This Lemon Bundt Cake recipe creates a super moist sour cream cake with tangy lemon glaze. This easy spring dessert is perfect for Easter, Mother's Day or any time you're craving a tangy and delicious citrusy treat!
Spring is the perfect time to serve fresh lemon desserts, and bundt cakes are popular all year long. They are so much easier to make than a layer cake!
This recipe makes a glazed lemon cake, so it's super moist and tender. I think you'll love it!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Extra moist and flavorful. Because the cake includes sour cream and freshly citrus zest and juice, it's incredibly moist and full of bright lemon flavor.
- Make it ahead to save time. Wrap it well and pop it in the freezer - it will stay fresh for up to 4 months!
- No decorating skills are needed! If you don't have the time (or desire) to create a fancy cake, this recipe has your name on it! There are some gorgeous bundt pans that will make your simple lemon sour cream cake look elegant.
If you love bundt cake recipes, I have plenty of others for you to try! Check out my vanilla almond bundt cake or make a sour cream cinnamon bundt cake. If you enjoy fruit flavors, make a banana or raspberry version!
Ingredient Notes
There's nothing fancy needed to make this cake - just a few basic baking staples.
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
- butter: If you can afford it, I recommend using European butter rather than American-made. It has more butterfat, so the flavor is much better!
- sour cream: This is the secret ingredient for creating a super moist bundt cake.
- leaveners: You'll need both baking powder and baking soda. If you haven't used them in a while, it's best to test them for freshness. When leaveners are too old, they stop producing the gas bubbles that help baked goods rise.
Substitutions
- all-purpose flour: If you'd like to make a gluten-free cake, swap the AP flour for any 1:1 variety of gluten-free all-purpose flour. Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour both make good quality products.
- white granulated sugar: To reduce the calories, feel free to use any cup-for-cup variety of granulated sugar substitute. Monkfruit sugar is a good option.
- salted butter: If you need or want to use unsalted butter, just add ¼ teaspoon of coarse sea or kosher salt to the flour.
- egg: Egg yolks are important for creating moisture, so I don't recommend using egg substitutes with this recipe. If you want to do some testing on your own, go for it. For tips and suggestions, read my article, Egg Substitutions for Baking.
- sour cream: I recommend using full fat sour cream for the best results. A good substitute for sour cream is full fat, unflavored Greek yogurt. Light and non-fat sour cream will work, but the bundt cake will be less moist.
- milk: Any variety of dairy or non-dairy milk will work.
Best Bundt Cake Pans
You'll need a 10-cup bundt pan. Here are some of my favorite bundt cake pans:
- nonstick bundt pan- I highly recommend this one! It's affordable and works great.
- fancier bundt pan
- fleur de lis bundt pan
I do not recommend using silicone bundt pans.
📖 Time-Saving Tip - Testing Baking Soda or Baking Powder for Freshness
This simple little test can save you time and money, because if your leavener is expired, whatever you're baking wont rise in the oven! This test works for baking soda and baking powder:
- Add about ½ teaspoon of baking soda or powder to a small bowl. Stir in an equal amount of an acidic ingredient, like vinegar or citrus juice.
- If the solution doesn't start to bubble immediately, it's time to replace your leavener.
Recipe Variations
- Top with fresh berries. Blueberries are a delicious addition to a lemon cake. The combination of flavors works well together.
- Use a different citrus fruit. For a different flavor altogether, swap out the lemon juice and zest for a different citrus fruit, like lime or orange. If you are a fan of lime desserts, check out my key lime cake recipe!
How to Make Lemon Bundt Cake
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Incorporate the wet ingredients.
- Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.
- Cool for 1 hour, then remove it from the bundt pan.
- Turn it out onto a platter, then glaze bundt cake.
Liz's Tips for the Best Bundt Cake
- Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature. For a super moist consistency, be sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start baking.
- Grease and flour the pan well. I like to melt the butter and then brush it into all of the little crevices of the pan.
- I recommend using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Either will help you properly cream the butter and sugar together.
- Let it cool before turning it out of the bundt cake pan. If the lemon cake is too hot, it may crumble as you turn it out onto the serving plate.
- Add more lemony flavor! Save some lemon zest to add to the glaze and to sprinkle on top of the finished bundt cake.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Store your dessert in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. At room temperature, it will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
To freeze a plain or glazed lemon bundt cake, double wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil before placing it in the freezer. *Note: If freezing a glazed cake, chill it in the fridge until the icing has set.
Thaw the frozen cake at room temperature for 6-8 hours before unwrapping.
Serving Suggestions
This glazed lemon bundt cake is best served at room temperature. It tastes great served with hot beverages like tea and coffee, or cold drinks like lemonade and iced tea.
Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe FAQs
Any cake can be a bundt cake if it's baked in a bundt pan. Traditionally, pound cakes were made using a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.
Lemon juice or zest will help cut the sweetness of the cake. Lemon juice, being highly acidic in nature will help baked goods rise when they react to baking soda or baking powder.
A bundt cake pan is designed to not allow for much expansion, which leads to a thick and moist cake!
You probably could, but I much prefer to use melted butter.
Wait for your bundt cake to cool before adding the glaze or it will likely slide right off, or melt into the cake.
Sour cream is high in fat, so it adds moisture and helps give cake a velvety texture.
Other Easy Spring Desserts
Easy Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- ¼ cup milk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice from 1 large lemon
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon salted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Prepare a 10-cup bundt pan by greasing with melted butter and flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to beat sugar and butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy. This should take 2-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed to combine. Add the sour cream, milk, lemon extract and lemon zest. Mix again to combine.
- Add bowl of wet ingredients to the bowl with flour mixture, and stir until just combined. *Ensure there are no visible streaks or clumps of flour, but avoid over mixing the cake batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake is dry or has a few moist crumbs when removed.
- Allow the cake to cool in a pan on a wire rack for 1 hour before removing. Place the cake on a serving platter. When the bundt cake is cool, make the glaze.
- To a small bowl, add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and melted butter. Stir well to combine. If the glaze seems too thick, stir in milk, water, or lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons at a time, until consistency is to your liking. To thicken the cake glaze, stir in more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Drizzle glaze over the cool cake, then slice and serve.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- For the best results, bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before you start making this recipe.
- Storage - Keep the dessert an airtight container in a cool, dry place. You can also freeze the cake for up to three months. I would remove any lemon slices used as garnish before doing so.
- Garnish ideas: To elevate the appearance, you can sprinkle the dessert with a dusting of powdered sugar, lemon zest, whipped cream, slices of lemon, etc.
Kelly
Lemon lovers… this is a must!!!
Made this a day early for Sunday brunch and the whole thing was gobbled up! Wonderful lemon flavor and the glaze was chefs kiss!!!
Trish
I just made this cake and it is delicious 😊 Recipe is easy to follow. Thanks