Citrus and tropical flavours combine in this light & delicious Coconut Lime Cake with a sticky, zesty glaze.
Lime and coconut are two of my favourite flavours and they come together perfectly in this delightfully sticky and zesty Coconut Lime Cake. I love zingy, fresh flavours, as you can probably tell from the number of citrus recipes I have here on AVV. From deliciously sweet like my Sticky Orange Olive Oil Baked Donuts, to savoury in my Loaded Taco Fries with Lime Crema, there is something for everyone.
I can never resist a bargain and when I saw great big nets of limes at two for $5.00 I had to have them. Along with lots of gin and tonics, we have been eating plenty of this Coconut Lime Cake. The tropical flavours bring back welcome memories of summer which, after the recent storms here, feels like a lifetime ago.
The tender lime sponge is full of citrus flavour and heavily flecked with shredded coconut which lends a slightly chewy texture. Top that with an extra pop of flavour from the zesty, sticky lime glaze and you will be in tropical heaven!
Limes have a multitude of health benefits. Just one lime has around twenty-two milligrams of calcium and five milligrams of folate. They are also known to be anti-carcinogenic, help prevent kidney stones, lower cholesterol and combat aging skin.
All great reasons to make and eat this Coconut Lime Cake!
Please leave your feedback below when you make this cake. I love to hear what you think! You can also share your pictures on Instagram or Twitter. I am @avirtualvegan. Use the #avirtualvegan on Instagram so I don’t miss them.
Lime Coconut Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 120mls |1/2 cup lime juice (3-4 large juicy limes)
- 3 limes zested
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 190g | 3/4 cup apple sauce
- 60mls | 1/4 cup coconut oil in liquid form ( unrefined will add to the coconut flavour but refined will do)
- 180g | 1 3/4 cup cake flour (you can sub all purpose but the cake won't be quite as light. If in the UK use sieved plain flour)
- 30g | ½ cup shredded coconut ,unsweetened
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (I love this one as it is aluminium free & works really well)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 100g | ½ cup cane sugar (any other granulated sugar will work here)
For the icing
- 65g | 1/2 cup natural powdered sugar (I use this organic & vegan brand)
- 2 - 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 lime zested
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and line a cake tin with parchment paper or use loaf tin liners . I used a 9 x 5 USA Pan loaf tin
- Add all the wet ingredients to a bowl or jug and mix well.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. DO NOT over mix. Just mix until you cannot see any dry bits of flour. Work quickly. You will start to see bubbles forming as you mix and the quicker you get it in the oven the better the cake will be.
- Place in the centre of your oven and bake for 40 - 50 mins or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack
For the icing
- Put the powdered sugar in a small bowl
- Add lime juice 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well between each addition. You won't need as much as you think you will. Stop when you have a thickish, but pourable icing. If you add too much lime juice just add a little more powdered sugar.
- Pour the icing over the top of the cooled cake. It looks good when you let it run down the side in little streams.
- Grate a little lime zest on the top to add a pop of colour!
Nutrition
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Ruth says
Googled for vegetarian like recipes, andi this, I knew I had to make it.
It’s in the oven now, and smells SO GOOD!!
Can’t wait to eat it!
A Virtual Vegan says
Awesome Ruth. I hope you enjoy it!
Sally says
We love this cake. I’ve been making it for ages and kept meaning to come and leave a comment here but did not get around to it until now. Perfect recipe. Lovely flavours and so light and fluffy. Thank you!
John Pike says
I made this cake twice, it did not rise and is very heavy and thin. There was No bubbling and I did what the recipe says. it tastes good but its frustrating!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi John. Sorry you are having issues with it. It’s a cake that I make frequently myself and until your comment it’s never had any negative feedback. Funnily enough someone shared a pic of it after they made it on Instagram today and it looked perfect and they loved it. Are you absolutely sure you are following the recipe exactly? If you do there is no reason it would not work. There is so much acid in it (from the lime juice and vinegar), that it really can’t fail to react with the baking soda and cause bubbles and rise. Have you definitely added baking soda AND baking powder each time at the quantity stated, and tested them to make sure they are actually working? Sometimes if they have been open for a while or if they are past their use by date, they don’t work well. Also it is very important with this cake to get it in the oven as soon as you have mixed everything together and before the baking soda/acid reaction finishes.
Sarah says
I just looked and I have everything I need to make this but I don’t have any apple cider vinegar. Is this necessary?
A Virtual Vegan says
An acid like vinegar is necessary in a lot of vegan cakes because it reacts with the baking soda and causes the rise. I think in this one if you omit it you will still get an ok result though because of all the lime juice. Maybe add an extra tablespoon of the lime juice to compensate a bit. Hope that helps!
Len Herbert says
Hello there, you say bubbles will form as you mix but you haven’t included any liquid ie coconut/almond milk so your mixture is too dry or am I missing something, thanks Len
A Virtual Vegan says
The liquid comes from the lime juice (there’s half a cup), liquid coconut oil and apple sauce. It doesn’t need any milk of any kind. It’s quite a thick batter but it won’t be dry. Hope that helps!
Patricia says
Great combination of flavours. I can’t resist a lime glaze – yum.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank Patricia!
Hazel says
I was wondering if the apple sauce could be subbed for something else? It’s not easy to get hold of here, but I’d love to make this cake! Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
There isn’t really a sub for the apple sauce in this cake. Mashed banana would work but the flavour of the banana would ruin the nice lime flavour. All is not lost though! Make your own apple sauce. It’s so easy and takes no time at all. Just peel and core some apples. If you are in the UK use cooking apples. If not any apples will do. I’m not sure how many you will need to get 3/4 of a cup of sauce, perhaps 5 regular eating apples, or 2 -3 cooking apples as they tend to be quite large. I so miss them as you can’t get them here in Canada! If you end up with too much it freezes well or you can throw it in a smoothie or some oatmeal ( or make another cake)! Chop them and throw them in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cook over a medium heat until soft (about 10 – 15 mins) Some apples stay a little hard when you cook them like this but don’t worry as you blend it anyway. Throw everything in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. If you have used English cooking apples you will probably be able to skip the blending as they break down to a purse anyway. Then you will have apple sauce. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week in a sealed container.
I hope that works for you.
Isabelle says
Is there any reason I couldn’t bake this cake as cupcakes?
A Virtual Vegan says
I have never cooked it that way but there is no reason at all it wouldn’t work. You will need to adjust the cooking time but that will be the only difference. I would imagine about 20 minutes – 25 minutes. Check that a toothpick or skewer comes out clean before you remove them.
They will make great cupcakes!
Isabelle says
Thank you! I’ll let you know how it goes!
Angela | The Chewy Life says
Oh my gosh, I have all the ingredients to make this loaf, I’m going to try it today!!!! :D
A Virtual Vegan says
Don’t you just love it when you see a recipe you like and have all the ingredients! It doesn’t happen often. You making this cake was obviously meant to be! Enjoy Angela ?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Ooooh yes lime and coconut go so well together! Your cake looks fantastic! I love the lime zest overtop, it makes it looks so pretty :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Heidi!
Outinvancouver says
I recently discovered my love for Coconut, so are currently collecting great recipes that involve coconut. This sounds pretty good and is high up on the list of recipes I want to try soon! Thanks for sharing :)
A Virtual Vegan says
I am glad you like my recipe. Coconut is just a fantastic ingredient. It’s so versatile and is wonderful in this cake both for taste and texture. I hope you enjoy it !
Juan says
looks amazing! any apple sauce replacements?
A Virtual Vegan says
The apple sauce replaces the eggs and means you can use less fat in the cake. I haven’t tried it with any thing other than apple sauce but pear purée might work as that has a very mild flavour .Banana would probably work too but the flavour would no doubt come through. If you can use apple sauce it would certainly give the best result. It is easy to make yourself if you have some apples lying around. Peel and core them and put them in a pan with 2 -3 tablespoons of water and cook down until soft. If they are harder type apples that don’t go soft easily just purée it after in a blender, food processor or with a stick blender.
Brianne B @ Natural Girl Modern World says
Yum this looks so good! Lime and coconut are such a refreshing combination – it’ll be like a tropical vacation in the middle of winter:)
A Virtual Vegan says
Exactly! Thanks Brianne!
Jared says
My word this looks tasty! I love lime and I love coconut, but most of all I love them together! haha!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Jared! Lime & coconut are a match made in heaven!
Sam ~ it doesn't taste like chicken says
This is so pretty!!!! I want to eat it immediately. Now I’m singing, “you put the lime in the coconut and mix it all up, put the lime in the coconut, call the doctor woke him up….”
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you for the lovely comment & the song! ?
Mae (the wife @ My Wife's Muffin) says
We developed our very first vegan recipe for a dear friend coming to visit. It was delicious! Hubby even loved it, and he’s your traditional meat and taters kinda guy. I’m always looking for new vegan recipes to try. This one looks so good! And I love that there aren’t any special ingredients that I’m not familiar with yet (still got lots to learn about a vegan diet). :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Mae! Good to hear that you are trying out some vegan recipes and what a great friend you are to do that!
You really won’t miss the egg and butter in this recipe. It’s so good!
I do try to limit the more unusual ingredients but sometimes they are necessary to get a good result. In most traditional vegan cakes you would use flax or chia in place of the egg but luckily in this cake the acid and the baking soda / powder do all the work!