Servings: one 10-inch cake

INGREDIENTS

4 sticks butter, that’s 1 pound, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs plus 2 yolks, room temperature
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh key lime juice.  If Key limes are not available conventional limes are perfectly fine. Stay away from the bottled Key lime juice unless you like a distinct metallic taste.
1/4 cup evaporated milk, (I always keep a good number of those small, 5 ounce cans in my pantry.)
1/4 cup grated Key lime zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°.  Cover inside of 10 inch tube pan with non-stick spray.  My pan is 10  1/2″ and it’s just fine.  Set aside.
Using a stand-up mixer or electric hand-held, beat the butter well until light in color and fluffy scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add sugar and again beat well for at least 5 minutes.  I use a stand up mixer and beat the mixture 5-10 minutes.  I don’t like a “grainy” cake.
One at a time add the eggs and beat only until the yellow disappears.
Add lime zest to batter and mix to combine.
Stir juice, milk and vanilla together.
Now mixing by hand, gradually flour to the butter-egg mixture alternating with the key lime juice and milk mixture.  Begin and end with flour.  Mix just enough to incorporate all ingredients.  You don’t want a tough pound cake!
Pour evenly into the tube pan and tap pan on the counter to loosen any air bubbles.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs but not wet.
Cool on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes in the pan then transfer from pan to cooling rack and allow to cool another hour or until completely cool.

The cake is far better the following day or 2 days later.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Icing

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3-4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Key lime juice
2-3 teaspoons grated key lime zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Using a hand mixer beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until well mixed.
Add confectioner’s sugar and beat well until completely smooth and fluffy.
Add key lime juice, zest and vanilla and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
Ice cake.
This makes quite a bit of icing.  After icing the entire  pound cake I fill the middle hole with the excess icing.  When the cake is served icing can be taken from the middle and dolloped along the side the slice of cake.  Or fill a pretty bowl with the excess icing and serve with the cake slices.