Wonderfully fresh, soft, and airy, this Lemon Bundt Cake is finished in a white chocolate lemon glaze. So delicious! Simple to make, it’s perfect to serve at any occasion.
What’s in this Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe?
Bursting with a beautiful citrusy flavor, and topped with a rich white chocolate and lemon glaze, this is the perfect cake to serve for Easter, throughout summer, and all year round.
- Flour: All-purpose flour forms the base of this cake. For a lighter cake, you could swap for cake flour, or to make a gluten-free lemon bundt cake, swap the all-purpose flour for an equal amount of gluten-free 1:1 baking flour.
- Lemon: The main flavor of this cake! You’ll need 2 whole lemons to make the cake and the glaze.
- Salt: Enhances the lemony flavor of the cake.
- Leavening: Both baking soda and baking powder provide lift in this cake.
- Butter: Adds fat, moisture, and flavor to the cake.
- Sugar: Sweetens the cake!
- Eggs: Add richness and structure to the cake.
- Lemon Extract: Enhances the lemony flavor of the cake.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and a bright, tangy flavor to the cake.
- White Chocolate Chips: Create a sweet, delicious glaze.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Sweetens the glaze and makes it pourable.
Variations on Bundt Lemon Cake
There are so many fun ways to change up this cake.
- To make a lemon blueberry bundt cake, a lemon raspberry bundt cake, or a lemon strawberry bundt cake, fold 1 cup of blueberries, raspberries, or chopped strawberries into the batter.
- Or, you could mash up blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries and add them to the glaze for a subtler flavor.
- For lemon poppy seed bundt cake, fold in 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds.
- For a meyer lemon bundt cake, swap the regular lemons for meyer lemons!
The most obvious difference is the shape of the cake–there is no center in a Bundt Cake pan. Because of the pan shape, the cake recipe needs to be infused with extra moisture to keep it from drying out. So regular cake recipes aren’t usually ideal for bundt pans.
No! Bundt cakes are not hard to make, but it is important to properly grease the pan to ensure easy removal!
Once your cake is baked, let it cool for about 10-20 minutes or until you can comfortably place your hand on the side of the pan. The pan should still feel very warm. Flip onto a plate or cake stand and tap around the pan until you feel the cake come out.
Bundt Cake recipes need more moisture than other cakes, to help protect them from drying out. Since there is no center in a Bundt Cake pan, a larger portion of the cake is exposed to the surface of the pan. We use buttermilk here to infuse more moisture, instead of sour cream.
The most common reason why bundt cakes fall is because the oven temperature was either too low, the oven door was opened during baking, or the baking soda or powder was expired. Make sure to use fresh leaveners, and invest in an oven thermometer!
How to Store
Store leftover lemon bundt cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
How to Freeze
Freeze lemon bundt cake whole or cut into individual slices tightly wrapped in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
Serving Suggestions
This bundt cake is perfect served with a white chocolate and lemon glaze. You could also serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream and/or lemon curd. A slice would be so good with some vanilla or cheesecake ice cream! If you’re feeling really adventurous, try it with some fudge sauce. It’s a great combination!
More Lemon Desserts to Try:
Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour 300 grams
- 1 lemon juiced and zested (about 2 tablespoons juice and 1 tablespoon zest)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking powder 2 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking soda 3 grams
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams (2 sticks)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar 300 grams
- 3 large eggs 150 grams
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract 4 grams
- 1 cup buttermilk 227 grams
For the Glaze
- 1 cup white chocolate chips 170 grams
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 396 grams (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest 6 grams (from 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice 5 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bundt cake pan with a non-stick baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, lemon zest, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, to the mixture and beat well between each addition. Beat in the lemon juice and lemon extract. Pour in half of the flour mixture and alternation with the buttermilk; mixing well between each addition and just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.1 cup unsalted butter, 1½ cups granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet, alternating, until just combined. Take care not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan.1 cup buttermilk
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a small saucepan, combine the white chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Set the pot over medium heat and continuously stir until the chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Spoon the glaze over the cake. For a little extra decoration and lemon pop, zest a lemon over the cake after being glazed.14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup white chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Notes
- Be sure to grease the bundt pan very well, greasing all of the nooks and crannies so that the cake is easy to remove once it is baked.
- Make sure that your oven is fully preheated before pouring in the batter.
- For easy cleanup, place the cake on top of a cooling rack that is sitting on a cookie sheet when you glaze it.
I’m new to this site (I already subscribe to your others and they’re terrific). How do I subscribe to this gem? I tried contacting you via your instructions on your ‘About Us’ page, but my email wasn’t having any of it.
Thank you for all you’ve done to make our solitary confinement bearable!
Hi Jill! You are so sweet and this made my day! This site is brand new and I’m behind in getting an email list set up for it. I plan to VERY soon and I will do an email through the other sites giving people that subscribe there an option to subscribe here as well. I’ll keep you posted!
This was sooooo good I’m making it again for our block party
Wonderful! I hope everyone loves it!!