I was looking through my cookbooks searching for a sweet treat to bake and I found a recipe for a lemon bundt cake. It looked like a wonderful recipe but I had one problem – no lemons. I did have limes though so I thought I could easily substitute them. As I thought through the recipe I felt it needed something else so I added in some dried cranberries. The final cake was really delicious.

All purchase links are affiliate links which means if you buy anything through them I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you)

Lime Recipe: Lime Cranberry Bundt Cake

Serves 10 – 12

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
zest of two limes
3 TBS lime juice
1 TBS vanilla
18 TBS (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature cut into 18 pieces
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup dried cranberries

For the Glaze

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 – 3 TBS lime juice
1 TBS buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350
Set oven rack to lower middle of oven
Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan
Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl

Remove 2 TBS of the flour mixture and stir into the dried cranberries to coat. Set aside.
Whisk buttermilk (I keep buttermilk powder on hand so I always have it for recipes), lime zest, and juice and vanilla together in a second bowl or measuring cup.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attached beat butter and sugar on medium high until pale and fluffy – about 3 minutes.
Add eggs and yolk one at a time and beat until combined.
Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in thirds and the buttermilk mixture in halves, beginning and ending with the flour – until just combined.

Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the dried cranberries until they are well distributed.
Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to help it settle.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 – 60 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.

Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes and remove from the pan to cool completely.

Make the Glaze

Sift the confectioner’s sugar into a bowl and stir in two of the tablespoons of lime juice. Add more if needed to make the glaze pourable.
Drizzle over the cake when cool

How Was the Lime Recipe?

We are still enjoying this cake. It’s truly delightful; the lime flavor comes through in both the cake and the icing. The dried cranberries provide a nice bit of chewy surprise as you eat the moist cake.

I adapted this recipe from a lemon pound cake recipe in The Perfect Cake from America’s Test Kitchen, which is one of my favorite cake cookbooks.