Lemon Bundt Cake With Lemon Glaze
This Lemon Bundt Cake recipe is made from scratch (no cake mix or pudding mix). Instead, the bright citrus flavor comes from the juice and zest of fresh lemons.
“I made the lemon Bundt cake for my friend’s birthday today and it was a hit. Nice and dense and flavorful.”
—Gayle.
This Is The Best Lemon Bundt Cake With Glaze
When it comes to lemon desserts, I know what I want: lemon on lemon flavor. The brightest citrus essence in every bite. The perfect balance of tangy and sweet.
So, if you have a Bundt pan laying around, it’s time to dust it off, because we’re making this perfect citrus-packed cake today. It will brighten any day and make your kitchen smell like a high-end bakery.
Baking a Bundt cake can be intimidating if you don’t have much experience with them, but with the right techniques, it’s easier than you think.
In this post, we’ll walk you through every step of Bundt cake baking, including instructions for greasing the pan and (the most important part!), getting it to come OUT of the pan flawlessly.
Why You Will Love This Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe
- No artificial flavors or boxed cake or pudding mixes here. Just real, fresh lemon juice and zest.
- It’s incredibly moist without being heavy or dense.
- It stays fresh for several days, making it a good option for prepping in advance for gatherings or holidays.
Lemon Bundt Cake Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- all-purpose flour – the main structure of the tender cake.
- granulated sugar – sweetens the cake and the icing.
- powdered sugar – the main ingredient of the lemon glaze for bundt cake.
- butter – makes the cake rich and delicious!
- eggs – helps the cake rise and contributes to a rich texture.
- baking powder – provides more leavening, so the cake is light and fluffy.
- vanilla extract – brings subtle and sweet flavor to the glaze for lemon bundt cake and cake itself.
- milk and heavy cream – makes moist crumbs in the cake and used for the icing as well.
- lemon juice and lemon zest – infuses the cake with bright, citrusy flavor and aroma. No lemon extract this time, just fresh lemon.
- salt – enhances the overall flavor of the cake by balancing the sweetness.
- nonstick baking spray – we’ve tested it every which way, and Pam for Baking or Baker’s Joy is best here! This is different than regular cooking spray.
How To Make Lemon Bundt Cake With Lemon Glaze
1. BEAT. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the sugar, butter and salt until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the baking powder and vanilla and beat to combine.
2. ADD. Gradually add the milk and cream, alternating with the flour. Then, stir in the lemon juice and zest.
3. BAKE. Throughly spray a Bundt cake pan with baking spray. Like, really spray it a lot. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. ICING. Once the cake is completely cool, whisk the icing ingredients together and pour the icing over the cake.
How To Grease A Bundt Pan
Greasing the Bundt pan is probably the most crucial part of the entire recipe.
Some bakers swear by homemade “cake goop,” a grease and flour mixture that makes a nonstick coating for your pan, but our preference is to use a baking-specific nonstick spray that contains flour, like Pam Baking Spray or Baker’s Joy Spray.
Be generous with your application to make sure you reach every crevice of the pan. Spray the living heck out of it, truly. We’ve found that this type of spray is enough for our Bundt pan, which is cast aluminum with nonstick coating.
Always grease your pan JUST before in pouring the batter (not earlier) to avoid the grease sliding down the sides of the pan while you prepare your batter.
How To Get Cake Out Of A Bundt Pan
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes after coming out of the oven. This helps it set and reduces the risk of the cake breaking. But don’t leave it to cool ALL the way in the pan, as this may lead to an overcooked and dry cake (as the pan is still hot and cooking the cake).
Gently tap the bottom and sides of the pan on a soft surface. Rotate the pan as you do this to ensure the cake is loosened from all angles.
Place a cooling rack on top of the pan, then invert the cake carefully but confidently onto the rack. Give the pan a gentle shake if needed. The cake should release right out onto the rack.
If your cake is stubborn, leave the pan inverted over the rack for a few minutes and see if gravity does the job for you.
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How To Decorate With Lemon Bundt Cake Icing
The beauty of a Bundt cake (especially if you have a special, intricate pan) is that you need very little decoration to make it beautiful.
Simply pipe or spoon the icing around the crown of the COOLED cake and allow it to drip down into the nooks and crannies.
Be sure to let the lemon bundt cake icing set for a few minutes before you try to transport the cake.
Home Chef Tips For Lemon Glaze For Bundt Cake
- You want a Goldilocks icing that is not too thick, but not too thin. Adjust as needed with additional powdered sugar if it’s too thin, or additional cream if it’s too thick until you get to a pourable but like, durable consistency.
- Be sure to use lemon juice from fresh lemons. The bottled kind simply doesn’t compare.
- If your powdered sugar is pretty clumpy, you may want to sift it before making your icing.
How To Store A Bundt Cake
Store your lemon cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. We usually just put it on a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigeration can even extend the freshness by another day or two, if needed.
Lemon bundt cake with lemon glaze can also be wrapped well and frozen for up to 3 months.
Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe FAQs
The distinctiveness of a Bundt cake is that it is baked in a ring-shaped pan, which makes it visually striking. The pan’s design also promotes even baking, for a beautifully browned exterior and moist interior.
Boost the lemony goodness by using both the zest and juice of very fresh lemons. If Meyer lemons are in season, you can use them in place of regular lemons in this cake, for a sweet, slightly floral aromatic flavor.
For the moistest Bundt cake, use a combination of fats like milk, cream and butter. Also, avoid overbaking, as it will lead to a dry cake.
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Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk at room temperature
- ¼ cup heavy cream at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 heaping tablespoon grated lemon zest from about 2 small lemons
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice from about 1 small lemon
- Nonstick baking spray
For the Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream plus additional if needed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from about 1/2 small lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix granulated sugar, butter and salt at medium-high speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add baking powder and vanilla; mix until well combined.
- In liquid measuring cup, stir together milk and cream. With mixer on low speed, add flour alternately with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour (about 3 additions of flour and 2 additions of milk mixture). Mix until well combined. Stir in lemon zest and juice.
- Spray 10-cup Bundt pan throughly with baking spray. Like, really spray it a lot. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with spatula. Transfer to oven and bake 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Remove cake from oven; transfer pan to wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto wire rack and allow to cool completely before icing.
- Just before serving, make the Icing: In small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cream, lemon juice and vanilla. If icing is too thick to pour, whisk in additional cream 1 teaspoon at a time until pourable, but not too thin. Pour over cake and serve.
I made the Lemon Bundt cake for my friend’s birthday today and it was a hit. Nice and dense and flavorful.
I’m so glad to hear that, Gayle. Happy Birthday to your friend!
Any chance we could sub out the heavy cream in the cake for sour cream or buttermilk?
Hi Elizabeth – I’m sorry, I haven’t tried making this cake with either of those substitutes.
I referenced the recipes from which this recipe was adapted. Very much appreciate being able to review those, and can understand why Lori took the direction she did with her recipe. Mostly I followed Lori’s recipe. Love the flavor and crumb that all butter brings to a cake, but decided to substitute 1/2 with coconut oil, just to ensure the resulting cake is very moist. I also went heavy on the lemon rind, following the whiteonricecouple.com’s instruction for the zest of 4 large Meyer Lemons. I hope I didn’t go overboard on that — It’s in the oven! Will report back…
Hope it turned out great, Stasia!