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This super easy Lemon Bundt Cake recipe is perfect for Spring. Serve it with a light dusting of powdered sugar or a sweet tangy lemon glaze for extra lemony flavor.
A no-frill classic refreshing Lemon Bundt Cake is the perfect treat to welcome Spring. While I’m a big fan of mini desserts like these mini lemon bundt cakes, I’ve been using my big girl cake pans a lot lately.
One, it cuts out the extra step of dividing the batter into individual portions for baking. Two, it’s a great excuse to call up some friends to have afternoon tea. And three, the leftover cake is great for breakfast, no one is judging!
How to make Lemon Bundt Cake from scratch
The Bundt Cake
This Lemon Bundt Cake is super moist and buttery with the addition of both oil and butter in the batter. It is so easy to make, you’ll have no excuse for storebought cake mix.
- First, melt the butter and use this to brush your bundt pan. Then cover the buttered bundt pan with a thin layer of flour.
- Beat together the wet ingredients, then whisk in the dry ingredients to create the cake batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan and bake for about 37 minutes at 350°F.
- Allow the bundt cake to cool inside the pan for 10 – 15 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Glaze for Bundt Cake
This lemon glaze is made with lemon juice, powdered sugar, a pinch of salt and freshly grated lemon zest for extra lemony flavor. Just a little bit of glaze goes a long way so you don’t need to douse the cake in it.
The glaze is optional but highly recommended if you want a powerful lemon flavor in every bite.
A couple of other topping options you can try are an easy Blender Lemon Curd or a lemon flavor Cream Cheese Frosting. I can never resist putting cream cheese frosting on anything!
What size bundt pan should I use?
Bundt pans come in standard sizes of 6 cups, 9 cups, and 12 cups. For this recipe, I used a 12 cups bundt pan and there is still a bit of extra room, so you should be able to use a 9 cups bundt pan without any issue as well.
Other Tips for the best Lemon Bundt Cake
- Brush the inside of the bundt pan with melted butter generously and cover it with a layer of flour to ensure easy release of the cake once baked.
- Letting the cake rest in the pan before flipping it over onto a wire rack to cool completely will allow for carryover cooking and ensuring the cake structure is set before moving it.
- When flipping the cake over, make sure to place the wire rack on top of the bundt pan, then flip it over so your cake doesn’t fall out mid-air.
- Add lemon zest to both the cake and the glaze for maximum lemon flavor.
- You will have plenty of lemons leftover, use them to make a delicious Basil Mint Lemonade.
More lemony goodness
- Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cakes
- Blueberry Lemon HandPies
- Raspberry Lemon Bars
- Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
- Lemon Cake with Coconut Frosting
- Lemon Dutch Baby
If you make this recipe, we’d love to see a photo. Tag us on Instagram @wildwildwhisk and @ohsweetbasil. Happy baking!
More Delicious Bundt Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake
- Cinnamon Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake
- Pecan Apple Bundt Cake
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
- Banana Pudding Bundt Cake
- Gingerbread Bundt Cake
- Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Apple Spice Bundt Cake
Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 oz Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon Flour, for bundt pan
- 1 Cup Buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 teaspoon Lemon Zest, from about 4 lemons
- 2 ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
Glaze
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon Zest, from 1 lemon
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in the microwave for about 30 - 40 seconds. Use a pastry brush to brush some of this melted butter onto the inside of your bundt pan, get into all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour into the buttered bundt pan and shake it around to make sure it covers the entire surface. Tap out the excess.4 oz Unsalted Butter, 1 Tablespoon Flour
- Add the remaining melted butter to a large mixing bowl along with buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.1 Cup Buttermilk, ½ Cup Vegetable Oil, 3 Large Eggs, 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- In a smaller mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest to release the oil. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, then stir in the salt until evenly distributed. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and whisk until smooth.1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar, 4 teaspoon Lemon Zest, 2 ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared bundt pan and bake for about 37 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Allow the cake to cool on in the pan for 10 - 15 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cake and serve.1 Cup Powdered Sugar, 2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice, 1 teaspoon lemon Zest, Pinch Salt
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I loved the exact baking time. I do wish the wet and dry ingredients were separated in the recipe, as it got a little confusing.
I used whole wheat pastry flour, and half monk fruit and half sugar in cake itself, came out great. Thx for recipes. Will make again
Thank you so much for the feedback Jen and for the tips on the substitutions. I’ll go look at the recipe card now and see if I can make it a little more user friendly!
Hi! I was making this and noticed that in the directions it never said to put the sugar or lemon zest in. I love so many of your recipes!
Hi Nicole, I’m so sorry I missed that! The lemon zest and sugar should be mixed together in step 4 of the recipe card just before adding the rest of the dry ingredients. I will make sure to get the card updated.