CINCO DE MAYO – GLUTEN FREE LIME MARGARITA CAKE

With Cinco De Mayo around the corner I wanted to share this Gluten Free Lime Margarita Cake. I have made this cake so many times, and every time it’s a huge crowd pleaser, and so easy to make! This gluten free lime cake is filled with fresh lime curd filling, soaked in tequila and frosted with my go to cream cheese icing. The cake itself is perfectly moist and spongy and the perfect hit of sweet and sour from the lime curd, cream cheese icing and tequila.

I like to make my own fresh lime curd filling for cakes, but if you’re short on time you can always use store-bought instead.

Finally, it’s frosted with my lactose free cream cheese icing that I added lime curd and tequila to, as well as food colouring to make ombre frosting.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 ¾ cup (250g) gluten free flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• Zest of two limes
• 2/3 cup oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 ¼ cup sugar (I used coconut sugar, but granulated would work well too)
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt (I chose lactose free)
• ¼ cup milk (use coconut or almond for lactose free)
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 cup tequila
• 2 tbsp sugar

LIME CURD FILLING

One recipe of fresh lime curd filling

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, room temperature (can use lactose free)
• 8 oz cream cheese 1 block, room temperature (can use lactose free)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3-4 tbsp of lime curd
• 1/4 cup of tequila or cointreau

INSTRUCTIONS

LEMON CURD

1. Make one recipe of the lime curd filling at least a few hours before starting the cake so it has time to chill, or you can use store-bought lime curd if you’re short on time. You will need about ½ cup or more to fill a three layer, 6″cake, and up to ¼ cup for the frosting.

THE CAKES

1. Preheat the oven to 350?. Grease three 6” round cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and lime zest. Mix several times at a faster speed to aerate the flour (this will help create a slightly lighter cake). Set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, yogurt, milk, and lime juice until combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, slowly mixing together until smooth and combined.
5. Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans. I like to weigh mine so the layers are always even!
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes just until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Meanwhile, while the cakes are baking, prepare the tequila-lime syrup. In a small bowl, stir the sugar into the lime juice until the sugar dissolves, then add the tequila. Divide the tequila-lime syrup into two portions (one for each cake).
8. As soon as the cakes are out of the oven, transfer to a wire rack (keep in pan). Use a skewer or toothpick to immediately poke holes in each cake, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart, and through the depth of the cake. Slowly pour the tequila-lime syrup over the cake, slowing as needed to allow the syrup to soak in. Allow cakes to cool in their pans to room temperature.
9. Using a sharp knife, slowly cut the top off each cake layer to create a level top ready for icing.
10. Stack cakes between parchment paper and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. This step can be skipped if needed, however it does make icing the cakes much easier.

THE FROSTING

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
• Add the cream cheese, and beat until the butter and cream cheese are fully incorporated and smooth.
• With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
• Add vanilla.
• Again, with the mixer on low, add the lime curd and tequila, and mix until combined.
• Continue beating, increasing speed to medium for about 30 seconds
• Add extra icing sugar if it needs thickening. You don’t want it to be too runny, otherwise it will sink in between the cake layers.
• To create the ombre effect, separate the icing into 3 bowls with two equal amounts into two bowls, and slightly more of the plain white frosting into the last bowl, as this will be used to frost the top of the cake too. I added a tiny bit of green and yellow gel colouring to the first bowl, to create a lime green colour. Add yellow gel colouring to the second bowl, and leave the third bowl with out any colouring. Make sure to add the colouring very small bits at a time, I like to use the tip of a knife, dipped into the colouring, and then spread into the frosting.
• Refrigerate the frosting before using, as this will make it easier to ice the cake. If during icing it gets too runny, place back in the fridge or freezer to stiffen.

DECORATIONS

LIMES

I used dehydrated lime slices. To dehydrate the limes, slice into thin layers using a very sharp knife. I then placed in my air fryer on dehydrate setting, at 190 degrees for 2 hours. Time may vary with different air fryers.

WHITE CHOCOLATE FANS & SHARDS

1. Melting one package of Bakers white choc (170g) using a double boiler
2. Split the chocolate equally between 3 small bowls and add the same colouring used for the frosting to each bowl, leaving one bowl just white.
3. Pour the coloured white choc into two piping bags with a small hole cut in the end of each. Leave the plain white chocolate in the bowl.
4. Onto a plastic sleeve, pipe the first two colours directly onto the sleeve, in a zig zag pattern. Lastly add the white choc over the top of the coloured chocolate using a spoon.
5. With an offset cake spatula, spread the icing into a fan shape, about 1/2 cm thick.
6. Using small bull dog clips, clip the bottom of the plastic sleeve to create a rippled fan shape.
7. For the chocolate shards, use the same technique but don’t clip the bottom, just leave them flat.
8. Place both plastic sleeves, flat, into the freezer to set. Once you’re ready to use, gently peel away the plastic sleeve to leave just the chocolate shape.
9. You need to work fairly quickly with this process before the chocolate starts to cool and thicken, so make sure to have all your equipment ready to use.

ASSEMBLE

1. Place the first layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Pipe a thick frosting border of the darkest coloured frosting around the outside edge of the cake. Fill inside the frosting border with ¼-? cup of lime curd, just so the filling almost reaches the top of the border. Top with the next layer of cake and repeat.
2. Once the cake layer are assembled, pipe the darker frosting around the outside of the bottom layer. Do the same with your next colour frosting around the middle of the cake, and use the plain white icing around the outside of the top layer and across the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula, dipped into a tall glass of hot water, to spread the frosting evenly around the outside and across the top of the cake.
3. Once the cake is frosted, then decorate however you’d like. You can keep any extra frosting to help with securing decorations items (like the lime slices) to the cake.
4. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator under a cake dome or airtight cake container until 15-20 minutes before you’re ready to serve.

NOTES

• This recipe could easily be turned into cupcakes.
• Store the cake in the fridge if you are using the cream cheese icing.
• This cake will freeze easily.

Happy Baking!