Lemon Bundt Cake
Lemon Bundt Cake
This Lemon Bundt Cake is moist and full of fresh lemon flavour! A fresh sugar lemon glaze is drizzled over and into the baked cake, taking it to the next level. So delicious. If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love this cake!
Lemons. Sometimes I just can’t get enough of lemons. I love how gorgeous they are, I love how they smell and taste…they’re just like sunshine all wrapped up in a beautiful little citrus fruit. And how wonderful are they in baking?!
Yesterday as I stared at our basket of lemons I thought, I need to make a cake with those. I usually make this lemon loaf from a recipe that I got from a good friend over 10 years ago, but this time I decided to make a Lemon Bundt Cake. Mondays just beg for fresh cake. Especially cakes made in beautiful pans.
All. The. Bundt. Cakes.
I have a love for Bundt cakes. There’s something so beautiful about a perfectly baked cake from a gorgeous pan. But I also love them because they’re so easy to make, which make them one of my go-to desserts. I’ve made an Earl Grey Tea Bundt Cake, a Coconut Bundt Cake, a Caramel Apple Bundt Cake, an Eggnog Bundt Cake and a Peach Bundt Cake. And now a Lemon Bundt cake. So basically I’m obsessed. There’s no other explanation.
About this Lemon Bundt Cake
The base recipe for this cake is my go-to vanilla bundt cake base. It’s soft, moist and is perfect for this lemon cake. This cake is vanilla-y, lemony and so good. I really think this is the best lemon bundt cake recipe!
Don’t Forget the Lemon Sugar Drizzle!
The addition of the fresh lemon juice/sugar mix after the cake has baked, really takes this cake to the next level. Make sure to pierce the cake top so the drizzle can get right into the cake. It adds so much flavour, but it also makes this cake extra moist!
INGREDIENT TIPS:
- Milk: I use 2% or whole milk in this recipe. You can also use a 6% Balkan style yogurt, sour cream or Greek yogurt instead.
- Lemon: Use fresh lemon juice and zest.
- Baking Powder: One of the most common comments I receive about this cake is concern over the amount of baking powder. This recipe calls for 4 tsp of baking powder which I have always, always used in my vanilla bundt cake-base recipes like this one. Some think this is too much. So I tried the recipe a few times with 2 tsp of baking powder instead of 4. And I did not notice much of a difference in taste or texture between the 2.
RECIPE TIPS:
- PAN SIZE: Use a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan for this cake.
- PREPARING YOUR BUNDT PAN: I use a flour/oil spray (Pam has a really good one) to prepare all of my pans. Without proper pan preparation your cake will not slide out of the pan easily (or at all). The key is to make sure you get the flour/oil spray into all the nooks and crannies, especially for some of the really fancy pans, otherwise the cake will stick there. BUT don’t overspray your pans either, you don’t want to taste the spray on your cake…you just need a light spray that covers every area in the pan. You can also just butter and flour your pan, again making sure to get it into all the nooks and crannies.
- THE BATTER: The batter is thick, not runny. This is just the nature of Bundt cakes.
- LET IT COOL: Once your cake is baked and removed from the oven, make sure to let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a plate. If you don’t let it rest, it’s more likely that the cake will stick to your pan on the way out. Sometimes I use my fingers to gently pull the cake away from the edges of the pan before I tip it out.
- HOW TO REMOVE YOUR CAKE FROM THE PAN: Once your cake has cooled, place a serving plate over the top of the cake pan, then holding the plate tightly to the pan, invert the cake over and the cake should slide out onto the plate. Gently remove the pan
- SERVING: This cake is best served the day it is made.
- STORING: Make sure to cover/store this cake and any leftovers, in an air tight container or it will dry out (bundt cakes dry out easily). I leave mine out on the counter, there’s no need to refrigerate.
- Serve with: This cake is wonderful served with fresh berries!
Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake:
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- zest from 1 lemon
- 2 cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 lemon yields about this amount
Lemon Glaze Topping:
- juice from 1/2 fresh lemon about 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a Bundt pan by rubbing the inside of the pan with butter then dust it lightly with flour (or you can use an oil/flour spray, these are great for prepping pans). Set aside.
- With an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs, one at a time.
- Then add the vanilla.
- Mix in the lemon zest.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder.
- To the butter mix, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the fresh lemon juice, then the 1/3 of the flour mix, then 1/2 of the milk. Repeat until all combined.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared Bundt pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then turn the cake out onto a plate.
- While the cake is cooling, combine the juice from 1/2 of a lemon with 2 tbsp of sugar.
- Gently poke the cake with a knife, then pour the lemon/sugar mixture over the top of the cake.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Serve and enjoy!
PIN IT for later!
I hope you enjoy this Lemon Bundt Cake as much as we do! Have a delicious day!
Note: This recipe was originally published April 2015. I have since updated the post with new images and more recipe tips. Same great recipe though!
So yummy! I like it!
I recently made this recipe as an “everyday” cake for my family. They couldn’t stop slicing into it. When I gave my teenage daughter her choice of any dessert she wanted me to bake for her birthday this weekend, she requested this without batting an eye.
I just love that it stands on its own without overly-sweet frosting or glaze. I think I will just scatter some fresh berries and mint leaves around the base of the cake to give it a festive look.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! And I LOVE your idea of adding mint and fresh berries…gorgeous and delicious!
The flavors were VERY good but this was a very dry cake. I would not bake again.
Please advise what size Bundt pan used. Thanks.
Hi Cindy! I use a 10-12 cup size pan for my recipes. Happy baking!
Delicious! Everyone loved it. My husband said it is his favorite. Thank you for
sharing.
I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this cake! It’s one of our favourites too!
This is my first Bundt cake. I scored an American made pan by Nordic Ware at Costco when it was on clearance.
Meyer Lemons are overwhelming us right now in Northern California . First I prepared 8 cups for freezing… and 8 portions of lemon zest.
To reward myself I decided to make your beautiful cake.
It’s cooling right now. Will poke and pour the lemon simple syrup on soon.
I’m going to wait until tomorrow to dust it with the powdered sugar.
The wait is the hardest part.
Thank you!
You are so welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
Delicious lemon cake. Will try it next weekend. Thanks