Condensed Milk Pound Cake with Lime Glaze
A soft, buttery pound cake made extra tender with sweetened condensed milk — used cleverly in both the batter and a fresh lime glaze on top. Simple pantry ingredients, one loaf pan, and a cake that tastes far more special than it looks.
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer),
- 9x5-inch loaf pan
- medium saucepan,
- Small mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Whisk
- zester or fine grater
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup butter (225grams)
- 1/2 cup caster sugar (100grams)
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup condensed milk (230grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (160grams)
- 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
For the Glaze:
- 1/2 cup condensed milk (153grams)
- 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
- grated zest & juice of a lime/lemon/orange
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan generously with the 1 tablespoon of butter set aside for this purpose.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the remaining 2 sticks of butter with the sugar on high speed until pale, light, and fluffy — about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one so the batter stays smooth.
- Add the condensed milk and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the ¾ cup condensed milk and the vanilla extract. Pour this into the mixer bowl and beat until fully combined.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt by hand until just combined — do not overmix. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool. Let the cake rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a serving platter and allow it to cool completely.
- Make the glaze. In a medium saucepan, bring the ½ cup condensed milk, red-wine vinegar, and the lime zest and juice to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
- Glaze the cake. Pour the warm glaze evenly over the fully cooled cake, letting it settle into the top and drip down the sides. Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
Notes / Tips
- Room-temperature butter and eggs are essential for a light, even crumb. Take them out well ahead of time.
- Do not rush the creaming stage — the full 5 to 8 minutes is what gives the cake its lift.
- Once the flour goes in, fold gently by hand. Overmixing is the main cause of a dense pound cake.
- Glaze a completely cooled cake with a warm glaze so it soaks in rather than sliding off.
- Handy metric guide: 1 cup butter ≈ 226 g · ½ cup sugar ≈ 100 g · ¾ cup condensed milk ≈ 225 g (batter) + ½ cup ≈ 150 g (glaze) · 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour ≈ 170 g. Keep these as a reference; the recipe above works perfectly in cups too.