Did you know you can mix a can of Sprite with a cake mix and... make a cake? That's precisely what this Sprite cake does! I doctored it up a bit to make it extra yummy, and that includes an easy and delicious lemon-lime curd between the layers and a light frosting - think semi-naked cake - of lemon-lime buttercream. What a treat!

Overhead photo of a sprite cake garnished with lemon and lime slices and twists. — This cake looks way fancier than it is.

Mixing Soda With Cake Mix

I keep seeing fun infographics around the internet about mixing a can of soda with a cake mix, and I've been dying to try it. I'm always totally into trying fun baking hacks, and so that's how the idea for this Sprite cake was born! Instead of stopping with a plain cake made with soda and cake mix, I decided to doctor it up with a couple of extra (yet simple) ingredients and fill the layers with a delightfully tart lemon-lime curd.

I decided to make this cake "semi-naked" by very lightly frosting it with a homemade lemon-lime buttercream. Essentially, I crumb-coated the cake and just... called it done, lol. I love how rustic it looks with the cake color and crumbles showing through the frosting! Semi-naked cakes are great for those of us who aren't professional cake decorators (hello, it's me) since they have that fun artisanal look that you really can't mess up.

Want to see some other fun soda + cake mix flavor combinations? Click here!

A slice of sprite cake filled with lemon-lime curd sitting on a plate in front of the whole cake. — I love the slightly crumbly and tender crumb of this cake!

Doctored Cake Mix

So most of the recipes using this hack stick with literally two ingredients - a 12-ounce can of soda and a cake mix. That's it. No eggs, no oil, none of the other ingredients called for on the box. Just soda and cake mix.

Since I was wanting to create a really stunning layer cake using this easy shortcut as a base, I added a couple of extra ingredients to the cake mix. Since limes and lemons were already being juiced and zested to create the other components of the cake, I tossed some zest into the cake mix as well.

And because pure vanilla extract is always a welcome guest in my baking adventures, I added some to the batter since vanilla cake mixes are just not as vanilla-y as I prefer them to be.

So What Ingredients Do I Need?

Glad you asked! I promise the ingredients are simple, inexpensive and easily available at any grocery store.

Lemons and Limes: You'll need 3 tablespoons each of lemon and lime juice, as well as the zest from 2 lemons and limes. Choose lemons that are nice and yellow (no green) and limes that are nice and green (no yellow)! Confused yet?
Cake Mix: You need 1 15.25-ounce box of vanilla or French vanilla cake mix. Use your favorite brand.
Sprite: Use 1 12-ounce can of regular Sprite, or you can measure out 12-ounces from a larger 1L or 2L bottle.
Pure Vanilla Extract: I don't care if it's already in the cake mix, there's always room for more vanilla. Use the good stuff to really jazz up the cake mix.
Eggs: Two large eggs are used to make the lemon-lime curd, and you'll use the whole egg - not just the yolks - so there is no waste!
White Sugar: Use 6 tablespoons of regular ol' white granulated sugar in the curd.
Butter: A total of 11 tablespoons (1 stick + 3 tablespoons) of unsalted butter is what you need to have on hand. Leave the full stick out to soften - it's for the frosting.
Pinch of Salt: I always toss in a lil pinch of salt into homemade buttercreams. Don't worry, it doesn't make it salty, it just takes the razor edge off of the sweetness.
Powdered Sugar: You'll need 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar (don't pack it in the measuring cup) for the buttercream.

Overhead view of a lemon lime curd filling being held inside by a buttercream dam. — Piping a buttercream dam around the outside of the layer will keep the filling from leaking out.

Tips For Success

This sprite cake recipe is pretty straightforward, but here are a few tips that will help you out with any possible roadblocks that you run into:

Don't Overmix: You don't want to kill the carbonation in the soda and remove its lifting power. Keep your mixer or whisk moving slowly and stop as soon as the dry ingredients are combined.
Zest Lightly: You only want to remove the outer, colorful part of the fruit. If you zest too deeply, you'll wind up removing some of the white pith, which has a bitter taste.
Use Parchment: When preparing the cake pans, grease and flour the bottoms and the sides. Then cut out a circle of parchment slightly smaller than the bottom of the pan and place it inside. The parchment creates a solid barrier between the cake and the pan and will allow you to release the cake much easier after it is baked.
Let it Cool: It's very important to let the cake layers fully cool before attempting to remove them from the pan or frost them. Patience will pay off!
Buttercream Dam: The lemon-lime curd filling is fairly thick, but it's still likely to leak out of the sides of the cake from the weight of the top layer. Put some buttercream in a zip-top bag, snip off the corner, and pipe a border around the outside of the bottom layer. That way, when you add the curd, the buttercream will prevent it from escaping.

A cut open sprite cake with layers visible. — That filling... that filling is the best part.

Storage & Freezing Instructions

Refrigerate Leftovers: Because of the fresh lemon-lime curd, you will need to keep your finished sprite cake refrigerated so it stays nice and fresh.

What about Freezing?

You can freeze this cake one of two ways: freezing the baked cake layers before they are filled and frosted, or filling the finished cake. Here's how:

Freezing Cake Layers: Let the baked cake layers cool completely, release from pan, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for 3 months. You can let them thaw before filling and frosting, or you can leave them mostly frozen (they're actually easier to manipulate when they are solid!)

Freezing The Finished Cake: Fill and frost the cake, but do not add decorations or garnish. Refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours to let the frosting solidify. Wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator when ready to use.

A whole sprite cake half-dressed with frosting and decorated with lemon and lime slices. — "half dressing" the cake with frosting makes for easy decorating!

Some More Shortcuts

My vision for this recipe was to combine some easy homemade components with the cake mix and soda cake to give it a more 'from scratch' vibe. If you are looking for more shortcuts to create a cake similar to this one, here's what you can do:

Premade Lemon Curd: Replace the homemade lemon-lime curd with plain lemon curd in a jar. You can add a few squeezes of fresh lime juice to add a little lime flavor, if you want.
Premade Frosting: You can use a can of vanilla frosting instead of the homemade lemon-lime buttercream in the frosting. You'll miss the extra citrus tang, but it will work just the same.

What If I Want More Frosting?

If you prefer a fully frosted/decorated cake rather than the semi-naked/half-dressed look, go ahead and double the frosting recipe and you'll have plenty to work with!

Sprite Cake

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5 from 1 review

Print Recipe

Combining a can of Sprite with a cake mix, does it get any easier than that? This sprite cake is filled with an easy, homemade lemon-lime curd and is frosted in a "semi-naked" style with lemon-lime buttercream. You'll love it!

Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 12-14 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

2 lemons
2 limes
1 box French Vanilla cake mix
1 (12-ounce) can Sprite
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons white granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks + 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Additional citrus slices for decorating, if desired

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Instructions

Zest lemons and limes, stir the zest together in a small bowl, and set aside. Juice the lemons and limes and place lemon juice in one small bowl and lime juice in a second small bowl. You need 3 tablespoons of each type of juice. (see notes about juice)
Preheat oven to the temperature recommended on your cake mix. Grease and flour 2 8-inch light metal round cake pans. Place a circle of parchment in the bottom of each pan.
In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, half of lemon and lime zest, vanilla extract, and Sprite. Use a hand mixer to mix on low until batter is smooth. Don't overmix.
Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake on center rack of oven, rotating pans halfway through, for the amount of time recommended on your cake mix.
While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon-lime curd. In the top of a double boiler, add egg yolks and white sugar. Whisk and then turn the heat to medium and let the water in the bottom part of the boiler come to a simmer.
Whisk in 2 tablespoons of lime juice and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Whisk frequently until the mixture starts to thicken slightly, about 3 minutes.
Drizzle in the egg whites very slowly while whisking constantly and making sure the bottom of the boiler is being scraped. After a minute or so you can reduce stirring to every minute or so, and allow the curd to cook until thickened significantly (coats the back of a spoon) or until it reaches 170F.
Remove curd from heat and add chunks of butter, stirring to melt. Strain curd through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth to remove lumps and bits of egg, and then cover with plastic wrap (let the plastic touch the curd) and refrigerate.
When cakes are done, pull them out of the oven and place the pans on a cooling rack. While cakes are cooling, make lemon-lime buttercream. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat softened butter. Add salt, remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Add powdered sugar in two additions, mixing well after each one until a frosting is formed. Set aside (don't refrigerate)
When cakes are completely cool, use a butterknife to gently loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Place clean hand over the cake and flip the pan over in your hands. Wiggle the cake gently to coax it to release from the pan. Discard parchment. Place the cake flat side down onto a cake plate.
Place about ½ cup buttercream into a small zip-top storage bag and snip off a ½-inch opening in one corner. Pipe a dam of buttercream around the outside of the bottom cake layer. Fill inside of the dam with lemon-lime curd. Release second layer from cake pan, discard parchment, and place cake dome side down onto the first layer (if your cake has a high dome you can cut it off, but with mine it wasn't necessary) so that the flat side is on top of the cake.
Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the sides and top of the cake, creating a semi-naked or "half-dressed" look. Garnish with additional citrus slices or twists of rinds as desired. Keep cake in the refrigerator.

Notes

The number of limes and lemons listed is what I needed to get 3 tablespoons lime juice and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. If your citrus is not very juicy, you may need to add extra.

The cake is moist and tender and will stick to the bottom of the pan even when well-greased. Please do not skip the step of adding a parchment circle to your cake pan - it will allow your cake to release easily from the pan.

Recommended Equipment

8 inch light metal cake pans

Fine mesh strainer

3-piece Double Boiler

Kitchenaid 7-speed Hand Mixer

Citrus zester

Author: Erin
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Oven and Stovetop

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