This Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake is the softest, lemon-packed cake you'll ever eat! While this cake is a delicious treat all year-round, it’s the perfect citrusy dessert to enjoy during the spring and summer months.
Craving more lemon? Try my insanely delicious copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe or Lemon Blueberry Scones.
There's just something about the tart and sweet combination of lemon desserts that's just so delicious and this lemon bundt cake recipe is no exception. The texture is sort of dense. Think: pound cake. But it is SO ridiculously soft, moist and packed with lemony flavor! This cake is delicious on its own but the simple lemon glaze for bundt cakes on top really brings this dessert over the top and really packs a big punch of lemony flavor - just like my Triple Lemon Gooey Bars. The lemon sugar sprinkled on top makes it look even prettier while adding an extra dose of lemon.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Simple recipe: Easy-to-follow recipe and instructions!
- Loved by all: This homemade chicken pot pie recipe is one of the most comforting meals! It's my go-to meal to bring to family members when they have babies or are sick. I always receive RAVE reviews and requests for the recipe!
Ingredients
- Lemon zest: Used in the cake and lemon sugar topping to elevate the lemon flavor even more. Zest the lemons before you cut them in half for juice.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemons are a must for the best flavor! I use the juice in the cake and lemon glaze for bundt cake for a strong and fresh lemon flavor.
- Choose lemons that have a good squeeze to them . This = more juice!
- Milk: Whole milk is used in this recipe. I have substituted 2% when needed with no issues.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is used in this recipe to control sodium. If only salted butter is available to you, omit the salt in the recipe.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.
Substitutions & Variations
There are so many delicious ways to change up this lemon bundt cake with lemon icing to make it your own!
- Lime: Substitute lemons with limes for a lime bundt cake.
- Poppy seeds: For a lemon poppy seed cake, add 2 tbs of poppy seeds to the batter. An Easter lemon poppy seed bundt cake would be such a delicious addition to your holiday spread!
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake: For a lemon blueberry bundt cake, fold berries into the batter just before baking. You can also add raspberries for a lemon raspberry cake or even chopped strawberries for a lemon strawberry cake. Such yummy alternatives!!
How to make Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
Step 1: Beat eggs on low until they are thickened, foamy and very pale yellow in color.
Step 2: Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Slowly pour in dry ingredients on low speed until combined. Stir in heated milk.
Step 3: Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 27-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 4: Thoroughly mix the lemon zest and sugar together and let it sit for 5 minutes. If you don’t want the lemon zest on top of the cake, push the sugar through a fine mesh strainer, separating the two and discard the zest.
- Make the glaze by whisking powdered sugar and lemon juice, using more or less lemon juice as needed to get a thick consistency. (I like to keep mine slightly thick so it won’t thin out too much when I serve it over warm cake.)
- Drizzle glaze over warm cake. Sprinkle lemon sugar on top of glazed lemon pound cake.
If you love lemon, you absolutely need to make this.. like now.
Jessica's Recipe Tips
- Be sure not to over-bake your crescent cinnamon rolls! That is the one cardinal rule for making these. You want them to be gooey and soft in the center.
Storage instructions
Room temperature
Store cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing
Cover lemon bundt cake without glaze very well in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Place wrapped cake in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Drizzle with glaze and top with lemon sugar just before serving.
Recipe FAQs
The biggest difference is the shape of the pan. A regular 8-inch round cake pan holds up to 6 cups of batter and a standard bundt cake pan holds 10-12 cups of batter.
Grease your pan HEAVILY making sure to get all nooks and crannies. After greasing, flour your pan lightly and shake out excess. This method will ensure no sticking.
More bundt cake recipes you'll love:
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @sprinkle_some_sugar on Instagram!
📋 Recipe
Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tbs lemon zest
- 3 tbs lemon juice
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 10 tbs unsalted butter cubed
Lemon Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-5 tbs lemon juice
Lemon Sugar Topping
- 1 tbs lemon zest
- 1 tbs granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan very well, making sure to really get into all crevices. Then, lightly flour the pan. Set aside.
For the cake:
- Lightly whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer (if you're using one) fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs on low until they are thickened and very pale yellow in color.
- Turn mixer on low and slowly add sugar to running mixer and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Slowly pour in dry ingredients on low speed until combined.
- In a small saucepan, heat milk until very hot and butter is just melted. Do not boil and whisk the mixture to help the butter along. Pour into batter and mix until smooth. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Once done, remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in pan. Release the sides of the cake with a butter knife to ensure it isn’t going to stick. Turn cake onto a large round platter or cake stand. (If using a 9x13 pan, do not remove cake, just place entire pan onto wire rack so underneath the pan can cool also.) Allow cake to finish cooling until warm to the touch.
For the lemon sugar:
- Thoroughly mix the lemon zest and sugar together and let it sit for 5 minutes. If you don’t want the lemon zest on top of the cake, push the sugar through a fine mesh strainer, separating the two and discard the zest. If you don’t mind the zest on top of your cake (it will give it a nice pop of color!), then just set the mixture aside.
For the lemon glaze:
- Whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice, using more or less lemon juice as needed to get desired consistency. (I like to keep mine slightly thick so it won’t thin out too much when I serve it over warm cake.) Once cake is cooled down slightly, drizzle glaze over warm cake. Alternately, you can drizzle the glaze over each individual piece being served. Sprinkle lemon sugar on top.
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cristiane de Geus says
This cake is soooo good!!!
My sister picks fresh lemons from her orchard and brings it over so I can bake this cake for her. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve already tried it with orange but lemon is just perfect. Today I made this recipe without lemon and used it for banana upside down cake.
Katie says
This is a favorite at our house! My fiance isn't big on sweets, but his preference is towards citrus/tart. So when his birthday came up a few years ago, this is what I made. And he says I can make it for every future birthday celebration from now on (translation, he loved it!!! And so did our guests!) We call it "sunshine cake". I also take it to potlucks and cookouts, it's such a refreshing treat in summer!
Jennifer Smith says
My favorite! This is honestly the second time I’ve made it in two weeks! Today is the Super Bowl and we just needed it to add to the spread. If you haven’t tried it yet, GO FOR IT!! I am still playing around with the glaze to get it how I want it but I would give this a 10/10.
Ceci says
First time I made this it was gone the same day! Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe. I will admit I added more lemon juice as we like our lemon deserts a bit more tangy. The sugary topping was a beautiful crunchy surprise with the bite. Can't wait ait to make it again!!
Sheila Friedman says
I asked as directed but my Bundt came out very dry and didn’t have much flavor. I even added extra lemon juice into the batter!? I always use a cake tester and. I took it out when the tester came out almost clean, a bit less than the recommended baking time. Any suggestions?
Jessica says
Could you have possibly measured the flour incorrectly? Too much flour would definitely result in a dry cake.
Gayle says
It's raining today, has been for 3 days. I live in South Africa on a farm, we thank the Lord for this much needed rain. I am sitting here reading your recipe I can taste this cake as I read all the comments, I can't wait to try it. Unfortunately I have no eggs, I'm going to chance the muddy roads to go and buy eggs. I just have to make this cake, how long it will last, is any bodies guess. Wish me luck. I will write a review once I've baked my cake. Thank you all Jessica for sharing your recipe.
Jessica says
Haha, well I hope you made it back safely and got to make and enjoy this cake!! 🙂
Candy says
My daughters 40 is coming up in early November 2021. And i asked her what kind of cake she would like. She said lemon. So i am going to make this lemon Bundt cake. Let u know how it turns out. Thank u Jess and everyone for ur comments.
Candy 🍭
Jessica says
I hope she loves it, Candy! 🙂
Sam says
Um, ma'am...this recipe has made me a local LEGEND (and obviously I direct everyone to your site!). I get REQUESTS from friends and family for this cake on a MONTHLY BASIS. 15/10 most popular recipe I have ever made
Jessica says
Haha, I love this so much!! Thank you!
Lauren Swenson says
Our family loves this cake SO much! Every time our daughter is home on school break, she asks if we can have it. We have a SILICONE bundt pan, so here are our notes on that: 1) grease and flour the mold; 2) rest it on a sheet pan for baking; 3) Bake for 45-55 minutes - the dial on our oven has no numbers so maybe that huge margin is because we set the temp by memory; 4) Allow cake to cool in the mold for at least an hour.... SO we put half of the glaze over the warm cake from the bottom after it has rested for a bit; 5) The second half of the glaze we drizzle over the turned out cake, before sprinkling with the lemon sugar.
Scott Franklin says
We made the cake many times and it came out great. This time we made it and left it out for 1/2 hour and the inner side wasn't cooked and collapsed. So we threw it back in the oven and when we went to turn it over it got stuck. and the inner side still wasn't cooked...but it was delicious...add blueberries and raspberries.....amazing...
any comments? on the cooking time..27-35 doesn't seem long enough
Dawn Danner says
Any chance you know the cooking time for mini Bundt pans. Was hoping to try this:-)