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.
Print
Super Moist Lemon Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
- 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.



124 Comments on “Super Moist Lemon Bundt Cake”
This cake was delicious! Lemony and dense; bursting with flavor. I baked mine with my oven on convection and it was done in 35 minutes! I was worried that I had over baked it, and that it would be dry but it was perfect. Wondering though…the outside was dark brown vs light/mediun brown in color. Was it because I buttered the pan instead of using spray?
Hi Mary- I typically use nonstick spray when coating my bundt pans. It is possible that butter produced a darker cake exterior…but so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
I’ve always used butter in my pound cakes but I noticed this recipe calls for oil instead. Any reason for that? Could I use a combination of oil and butter or stick to just one?
Hey Dee- Yeah so traditional pound cakes typically do call for butter but I prefer the use of oil here. You could definitely use both if you’d like, I don’t see why it would cause a major issue 🙂
I made a mistake and left out the oil. (Jockeying for space in a small kitchen with my husband and his turkeys) I then went back and added the oil after the cake was in the oven for 10 mins. Wish me luck on the outcome.
Hi Quin,
I baked the cake yesterday (12/26/24), and it was absolutely delicious—so moist and full of lemony flavor! I added extra lemon juice and a splash of Limoncello to the glaze for a festive twist, which worked beautifully.
However, I noticed the cake didn’t rise very much, only about halfway. I live in Denver, a mile above sea level, and I wonder if that might have been the issue. I remember some recipes in the ’90s suggested adding more flour for high-altitude baking. I’m considering trying that adjustment next time.
Do you have any specific tips for adapting this recipe for high altitude? I’d appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks so much, and Happy New Year!
Maylan
Best regards,
RMT
Hi there- So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Hmmm yeah altitude baking can be tricky. Since I don’t live in a high altitude environment, I don’t have specific tips, but I suggest doing a quick google search for precise info. Hope this helps! 🙂
Question
1st time I made it came out perfect. 2nd time I it has a gooey middle. I did take it out 6 min earlier as the edges were brown and toothpick was clean. I also added more lemon. Not sure what I did wrong.
Also your cream cheese frosting is everything on this pound cake
This cake is great! What tool did you use to make those lemon zest curls on the top? I can’t make those for the life of me lol.
Hey Melissa- I used a little oxo lemon zest tool for that! 🙂
I’ll be giving this recipe a try for my dad’s birthday coming up soon. I’m wondering if almond milk would taste good, since it has almond extract. Or should I stick with cow milk? I don’t wanna ruin the lemony flavor or texture of the cake.
Hi Regan- Great question- if it’s not a necessity for you to use alt milk (or those you plan to serve it to), I recommend using cow milk 🙂
My first lemon cake, I love this recipe. Made for church to go with fish fry, complemented fish wonderfully. Had to make 1 for home too. Even my picky grandson loved it.
Hi so excited to bake this cake for Easter! Can I use lemon gelatin mix instead of lemon pudding mix?
Hi there- I recommend using instant lemon pudding mix only 🙂
I live in switzerland and we dont have lemon pudding mix here. Can I replace that with something else or rather try another recipe
Hi there- I haven’t tested this recipe without the lemon pudding mix so I can’t speak to an outcome without it.
Morning!
I have yet to make this delisious cake.
I was wondering if adding blueberries would change the denseness of the cake and also the the bake time?
Hi there- I haven’t tested this recipe with the addition of blueberries- lmk if you try! 🙂
Hello. Just need a clarification on the amount of almond extract. The recipe calls for 1 tsp but the instructions say to mix the extract in the batter and in the glaze (there is mention of extract in the batter instructions and the drizzle instructions). Is that an error or do we use half a spoon for each?
Thank you!
Hi Rola- The recipe uses extract in both the cake itself and the glaze, as it is written, 1 teaspoon in each element 🙂
How much lemon juice in the batter, not specified
Hi! Could I substitute vanilla pudding mix instead of lemon? Would it work the same?
Hi Sofia- Yes, while lemon-flavored pudding mix amplifies the lemon flavor here, vanilla pudding mix will work! 🙂
Can II use whipped cream cheese in the lemon Bundt cake?
Hi there- I haven’t tested this recipe using that, but lmk if you try! 🙂
Can U use a stand cake mixer for this recipe
Yes, you can! 🙂
What R the steps to do for a stand mixer? When I did everything by hand cake didn’t have a good rise
i made this lemon cake last month and sprinkled some dried flowers on top after glazing. to say that it was perfection would be an understatement. one of the best bundt cakes i’ve ever made. so for valentine’s day tomorrow, i made the same recipe but white chocolate instead of lemon. used white chocolate pudding mix, vanilla extract instead of almond, and added white chocolate chips instead of lemon peel. i just took it out of the oven and it looks and smells amazing…i’ll report back tomorrow regarding how it tastes!
Hi Dana- Ahhhh love how you made the recipe your own with those subs, and so glad you enjoyed the lemon cake! 🙂
I just made this cake for a dinner tomorrow. Should I put the glaze on tonight, or wait until tomorrow?
Hi Mary- You can pour the glaze over right before serving! 🙂