know if you have any questions.
Hi! This recipe looks great- could I use normal limes instead if key limes?
Yes, the cupcakes are just as good using regular limes. I hope you enjoy them
I just made a practice batch of these that I plan on bringing to my moms surprise birthday this weekend (she loves key lime). I tasted the batter before baking and the lime flavor is so good, cupcakes came out perfect now I just have to get the frosting right π
I am a big fan of practicing a new recipe (especially when it comes to baking) and I’m glad you’re happy with them. I hope your mom enjoys her birthday.
Halved the recipe to make six and used real key limes! So delish and very limey
These turned out excellent!!! I’ve given out the recipe to several that asked for it. I didn’t do the 2 tone frosting but still very good.
Can you make this receipe in a 9×13 pan
Hi Sandy, I haven’t and I haven’t measured the amount of batter to know for sure if it would work.
Love key limes and these cupcakes look gorgeous!. Such a great flavor. And the frosting looks so delicious!
These would definitely be a hit at any party, Janette. I love the green stripe in the frosting!