This lemon bundt cake recipe features moist crumbs and plenty of lemon flavor! Light and fluffy and topped with a lemon glaze, it’s one of my all-time favorite lemon desserts and perfect for any lemon lover! Baked in a 12-cup bundt pan, this cake requires little assembly but looks stunning on a cake stand or dessert plate.
Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe
Say hello to the lemon bundt cake that almost drove me insane. Seriously, I tested this lemon bundt cake recipe 13 times in 2 weeks! While 37 weeks pregnant lol. I was so determined to get it right before baby so I could share it with you for Easter.
And although it took over a dozen experiments to get there! Some cakes were too dense, others had overly moist crumbs, while some cakes completely lacked the flavor I was looking for. I felt like Goldilocks searching for the perfect lemon cake!
But after tons of trial and error, I finally found my perfect lemon bundt cake! And I think you’re going to love it, too!
Texture wise, it’s quite similar to lemon pound cake – but a little more light and fluffy overall. This lemon cake has tight, moist crumbs packed with buttery lemon flavor. A lemon soaking syrup and lemon glaze help enhance the overall lemon flavor – and keep the cake moist for days on end.
Lemon Bundt Cake Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: For best results, only use all-purpose flour for the flour mixture. A 1-for-1 GF flour mixture may work. I don’t suggest using nut flours or wheat flour.
- Baking Powder: Do NOT sub with baking soda. This recipe does not use baking soda.
- Salt: A small amount helps balance sweetness and enhance the lemon flavor.
- Butter: Use room temperature butter, preferably unsalted. Salted butter will work in a pinch, but you’ll want to reduce the amount of salt called for.
- Brick-Style Cream Cheese: room temperature
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and body to the cake batter, and sweetens the lemon simple syrup.
- Lemon: For maximum lemon flavor, this recipe uses fresh lemon juice lemon zest, and lemon extract. If you can’t find lemon extract or prefer not to use it, you can leave it out. The cake will have a slightly less intense lemon flavor without the lemon extract.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract, not artificial vanilla. In a pinch, you can leave out the vanilla.
- Eggs: This recipe calls for 5 eggs, which is NOT a typo! Use large eggs and add the eggs one at a time. Adding the adds one at a time allows them to evenly combine while adding air into the batter.
- Oil: I use canola oil but vegetable oil, olive oil, or even melted coconut oil will work fine.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Aka powdered sugar. Powdered sugar sweetens the lemon glaze.
Make the Cake: Secrets to Moist Crumbs
- Baking Prep: Preheat the oven at least 30 minutes before baking. Don’t worry about greasing your pan yet. Unlike most recipes, you’ll actually want to do this right before baking. This ensures the pan is completely coated (nonstick baking sprays can slowly drain down the edges of a pan and pool at the bottom).
- Make the Cake Batter: Grab a medium bowl and whisk the dry ingredients. Use an electric mixer to whip together your butter and cream cheese (used this instead of sour cream and it’s so good!). Add sugar and extracts, then eggs. Then add lemon zest, lemon juice and oil. Once you add the dry ingredients, mix gently.
- Bundt Pan: Once your batter is ready, you’ll want to generously spray your 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Be sure to grease every nook and cranny of the pan! You don’t want to risk the cake sticking to the cake pan.
- Add The Batter: Once you prep your cake pan, scrape the lemon cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Pop the pan in the oven and bake!
Bake the Cake
- This lemon bundt cake will bake low and slow. By baking at a lower temperature of 325 degrees, you allow it to bake through without burning.
- The bake time for this lemon bundt cake is typically 1 hour, but this time may vary depending on your baking pan and oven.
- Check if the cake has baked through by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake. If the toothpick inserted comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached, it’s ready to come out of the oven.
- If the toothpick inserted is wet, continue baking until it comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached. I like to check every 3 to 5 minutes after the estimated bake time is reached.
Removing the Cake from the Pan
No need to manually loosen the cake from the pan! Instead, place the cake – inside the bundt cake pan – on a cooling rack and cool for exactly 10 minutes. Then very carefully unmold the cake onto another cooling rack and set aside.
So, you’ll press the cooling rack right onto the bottom of the bunt cake, hold on firmly to both, then flip. Once you’ve flipped, place the rack onto the counter and carefully remove the bundt cake pan. Does that make sense?
Make the Lemon Glaze & Lemon Syrup
While the lemon bundt cake cools, make your lemon soaking syrup and lemon glaze!
- You’ll brush the lemon soaking syrup onto the cake while it’s still warm, then set it aside to cool completely. This cake take about 2 hours to completely cool, so plan ahead time wise.
- Once the cake has completely cooled, you can make your simple lemon glaze and pour it on! A word to the wise, the lemon glaze should be super thick and almost look too thick to drizzle.
- The thick consistency that allows the lemon glaze to coat the cake and create that classic white “shell” look. If you add too much liquid, it will disappear into the cake as you drizzle it on.
If you’re planning on serving the cake right away, feel free to add some freshly grated lemon zest on top of the drizzle! This lemon bundt cake recipe is full of lemon flavor – and it’s perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day!
More Lemon Cake Recipes:
Lemon Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cake:
- 3 cups (360 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces (340g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 ounces (226 g) brick-style cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups (397 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup (76 ml) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup (40 g) lemon zest finely grated
- 2 Tablespoons (29 ml) canola oil
For the Lemon Soaking Syrup:
- 1/3 cup (76 ml) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 2 cups (228 g) confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons (35 ml) lemon juice freshly squeezed, more only if needed
Instructions
For the Lemon Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until well combined. Set aside until needed.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Gradually add in the sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the lemon and vanilla extracts.
- Reduce the speed to medium, then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and oil.
- Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Generously grease a 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan, being sure to coat all of the nooks and crannies. I suggest using a non-stick baking spray that has flour in it, or greasing the pan with shortening or butter, then dusting it with flour. Scrape the cake batter into the pan and, using a rubber spatula, evenly smooth the top.
- Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown AND a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, set on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack.
- Slowly brush the warm lemon soaking syrup all over the cake, top and sides, allowing it to sink in before adding more. Once all of the syrup has been added, set the cake aside to cool completely, about 2 and 1/2 hours.
For the Lemon Soaking Syrup:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, whisking frequently, just until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and use as directed above.
For the Lemon Glaze:
- In a large liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the sugar and salt. Whisk in the lemon juice, mixing until just combined. The mixture should be super thick and just barely pourable. If the glaze is too thick, add more lemon juice, a teaspoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar, a Tablespoon at a time.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow it to set for 20 minutes. Then slice and serve!
The Lemon Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake is amazing!!! Great texture flavor my family loves. Thank you for all recipes
This recipe is amazing! Delicious, dense and moist. Awesome lemon flavor! Would definitely make again.
I’m so happy this was a hit for you and you’d make it again! Thank you for letting me know!
Can i use regular pans?
Because i dont have bundt pan
For starters I made this cake for Easter & my family could not keep themselves away from this cake!
I am wanting to make mini bundt cakes with this recipe. Do you have any tips to help out with mini bundt cakes? For example bake time and the temp. To cook it on?
Is the lemon extract necessary?
You can leave it out, it will just taste slightly less lemony.