Key Lime Cupcakes
These Key Lime Cupcakes are a fun take on a traditional key lime pie featuring a delicious lime cake topped off with luscious fluffy key lime buttercream.
The Cupcake
There is just something about citrus that just speaks of summer and sunshine and these key lime cupcakes are basically all that in a cupcake. The cupcake itself if flavoured with lime juice. I didn’t specify Key lime juice as it can sometimes be hard to find, especially here up north. If you can get key limes, definitely use them. If not, regular limes work just as well. I would even grate a little zest into the cake batter as well as the juice if you really enjoy that lime flavour.
The Buttercream
For the buttercream, there’s some more key lime realness to make sure you get plenty of key lime in every bite. I love my buttercream light and fluffy, it also makes it a lot easier to pipe out. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, either use less lime juice or add more powdered sugar. It really depends if you want a sweeter frosting or more in your face lime flavour.
Looking for more great cupcake recipes?
Check out some of my favourites:
Key Lime Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
1 box White Cake Mix +box ingredients
1/2 cup Lime Juice
Frosting:
1 cup Butter
4 cup Powdered Sugar
6 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Lime Zest
1 drop Green Food Colouring
DIRECTIONS
Make batter according to box EXCEPT replace 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup lime juice.
Fill liners about 1/2 full.
Bake 16-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely on wire rack.
Cream butter in a large bowl.
Add lime juice and food colouring.
Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until incorporated.
Add lime zest and whip until distributed.
Transfer to piping bag to frost cupcakes.

Key Lime Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 box White Cake Mix +box ingredients
- 1/2 cup Lime Juice
- Frosting:
- 1 cup Butter
- 4 cup Powdered Sugar
- 6 tbsp Lime Juice
- 2 tsp Lime Zest
- 1 drop Green Food Colouring
Instructions
- Make batter according to box EXCEPT replace 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup lime juice.
- Fill liners about 1/2 full.
- Bake 16-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely on wire rack.
- Cream butter in a large bowl.
- Add lime juice and food colouring.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until incorporated.
- Add lime zest and whip until distributed.
- Transfer to piping bag to frost cupcakes.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Liz Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys cooking and baking, food photography, and reading.
Looks amazingly yummy! Will make for a birthday later this month.
What do you set the oven at?
I set it at 350 and cooked them for 15 minutes!
The normal temperature for baking cakes or cupcakes is 350°. Also you would bake according to package directions of the cake mix.
I would bake them at the temperature on the box mix
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I used 1/2 cup salted and 1/2 cup unsalted
Would the use of real key limes change the recipe?
I just made them with real key lime juice from the keys and my cupcakes didn’t rise.
All of my cake mixed call for 1cup water, and half a cup of oil. Is this a mistake in the recipe?
Way too much lime juice in frosting?! It wasn’t thick at all!