Super Moist Lemon Bundt Cake
A supremely moist Lemon Bundt Cake that’s bursting with bright lemon flavor throughout each bite and finished with a silky smooth lemony glaze that melts right into the cake! So easy to make for any occasion, extra tender, and deeelicious!

I mean, who doesn’t love a good bundt cake recipe? They are generally super easy to make; bundt cakes don’t require layers or stacking, and they’re also easier to decorate. YESSSSSS, we love an easy, no-fuss dessert! If you’re new on this block, you should know how much I adore all the lemon tings.
Yes, it’s true, y’all. Lemon-flavored desserts and all other eats, I just love ’em! But back to this stellar lemon bundt cake, she’s a real dreamboat, peeps! This one right here is my tried-and-true, family favorite bundt cake recipe. My folks love it and request it often for events or just whenever the sweet tooth strikes.
Super Moist Lemon Bundt Cake! 🍋
I like big bundts and I cannot lie…ha, I had to! Real talk, this lemon bundt cake is sooo ridiculously moist and tender, not a dry crumb in sight. It’s bursting with zippy and fragrant, bright lemon flavor and finished with a glorious lemon glaze. This cake is so easy yet has that bakery shop flair that you’ll swoon over.
⇢ Recipes you’ll love: lemon sweet rolls, delish lemon herb butter ravioli, soulful hugs like red beans and rice, my cajun shrimp and cheese grits, and smothered pork chops, and give this parmesan crusted chicken or whipped feta a whirl! ♡
What You’ll Need To Make This Cake
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)
- All-purpose flour: A coveted pantry staple. Please know that no other types of flour have been tested for this recipe except for gluten-free 1:1 baking flour.
- Instant lemon pudding mix: My secret ingredient! This is what makes this cake so lush and moist on top of deepening the lemon flavor, so dreamy! 👌🏾
- Baking powder: A leavening agent to add a lift to our bundt cake.
- Salt: A touch of salt to provide balance.
- Eggs: Gotta have eggs to provide some structure.
- Granulated sugar: Can’t have a cake without that suga suga.
- Oil: I use vegetable oil, but canola oil works as well!
- Sour cream: This one is another helper in the #teammoist department, use plain Greek yogurt as a substitute, both are interchangeable here.
- Almond extract: Lemon and almond flavors work so well together, and in my opinion almond is superior to vanilla extract in baking. However, feel free to use vanilla flavoring in place of almond if you prefer.
- Lemon zest & lemon juice: Adds the loveliest touch of fresh lemon flavor. I recommend grabbing 2 lemons; 1 for the cake and 1 for the glaze.
…& Ingredients For The Lemon Glaze
This lemon bundt cake is perfff on its own but the lemon glaze tho…
- Powdered sugar
- Milk of choice
- Lemon zest & lemon juice
- Almond extract
I previously had a heavier, cream cheese icing paired with this cake but decided to re-work it for you. This lemon glaze is the easiest and the perfect finale to top the cake. A lighter, delicate glaze really compliments this lemon bundt cake more beautifully. I love how the glaze sort of melts right into the cake and soaks into all the nooks and crannies 🤤…the whole thing is magical, yummm.
More Desserts You’ll Enjoy:
- Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
- Pecan Praline Sticky Buns
- Funfetti Pudding Cookies
- New Orleans-Style Beignets
How To Make This Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe
(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and generously grease a 10-cup bundt pan with baking spray or grease well with butter. Then set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, lemon pudding dry mix, baking powder, and salt. Then set the dry ingredients aside.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Then add in the oil, sour cream/yogurt, extract, lemon zest + lemon juice, stirring to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until combined.
- Empty the lemon cake batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. After baking, cool the lemon bundt cake completely before glazing.
- Make the glaze in a bowl by combining the powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and extract. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
- Place the cake onto a platter/cake stand and pour lemon glaze over the top of the cake. Slice cake into wedges and serve. Enjoy! 😎
⇢ Quin, what bundt pan is that? I knew you’d ask, and glad you did, featured here is the Elegant Party Bundt Pan, it’s one of my favorite bundt pan shapes!
FAQs, Tips + Tricks, & More Information:
You may have additional questions about this lemon bundt cake recipe. Like other BBR recipes, I always recommend sticking to the recipe as it is written in the recipe card, below. However, here’s some extra info:
⇢ Grease/butter the pan – You’ll want to generously grease/butter your bundt pan mold very well. Like, even when you think you’ve done it good, go back and double grease every single nook and cranny. We want a flawless cake to release in the end with no cake pieces stuck to the pan, I’d hate that for you.
⇢ Room temperature ingredients – The eggs and sour cream/yogurt within this recipe are more ideal when at room temperature. Those ingredients, when at room temperature as opposed to cold, blend better within the batter and prevent coagulation. I like to leave these out on the counter about an hour before baking this lemon bundt cake. BBR tip: You can also place the eggs into a bowl of warm (not hot) water for a few minutes to speed things up.
⇢ How to store a bundt cake – This lemon bundt cake will keep fresh when stored inside of an airtight container (those cake domes are excellent!) for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. If you’d like, you can keep it on the counter (covered for freshness) for about 3 days. And friends, you can even freeze this bundt cake, too! To freeze, wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap, first. Then cover the plastic wrapped cake completely in foil. It will keep in the freezer for about 2 months. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the fridge.
⇢ What makes this cake moist? – There’s nothing more terrible than a dry cake, oof. Not here. The lemon pudding mix, sour cream, and oil all work together to ensure a tender and ultra-moist lemon bundt cake, y’all.
Dressing Up Your Lemon Bundt Cake 💛
One of the beauties of bundt cakes is that they don’t require much decoration. However, you can certainly add some simple elements that add a touch of flair. We love adding some candied lemon slices/peels or some extra zested lemon (as pictured). A few edible flowers as a garnish for a gorgeous pop of color and contrast are so nice as well, otherwise leave it naked, just cake and glaze.
Gahhh, this Lemon Bundt Cake, I can’t talk about this baddie enough. It’s one of the best cakes you will ever have. Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾
*This post was originally published on 2/11/2020 and updated as of 8/5/2022.
PrintSuper Moist Lemon Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A supremely moist Lemon Bundt Cake that’s bursting with bright lemon flavor throughout each bite and finished with a silky smooth lemony glaze that melts right into the cake! So easy to make for any occasion, extra tender, and deeelicious!
Ingredients
For the lemon bundt cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant lemon pudding dry mix
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- zest of 1 small lemon
- lemon juice, squeezed from zested lemon
For the lemon glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and generously spray a 10-cup bundt pan with baking spray or grease with butter and then set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, dry lemon pudding mix, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients well to combine and then set the bowl aside.
- In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth. Then add in the oil, sour cream, extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Whisk the wet ingredients well until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together until just combined. Then empty the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, the batter should be somewhat thick. Use a spoon to smooth the top nicely or gently tap the bundt pan on the counter to evenly distribute in bundt pan.
- Bake the cake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack to continue cooling. Allow the cake to cool down completely before glazing.
- For the lemon glaze: In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and extract. Whisk the mixture together until smooth and well combined. Place the cake onto a platter/cake stand and pour the lemon glaze over the cooled cake.
- Slice the lemon bundt cake into wedges and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free needs? Swap the all-purpose flour for any gluten-free baking flour as a 1:1 ratio (we love Bob’s Red Mill gf flour!).
- Plain Greek yogurt is a good sub for sour cream.
- Please read the blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
Keywords: lemon bundt cake, lemon cake, lemon pound cake, moist lemon cake, the best lemon cake
59 Comments on “Super Moist Lemon Bundt Cake”
Hi the instant pudding do I make it and use or just add the powder
Hi, just add the instant lemon pudding powder 🙂
Wow did you even read the recipe IT CLEARLY STATES TO ADD THE POWDER WITH THE DRY INGREDIENTS PEOPLE READ THE RECIPE
★★★★★
Even the most experienced bakers ask questions, it’s better to ask than mess up and waste ingredients. Find something better to do with your time rather than harassing someone for asking a simple question on a recipe.
This cake is fantastic and one of the first lemon recipes I used when searching for a new recipe last year.
Hello, Quin – I am going to make this recipe next week. I like the flavor of lemon paste. If I use it instead of the lemon extract, would it be 1:1 substitution? Thanks so much for posting this recipe. It looks great. Mike
★★★★★
Hi Mike…I also love lemon paste! Yes, I would use 1 teaspoon of lemon paste to replace the extract 🙂
I saw some ask a question about lemon extract? I don’t see it on the recipe
Hi there- Just lemon zest + lemon juice 🙂
Easy recipe to follow and so delicious!!
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Glad you liked this bundt cake, Daniela! 🙂
This was delicious and a crowd pleaser! 😋🍋
★★★★★
Used this recipe to make my first ever from scratch cake and it was AWESOME! I love that Quinn’s recipes are so easy to follow, even for a new baker like myself. Delicious!:-)
Hi Khalida, so glad you enjoyed this lemon cake, too! 🙂
Hey, I have a bottle of limoncello. How can I incorporate into this cake ?
Thanks
Hi there- unsure as this recipe does not call for limoncello, perhaps you can incorporate it into the glaze? 🙂
Whose bundt pan do you use
Hi there- it’s noted in the blog post for you 😉
This is only a 10 c many of my recipes call for 12 cup
Feel free to use a 12-cup pan.
Although I was jittery about making a cake from scratch for the first time, I set aside my fears and took the plunge. Oh my, my, my! This cake is DELICIOUS! Initially, I used only half the glaze, thinking it would be too sweet, until I realized the glaze is the star of the show! This recipe is fantastic! Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi, Quin! Firstly, thank you for sharing your amazing recipes, I’ve made quite a few and they’ve all been delicious! I’m in Australia and can’t find an instant lemon pudding mix anywhere (pudding over here is more like a dense cake, our closest substitute to American style pudding is probably custard), but I have found a vanilla flavoured mix. Do you have any suggestions for what I should add to it to bring back the lemon flavour; juice, extract, rind or even curd? Thanks again ☺️
Hi Renny- Sure thing…I recommend adding in about 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice along with your vanilla pudding mix. You could also use lemon curd as well (maybe 1-2 tbsp) Let me know how it works out! 🙂
Hi Quin, thanks so much for the advice! I ended up adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with the vanilla pudding mix (because I like it extra lemon-y 🍋), and it worked out great. The cake was delicious and so moist! I also made candied lemon slices to decorate the top. Thanks again for sharing your recipe, will definitely be making this one again! 🙂
★★★★★
Hello Quin
Can I substitute cake flour for all purpose flour?
Hi Anita- yes, cake flour can be used for this recipe! 🙂
This was an easy cake to make and delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
This looks lush! I can’t find any instant pudding mix here in UK. Can I leave out?
★★★★★
Hi there- hmmm, I don’t recommend leaving it out- perhaps try using dried lemon custard mix or a boxed lemon flavored cake mix (in equal amounts)…lmk if you try! 🙂
This lemon cake is hands thrown in the air best out there.🙌🏽 #fabulous!!!! Next time I make it, will post on IG and tag you.
Thank you for the recipe🙏🏽🤎
★★★★★
Hi Stephanie- ayyeee, so happy you enjoyed! 🙂
It was so good. Easy directions to follow. Made this cake the other day and I’ll be making it again tonight for friends. Thank you for the awesome recipe. Keep them coming. 😊😊
★★★★★
I made this for my husband’s birthday and it was a hit! I have struggled with bundt cakes in the past (too dry or underdone or stuck to the pan etc.) but this recipe finally gave me some success. Thanks!
★★★★★
hi,can I use butter instead of oil? what ratio?
thank you in advance
Hi there- I haven’t tested this recipe using butter, but I’m sure it would work, lmk if you try! 🙂
How high does this bake up too? The filling goes to about half way up my pan is that normal?
Hi there- The instructions advise to use, at least, a 10-cup bundt pan- as long as you did, you’re good to go 🙂
Good morning I am going to make this cake for some friends tomorrow afternoon. Is there a specific reason you use butter to grease your pan? Flavor? I have always used the bakers spray. Will that work, (change the turn out) or should I use the butter?
Hi Tricia- The instructions advise to spray the bundt pan well with bakers spray OR grease well with butter- either one works! 🙂
I’ve made this cake too many times to count cos it’s that good, a staple in my life!
★★★★★
Very moist and delicious recipe. Next time I think I’ll add a touch more lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter.
★★★★★
Loved this recipe. Best cake ever!
★★★★★
So moist and delicious! A huge hit!
★★★★★
What’s a substitute for box instant lemon pudding dry mix
Hi there- unfortunately, I don’t have a good sub recommendation for the pudding mix.
How much would it change using French vanilla pudding instead of Vanilla? ( I don’t have lemon OR vanilla 😒) Would adding extra lemon help? Thanks!
Hi Jessika- I haven’t tested vanilla pudding in this cake, but I don’t see an issue with using instant vanilla pudding mix as a sub. I would, however, recommend adding more lemon extract/lemon paste/lemon zest to amp up the overall lemon flavor. Hope this helps! 🙂
My glaze looks thicker then yours, should I add more milk or lemon?
Hi there- Yup, more liquid thins out the glaze- either milk or lemon juice will work (keep in mind, more lemon juice will make the glaze more tart)…hope this helps! 🙂
I baked this scrumptious cake on Saturday, and before it could even get room temperature, they had devoured it!
I’m glad I cut myself a slice FIRST
★★★★★
Hi Tisé- Lol yesss, that’s when you know it’s GOOD! Glad y’all enjoyed this cake! 🙂
This is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had, thank you!!! It also made my house smell like a dream!
★★★★★
An easy cake to make and oh so delicious!
★★★★★
I have my own lemon cake recipe, and honestly, this one is far better. Using the oil and lemon pudding definitely take the flavor up a knotch. Thanks!
Do you have a specific amount for the lemon juice in the cake?
Hi Amy- The juice squeezed from the small zested lemon called for in the recipe- about 1-1 1/2 tbsp perhaps 🙂
This was a great recipe super easy to make and delicious
★★★★★
Hi Laura- This cake is one of my top fave desserts on the site, so glad you enjoyed it, too! 🙂
Can I use more lemon extract if I really am not thrilled with almond
Hey there- Yeah, sure thing! 🙂