This incredibly easy-to-make, moist and tender lemon Bundt cake recipe is bursting with lemon flavor. Soaked in lemon syrup and topped with sticky lemon glaze, it’s absolutely irresistible!
The best lemon Bundt cake recipe ever
Love doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about lemon cakes. I made this lemon cake a million times, but it’s the first time I’m making it in Bundt form. Because Bundt cakes tend to be dense, I brush the cake with a lemony syrup after baking, and the result is a delicious, tender, and moist cake. There’s so much lemon in this cake – in the cake batter, the syrup, and the glaze, so it’s super lemony. I’ve never had a cake that has more lemon flavor than this one!
How to make lemon Bundt cake
This cake has three components:
- The cake itself
- Lemon syrup
- Lemon glaze
Make the lemon Bundt cake
Tip: For easy pan removal, grease your Bundt pan very well and dust it with flour. Make sure to tap off any excess. This will help the cake slide out of the pan much more easily.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix together the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together buttermilk or sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Set bowls aside.
- Cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest together. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Occasionally scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Beat in the eggs. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the lemon juice mixture in 2 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Do not over mix.
- Bake. Scrape batter into a prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes at 350°F/180°C or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool and remove from pan. Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan, carefully inverting it onto a plate. To loosen the cake from the pan, put a large serving plate upside-down on top of the pan. Hold the cake pan (if it’s hot, use a towel) and invert it quickly onto the plate, then lift off the pan. If it doesn’t loosen easily, tip the pan gently, or run a knife along the edges.
Baker’s tip: If the top of the cake is browning too fast, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil. This will keep it from burning while allowing the cake to continue to bake.
Make the lemon syrup
While the cake is cooling in the pan, make the syrup.
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice.
- Heat on medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and syrup forms.
- After inverting the cake onto a plate, brush the top and sides of the warm cake evenly with all of the syrup.
- Allow cake to cool to room temperature.
Make the lemon glaze
- Combine sugar, lemon juice, and milk and whisk until smooth. You may need add a bit more milk to get a thick yet pourable consistency.
- Pour over top of the cooled cake and let drizzle down the sides.
- Allow the glaze to set for 15-30 minutes.
Tips for making lemon Bundt cake
- Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing can make cakes dense and tough. To avoid this, simply mix mix the ingredients gently and just until they come together to form a batter.
- Elevate the cake with add-ins: Add 1 and ¼ cups blueberries or raspberries to the batter tossed with 1 tablespoon flour. Or, for a lemon poppy seed cake, add ¼ cup of poppy seeds.
- For easy pan removal: Dust your greased Bundt pan with flour, and be sure to tap off any excess.
More of my favorite lemon recipes
The Best Lemon Muffin Recipe Ever
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Lemon Cake
Lemon Bars
Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake
Lemon Bundt Cake
This incredibly moist, delicious lemon Bundt cake is bursting with fresh lemon flavor. Soaked in lemon syrup and topped with sticky lemon glaze, this is the best lemon cake you'll ever have!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk or sour cream
- ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks/225g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- zest of 4 lemons
- 4 large eggs
Syrup:
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Glaze (optional):
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk, or more as needed
Instructions
-
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 12-cup (10-inch) Bundt pan well and dust generously with flour. Tap off excess flour and set aside.
-
To make the cake:
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together buttermilk/sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Set bowls aside.
-
In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Occasionally scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the lemon juice mixture in 2 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Do not over mix.
-
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too fast while baking, cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Allow cake to cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan, carefully inverting it onto a plate.
-
Meanwhile, make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Cook on medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and syrup forms. After inverting the cake to a plate, brush top and sides of the cake evenly with syrup. Use all syrup. Allow cake to cool to room temperature.
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To make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine sugar, lemon juice, and milk, and whisk until smooth. Add more milk as necessary until you get a thick yet pourable consistency. Pour over top of cake and let drizzle down the sides. Allow glaze to set, 15-30 minutes.
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The cake is best served at room temperature. Store cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes
Add berries or poppy seeds to your cake: For a berry lemon cake, add 1 and ¼ cups blueberries or raspberries to the batter, tossed with 1 tablespoon flour. For a lemon poppy seed cake, add ¼ cup of poppy seeds.
Article says
This was the best, lightest lemon bundt cake I’ve ever made. I think the best bunt cake. Some commenters have had problems. If it’s any help this is what I did: I followed the suggestions to cut the sugar to 330 g and to zest 3 lemons. Sift the dry ingredients; use really good butter; butter and eggs at room temp; make sure you’ve actually got 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup buttermilk. And that’s all I can say. The result was wonderfully light, moist and lemony. The glaze simple and effective.
Shannon says
Hi – at the risk of sounding stupid…..so you decreased the buttermilk to 1/2 cup and increases the lemon juice to 1/2 cup? Making this for a friend’s birthday so want to get it right. Thanks.
Meg says
I’ve been a baker for many years and lots of stress baking in the last year, at times with less than ideal ingredients and temperament. Lol, don’t bake mad! A friend is visiting tomorrow and requested a lemon meringue pie but because of my allergy to eggs and high humidity that won’t work so I spent hours looking for his preference of something lemony. This turned out splendid and appreciate recipes that call for weight rather than cups. I think for adults, using a lemon liquor along with a simple syrup would be great as well. This is picture perfect and can’t wait until tomorrow to glaze and start eating.
Leya says
Hi, I’ve tried this recipe 3x and we loved it every single time. Can I make this as 8 in layer cake? Thanks.
Shiran says
Thanks Leya! Yes you can. I’m not sure about the amount of batter you’ll need to make a layer cake, but you can definitely use this recipe for an 8-inch cake.
Brenda K says
This was such a great cake. It was a big hit at our dinner party! I will make this again, for sure!!
Kelly Sparapane says
Hi, can I make mini bundt s with this recipe?
Shiran says
Yes you can.
Katie says
What do you think about adding coconut to the cake? I have not made it yet but thinking about trying it with coconut too.
Kayla says
I made this once and loved it! So I’m making it for my wedding. As such I need to freeze it; do you think I should put the syrup in before or after freezing? I’m already going to glaze it once its defrosted.
Alyssa Bauer says
Personally I would put the syrup in before freezing, my non-expert opinion.
Koreena Malone says
By far my favorite lemon bundt cake recipe. No need to look elsewhere.
Ann-Marie says
I see where it says buttermilk or sour cream. Is one better to use then the other?
Shannon says
I’m wondering the same thing 🙂
Monica Brenner says
My group loved it. Took a bit longer to bake. Used the sour cream. Will definitely make again and try with poppy seeds.
Lyn says
This is an amazing recipe. It has a really nice intense but not over powering lemon flavor. I have made it a few times and it has always been wonderful. I think the syrup is what makes this cake really special.
Hannah says
What size cake tin can I use instead of a bundt tin? Thank u!
Eliza says
Can you please let us know about the buttermilk vs the sour cream? One is a thick liquid and one a solid; so they would provide a difference in the consistency of the batter and the cooking time.
Alecio says
It was the best lemon cake I ever made
Angela says
HELP! I ran out of lemons!! Can i just make the glaze with some vanilla instead of the tablespoon of lemon
Shiran says
You can use milk instead of lemon juice.
shelby says
can i use a handheld mixer instead?
Shiran says
Yes 🙂
Janet Wiesner says
After looking at many recipes, I chose this Lemon Bundt cake recipe to make for the family Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a HUGE hit. Everyone was asking for the recipe. I gave you full credit!
However, for some reason that escapes me, my husband doesn’t like lemon flavor anything. So I was wondering if I could use oranges in this recipe instead of lemons?
Rebecca Lange says
I recently made this cake for a Christmas get together and it came out very dry. Any suggestions to fix this? I double checked all the ingredients to make sure everything was used and in proper quantities. It was enjoyable and easy to make, but my boxed version came out much more moist! I would love to make this again if it came out less dry.
Shiran says
If it’s very dry it was probably over baked. The boxed version almost always comes out more moist, but cakes from scratch taste better in my opinion 🙂
Allison says
Best ever. I verified the recipe today for a third time and the result was delicious!
Amy Simon says
Delicious – and beautiful.
Amy S says
Followed the recipe exactly. It was the best cake ever. Just scrumptious – so much lemon. Everyone loved it.
Amy S says
Also forgot to say – one thing I guess I did change- I stirred by hand, all of it. So no mixer needed of any kind.
Laxshmi Hirani says
I would love to try this out… but can the eggs be replaced with anything else as we don’t eat eggs.
neskatan says
Have you heard of aquafaba instead of eggs? You drain a can of beans (garbanzo, white, black, pinto, doesn’t matter), put aside the beans and keep the liquid. Substitute 2 tbsp of this liquid for each egg that a recipe calls for. There’s no bean-y taste whatsoever as soon as you mix in the sugar.
I’m going to try that with this recipe. I’m sure it will be a success.
Victoria McFarland says
This was my first Bundt cake and it turned out great! I too mixed by hand….the only change I made was to drizzle on top, used 1 cup confectioners sugar mixed on stove with 1 tsp vanilla and 2 Tbsp lemon juice, after it cooled I drizzled it on top. …wish I could post a photo. It’s beautiful!
maggie says
Hi can you make this gluten free? I just have a measure by measure GF flour and was wondering if that would work. Or would it do something weird?
Shiran says
It should work. If you have gluten free flour that you’ve used before and love its texture and flavor then you can use it.
Seema says
Hi, can I substitute Flax egg for an eggless version
Aleks says
Thank you, Shiran! This Bundt cake is absolutely amazing! Next time, however, I will leave out lemon juice either from syrup or glaze – too sour for my taste when using both 🙂
Laura Salej says
Can I add blueberries to this cake?
Shiran says
Yes you can!
Becky Hilliard says
Best Lemon dessert ever! Just the right amount of Tart not overly sweet. The syrup that is brushed on the top of warm cake is fabulous! I love the addition of weight for measuring. I find it so much easier to use a food scale and poor my ingredients into a bowl then using measuring cups. Thank you for sharing your recipes and techniques on making them.
Rachael says
The cake turned out wonderfully! This is the lightest and fluffiest cake I think I’ve ever made. I used sour cream and only used three instead of four lemons (I was short a lemon or else I would have followed the recipe). Perfect cake! The batter looked almost like whipped cream or frosting before I baked it. So, so good. Wish I could post a photo!
Jo says
Wonderful cake. Made it for a morning tea at work and everyone loved it.
Abram Abram says
I have thought so many times of entering the blogging world as I love reading them. I think I finally have the courage to give it a try. Thank you so much for all of the ideas!
Holly PDX says
This is a tasty cake! It’s very very firm (bordering on a little too hard) but that helps it keep its shape. Make sure you do both the syrup and the lemon glaze icing as those both help it avoid dryness and give it a nice tart flavor.
Brittany says
I take this up a notch and make a lemon curd glaze. I take a few tablespoons of my homemade curd and mix with a few tbsp of powdered sugar and a splash of milk. It is the ultimate topping on this fabulous cake. 😁
Melanie says
Really liked the cake, texture and moisture was great; however, it was too tart. (Maybe the glaze helps? But my family doesn’t like glaze) I’ve made various lemon cakes in the past (sponge, coffee cake, muffins, cheesecake) and my instinct said 4 lemons was too many. I should’ve listened to it. Next time I would cut one or 2 lemons out, and I possibly I will also try without the syrup. Maybe just dust lightly with powdered sugar.
Tanisha says
How I love this one. Perfect bundt with perfect flavours each time. Thank you 🙂
I want to check if we can make muffins too out of this recipe??? Looking to make for a birthday get together.
DB says
The zest of 4 lemons measurement is too vague as lemons can be small, medium or large. How many tablespoons of lemon zest does the recipe call for? Thank you!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi DB, 3-4 tablespoons of lemon zest should be sufficient.
Margaret says
Love this cake. It’s moist and lemony. I followed the recipe and used sour cream. I added a bit more milk to the glaze but it thinned out too much; won’t do that next time. Will be making this cake again.
Kamie says
I had a bunch of lemons and a new Bundt cake pan and I found this recipe to try. I made it when I had many guests in our house and it got eaten very quickly. Even the chocolate lovers loved it! It was very light with great lemon flavor. I only had yogurt in the house so I subbed that in for the buttermilk/sour cream. Absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you, Kamie! Glad you and your guests enjoyed this bundt cake. Lemon ANYTHING is my favorite!
Michael says
I’ve made this and shared it so many times. This cake gets talked about at work and then requested again and again. I’m making it tonight after work for tomorrow’s feast at work.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you for your kind words, Michael!