🍋 Vegetarian Lime Zest Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 200 g (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour (or plain flour + 2 tsp baking powder)
- 200 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter (softened)
- 3 large free-range eggs
- Zest of 2 limes
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tbsp milk (or plant milk if preferred)
- Pinch of salt
For the glaze (optional):
- 100 g (1 cup) icing sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- Extra lime zest for topping
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) / 350°F / Gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm (8-inch) round cake tin.
- Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.
- Fold in flour, salt, lime zest, and juice gently. Add the milk if the batter feels too thick.
- Pour into the tin and smooth the top.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
- Make glaze (optional): mix icing sugar with lime juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake and sprinkle with extra zest.
✨ This cake is naturally vegetarian. If you’d like it vegan, I can give you an egg-free version too. Would you like me to?
Is there a similar cake that doesn’t use eggs?
Yes! You can make a lovely egg-free lime sponge cake that’s still fluffy and light. Here’s a vegan-friendly version (but you can use dairy if you prefer):
🍋 Egg-Free Lime Sponge Cake (Vegan Option)
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 200 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- Pinch of salt
- Zest of 2 limes
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 250 ml (1 cup) plant milk (soy, oat, almond – or dairy milk if not vegan)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For glaze (optional):
- 100 g (1 cup) icing sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- Extra zest for decoration
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) / 350°F / Gas 4. Grease and line an 8-inch (20cm) round tin.
- Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb, salt, and lime zest in a bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients: oil, milk, lime juice, and vanilla in a jug.
- Combine wet and dry: pour wet mixture into dry and stir gently until just combined (don’t overmix).
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.
- Glaze: mix icing sugar with lime juice, drizzle over cooled cake, sprinkle with zest.
This gives you a moist, citrusy sponge without eggs.
👉 Do you want me to also give you a richer, denser lime loaf cake (like a pound cake style) without eggs, or do you prefer the light fluffy sponge type?
Absolutely! Crystallised ginger pairs wonderfully with citrus cakes — it adds warmth, sweetness, and a little chew. You can use it in any of your lime or lemon cakes or even flapjacks. Here’s how and a dedicated recipe too.
🍋 Adding Crystallised Ginger to Lime or Lemon Cakes
- Amount: 50–75 g (about ¼–⅓ cup) finely chopped crystallised ginger for a standard 2 lb loaf or 8-inch cake.
- Method: Fold it in with the flour so it’s evenly distributed.
- Tip: Toss ginger in a teaspoon of flour before folding it into the batter to prevent it from sinking to the bottom.
🍰 Lime & Crystallised Ginger Loaf Cake (Egg-Free Option)
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 200 g (1 cup) sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- Zest of 2 limes
- 100 g (½
That cake sounds great but the ingredients list you gave me appears incomplete
Ah, you’re right — I cut off mid-list 😅 Let me give you the full, complete egg-free Lime & Crystallised Ginger Loaf Cake recipe.
🍋🥄 Lime & Crystallised Ginger Loaf Cake (Egg-Free / Vegetarian)
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 200 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- Zest of 2 limes
- 100 g (½ cup) neutral oil (sunflower, rapeseed, or light olive oil)
- 200 g (¾ cup
I only have baking powder no bicarbonate what should I do?
That’s totally fine 👍 — you can absolutely still make the lime & crystallised ginger loaf (and any of the cakes we discussed) using only baking powder. You’ll just make a small adjustment.
🧁 If You Only Have Baking Powder
💡 Key Idea:
Baking powder already contains bicarbonate of soda plus an acid (usually cream of tartar), so you can use a little extra to replace what the bicarb would have done.
✅ How to Adjust
If the recipe calls for:
- 1½ tsp baking powder + ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
→ Use 2 to 2¼ tsp baking powder total.
That’s it. No other changes needed.
👨🍳 Example: Lime & Crystallised Ginger Loaf (adjusted for only baking powder)
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 200 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder (instead of both baking powder + bicarb)
- Pinch of salt
- Zest of 2 limes
- 100 g (½ cup) neutral oil (sunflower, rapeseed, or light olive oil)
- 200 g (¾ cup) plain yogurt (dairy or plant-based)
- 50 ml (3 tbsp) lime juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 75 g (about ⅓ cup) crystallised ginger, finely chopped
Method
- Preheat your air fry oven to 160°C. Line a 2 lb loaf tin.
- Mix dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lime zest, and chopped ginger.
- Whisk wet ingredients – oil, yogurt, lime juice, and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine wet and dry gently until just mixed.
- Bake for 30–38 minutes (air fry oven) or 40–45 minutes (regular oven), until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes in the tin before transferring to a rack.
Optional: drizzle with a quick glaze (icing sugar + lime juice) and sprinkle extra