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You are here: Home / bundt cakes / Lime Basil Bundt Cake

Lime Basil Bundt Cake

July 16, 2012 By Laura 23 Comments

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That first day after getting home from the beach, I was craving cake. It sounds absurd, since this is hardly health food, but after a decadent week of Oreos (thanks, Dad), ice cream, peanut M&Ms (thanks, Dad again), and more ice cream, I wanted something simpler and less rich. And homey-er.

In the meantime, the basil plant above my kitchen sink had exploded. I told our house sitter she should use the basil, but I suspect she did not. So when I saw this recipe for a basil lime cake, I knew I was going to make it. You might be wondering how this cake compares to the Lemon Basil Bundt Cake I made. They are both delicious cakes–this was simpler and quicker but the previous cake was more striking. They both have a time and place.

My friend Donna, who took pictures of the Sweet and Sour Chana Saag for me, was with me while I was glazing this cake, so for the first time ever I actually have pictures of myself working. Donna is a fabulous photographer who specializes in photographing kids and families in natural settings, and having her around while I cook has been great fun, both because she can photograph me working and also because we can talk shop, with her giving me pointers on how to more completely utilize my camera. (Yes I am like everyone else in that I only understand a tiny percentage of what my camera can do.)

 

5 from 4 votes
Print
Lime Basil Bundt Cake
Cake recipe very closely adapted from Kiss My Bundt; Glaze by The Spiced Life
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: bundt cake
Keyword: basil, bundt, lime
Author: TheSpicedLife
Ingredients
For the cake:
  • 1/3 cup basil leaves minced
  • 1 1/4 cup whole milk I used 2% by necessity
  • 2 1/2 cups (315 g) AP flour
  • 2 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 1 T lime juice
  • zest of 4 limes
For the glaze:
  • juice from 4 limes
  • sugar to taste about 1-2 cups
Instructions
  1. Mince the basil finely and then add it to the milk. Set it aside and let it steep for 10 minutes at a minimum, to let the basil oil mix with the milk.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9 inch, 10 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
  3. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
  4. Beat the butter and lime zest in an electric mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar with the mixer on medium speed, and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Beat in the vanilla and lime juice.
  5. Alternating ingredients, with the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture and basil milk in 4 and 3 additions, respectively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
  6. Bake for about 40 minutes, you will know the cake is ready to come out when a cake tester comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attacher, and the sides of the cake have begun to pull away from the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
  7. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. I like a tart glaze, so I used the remaining lime juice from the 4 limes. Mix this with a cup of sugar and bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Taste, and if you want it sweeter, add more sugar. Let boil for 5 minutes and then remove from the he
  8. After inverting the cake onto a cooling rack, brush the warm cake with the warm glaze. I brushed on about 3 layers; the tart-sweet lime glaze is my favorite part so I like a good layer of it! Cool before slicing.

 

 

Filed Under: bundt cakes, cakes, lemon baked goods, lime Tagged With: basil, bundt, bundt cake, cake, lime, recipe

« Sweet and Sour Chana Saag
Ohio-in-July Vegetable Soup, Indian Style »

Comments

  1. Meagan Warncke says

    July 18, 2012 at 8:37 am

    Gorgeous! Even though I don’t bake a lot, I may have to try this! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Gina says

    July 18, 2012 at 9:18 pm

    Looks good….pretty too.
    Some things never change. You dad and uncle would come home from college and your grandmother would always have Oreos and M & M’s in the white tin. I think Chris has that white tin, now.

    Reply
  3. yumgoggle says

    July 21, 2012 at 2:57 am

    The combination sounds new to me…I’d love to try. Your bundt pan’s unique curves also captured my eyes. That was a good thing you have your friend with you while you were working. Angles and points of view make up a good click too. You’ve got good photos. Thanks for sharing.

    Myfudo here…Normally we’d never put a shameless plug back to us, but we just launched our new site and we would love for you to be a part of it. I’d love to share our newest launch with you, I hope you don’t mind? Now that we are getting a new look…Myfudo is moving to a new domain http://www.yumgoggle.com This has been a project we have been working on for almost a year now. We just launched our new gallery submission site, and we are just thrilled. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! Please sign up and check us out (it’s free) http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery
    We look forward to seeing your wonderful pictures, as always.
    p.s. We are hosting a Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway to celebrate our new Yumgoggle site, we hope you’ll participate =)
    http://www.yumgoggle.com/cakes-cupcakes-the-black-forest-cake-cupcake-a-kitchenaid-mixer-giveaway/

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    July 28, 2012 at 10:08 pm

    This was delicious! I tried it for a Mexican themed end-of-class potluck, and though it was very well received, I thought that the basil taste was barely there. The lime seemed overpowering. Next time, I may warm the milk and steep the basil a little longer to get more of the natural oils out.

    Thx for sharing!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 30, 2012 at 12:38 am

      For a stronger basil flavor you might also try the lemon basil cake that I referenced in the post. Part of the basil is uncooked, used to make a sugar that is sprinkled on at the end.

      Reply
  5. Pam says

    August 1, 2012 at 9:44 am

    I made this cake for supper club last night…it was a hit!! I had to go copy the recipe for them and they all plan to make it again. Thank you so much for sharing it!

    Reply
  6. Julia says

    August 14, 2012 at 11:16 am

    Since I found your blog this summer, I have made this cake for a frenid’s birthday, three families that had babies, one frenid that was having a difficult day (it was her deceased father’s birthday) and one frenid that had surgery. Every single family has commented how much they loved the cake. My family loves this cake too. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe. It is so easy, yet impressive. I love your blog.

    Reply
  7. Feny says

    April 17, 2013 at 8:10 pm

    Hi Laura,

    This cake looks so fabulous. Since I have abundant of Basil leaves right now, i’m think of baking this cake too. In your recipe, what measurement do you use for the baking powder, salt, vanilla, and lime juice? You typed in “T” does this mean tablespoon or teaspoon?
    Thank you for sharing this recipe Laura!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 17, 2013 at 11:31 pm

      T is tablespoon and t is teaspoon. I hope you like it-let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
    • Laura says

      April 17, 2013 at 11:32 pm

      Also, for questions like this, check out my FAQ page at the top (in case there are other questions that come up and I am away from my computer).

      Reply
  8. Mary says

    July 18, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    I just happened upon your blog while searching for a lime basil cake recipe and I’m so glad that I did! I can’t wait to try this recipe among others here that intrigue me. Thanks for your creativity!

    Reply
  9. ARLENE CALMA says

    April 12, 2020 at 3:25 am

    5 stars
    So happy to find this recipe ! Absolutely delish and I don’t normally enjoy citrus cakes but I love basil 🤤 Thank you from Australia 💚

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 12, 2020 at 11:52 pm

      Something about getting this message right now, during this pandemic, all the way from Australia made me extra extra happy! Thanks and stay safe!

      Reply
  10. Katie Petrie says

    July 9, 2020 at 9:28 am

    I have regular basil, lemon basil, and lime basil. Do you think it would be good if I used the lime basil for this?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 9, 2020 at 11:50 pm

      I certainly would not hesitate to try! I love playing with the different basil varieties–if you do make it please come back and let us know how it turned out.

      Reply
  11. Jeanine says

    September 11, 2020 at 3:13 pm

    5 stars
    This was stunningly delicious. Everyone loved it. It will definitely go on the Rotation.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 11, 2020 at 11:53 pm

      LOVE getting comments like for old posts before I knew how to use a camera. Thank you!

      Reply
  12. Kimberly says

    September 13, 2020 at 1:38 pm

    5 stars
    Love this cake! Had lots of fresh basil I needed to use and just baked it and it turned out wonderfully. The baking time needed to be increased for me by quite a bit (an extra 15 min), but I watched it to be sure it wouldn’t burn. It’s just me and my husband and I was wondering if you’ve ever frozen this cake (or a portion of it) before? I don’t know if we can finish the whole cake. 🙂
    Thanks for this great recipe!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 13, 2020 at 10:56 pm

      So glad you liked it! I have actually never frozen a cake before but I have definitely read that it can be done.I would recommend wrapping it as tightly as possible (how tight will depend on the bundt pan shape no doubt) and then wrapping again in heavy duty foil. Let us know how it turns out if you try–I do wonder if some of the basil flavor will be lost but I am honestly not sure.

      Reply
  13. Bonnie says

    October 17, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    Hi. Looking for something new to bake today and came across this recipe. Have you ever tried this in a loaf pan? And is the texture of this dense like a pound cake? I love dense moist cakes. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      October 17, 2020 at 6:35 pm

      This is exactly that kind of cake–and I agree, I love them too. Regarding loaf pans, I think it would split into 2 8X4 pans ok, but if you use a 9X5 loaf pan expect to have an odd amount of cake batter left over. You can always bake it in muffin or mini loaf pans. In general any cake that can be baked in a bundt or tube pan can also be baked in loaf pans, you just need to research the volume of the pans. I have many recipes intended for the standard 12 cup bundt pan but because I love the more decorative 10 cup bundt pans I also have mini loaf pans to bake the overflow I constantly have. It is kinda fun to have a baker’s sample to try before putting the cake out anyway. 🙂

      Reply
      • Bonnie says

        October 19, 2020 at 1:36 pm

        5 stars
        Thanks for the reply. I made it over the weekend and it was delicious and I got compliments from my brother in law who was visiting. Both the basil and lime flavors came through so wonderfully. I used the extra batter to make mini muffins/cupcakes and my kids loved them! Thanks so much.

        Reply
        • Laura says

          October 19, 2020 at 10:34 pm

          Yay! And thanks for coming back and letting me know.

          Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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