Margarita Cake with Tequila Lime Buttercream

Now you can enjoy a classic margarita in a cake. Sweet and decadent lime cake soaked with a tequila syrup, layered with tart lime curd, and creamy tequila lime buttercream.

This margarita cake is bold and flavorful which is perfect for those hot summer days. It’s simple in decoration but doesn’t skip on that wonderful homemade flavor. The fresh lime slices and finishing touches of sea salt complete the ultimate margarita.

Making homemade lime curd is surprisingly easy and will make you feel like you have mastered the kitchen. The tequila lime buttercream is unique in creating a lime gel that holds the concentrated flavor of lime juice without diluting the buttercream.

In case you haven’t got enough tequila in the buttercream, the cake layers are soaked with a homemade tequila simple syrup which keeps the cake moist.

Fresh lime zest and juice is critical in the cake, curd, and buttercream. Finally, the hint of coarse sea salt that balances out the sweetness of the overall cake.

Tips before baking:

• Zest limes ahead of time then divide into 1 tablespoon packets wrapped in wax paper. Label a plastic bag filled with the 1 tablespoon packets of lime zest and place into the freezer to keep fresh up to 6 months.
• Juice the limes and freeze ahead of time. This way you’ll always have fresh lime juice ready to bake with. Keep up to 6 months.

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake:

• Stand Mixer with Paddle & Whisk Attachments, or Electric Hand Mixer
• 3, 6-inch Cake Pans
• 8-inch or 10-inch White Cake Board
• Cake Leveler or Serrated Knife
• Turntable
• Bench Scraper
• Offset Spatula
• Piping Bag
• Whisk
• Rubber Spatula
• Microplane Zester
• Juicer
• Cooking spray and parchment paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Cake Stand, optional

Here’s how to make the ultimate classic margarita cake!

Let’s Get Baking!

How to Make Fresh Lime Cake

1. Preheat oven at 350℉. Prepare 3-6″ round cake pans with cooking spray and parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer bowl combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk together to de-clump the dry ingredients. Begin mixing on low with a paddle attachment.
3. Add butter to the dry ingredients, continue to mix on low until the mixture looks like sand. Then add the eggs one at a time and vanilla mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Mix together the milk and lime juice and pour immediately into the batter. Add lime zest and blend on medium for 30 seconds until the batter is smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Evenly divide and pour the cake batter into 3 cake pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
6. Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool. Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and place into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Easy Homemade Lime Curd

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lime zest, and lime juice. Continue whisking over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the cold butter cubes pieces at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula until each addition is melted and incorporated.
3. Continue cooking the mixture for 4-5 minutes until it is thickened and coats the back of a spatula. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to fully cool.

Tequila Simple Syrup

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Continue to heat for 5 minutes until the sugar has fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the tequila. Set aside to cool.

How to Make Tequila Lime Buttercream

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together lime juice, cornstarch, and lime zest and place over medium heat. Begin to boil while stirring with a rubber spatula. Continue to mix until the mixture has become thick and transparent. Set in the fridge to cool thoroughly.
2. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cooled lime gel until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the tequila and salt. Mix until combined. Mix until incorporated completely. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
4. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add a tiny dot of green and yellow gel food color as needed. Then turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles.

Putting It All Together

1. Layer a chilled lime cake, cut side up onto cake board. Place a thin layer of buttercream on top of the cake then pipe a ring of lime buttercream. Add 1/4 cup of lime curd inside the circle of lime buttercream.
2. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat process for another layer.
3. Crumb coat and freeze for 20 minutes. Then add a thicker layer of frosting and smooth the sides out using a bench scraper.
4. Finally, add the thin lime slices and sprinkle sea salt on top.  

You May Also Enjoy:

• Raspberry Champagne Cake (recipe)
• 12 Easy Margaritas for Cinco de Mayo (post)
• How to Cut & Serve Cake (free guide)
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook)
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course)

This sweet and tart margarita cake is insanely good and simply impressive. With this ultimate margarita cake its easy to celebrate summer with your best friends!

Happy Baking!

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake program. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so you can take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/creator-program. I will see you there!

Watch The How-to Video Below:

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