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Lemon Bundt Cake

This Lemon Bundt Cake is the perfect combination of slightly sweet pound cake with a thick drizzle of lemon glaze. Serve for dessert or Easter brunch!

moist lemon pound cake with thick lemon glaze on wire rack

Easy Lemon Cake Recipe

Can you tell I am ready for spring?!  I’m pretty tired of the below freezing days here in Texas, though not quite ready for the 100+ temps either.  Lemon bundt cake is right where I want to be — sunny, breezy, warm, spring!  

My grandmother used to make a lemon cake recipe from scratch every year for my grandfather’s birthday and I grew up believing that lemon pound cake was his favorite.  It wasn’t until recently that I learned he actually loves chocolate and that this lemon bundt cake was actually my grandmother’s favorite! Haha!

Like most easy pound cake recipes, this lemon bundt cake takes minutes to throw together and about an hour to bake.  Perfect to put in the oven during dinner and then drizzle with lemon glaze just before serving.  This easy lemon cake recipe would be a wonderful spring birthday cake or addition to your Easter celebration.  

I may or may not like to enjoy a big, thick slice of this lemon pound cake with lemon glaze with my morning coffee.  (Seriously though, that pound cake glaze!)

collage showing how to grease and flour a bundt pan

What’s in This Lemon Bundt Cake? 

This simple lemon cake has two main components: the actual lemon cake recipe from scratch and the sweet-tart lemon glaze. Here’s what you’ll need to make both:

  • Butter
  • All-purpose flour
  • Granulated sugar
  • Eggs
  • Lemon extract
  • Powdered sugar
  • Milk 
  • Lemon juice 

How to Make Lemon Bundt Cake 

  1. Cream together the butter and sugar. 
  2. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium-low for about 10 minutes (yes, really!). 
  3. Turn the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. 
  4. Bake until done. 
  5. Once the cake is out of the oven, make the lemon glaze for the pound cake. Drizzle over the cooled cake. 

How to Grease and Flour Bundt Pans

Here’s a tip to easily grease and flour your bundt pan for this lemon bundt cake:

  • Use a paper towel to smear 2-3 tbsp of vegetable shortening inside the pan, ensuring to get all of the nooks and crannies. 
  • Next, sprinkle 2-3 tbsp of flour into the pan as you turn the pan on it’s side (preferably over the sink) and tap the sides of the pan to dust the entire surface.  

You want to take the extra time to do these steps well so that your moist lemon pound cake doesn’t stick to the pan.  The good news is that even if it doesn’t come out perfectly, that thick glaze covers a multitude of sins!

lemon bundt cake with thick lemon glaze on wire rack

Tips for Making Lemon Bundt Cake

Don’t try to substitute lemon juice for the lemon extract in the batter. Lemon extract is much more potent and is what makes this easy lemon cake recipe so lemon-y. 

The homemade lemon glaze for cake is very forgiving. If it looks too runny to you, add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, thin it out with a splash of milk. 

Lemon pound cake actually freezes quite well (minus the lemon glaze). You can thaw slices on your countertop and whip up a mini batch of lemon pound cake glaze at a moment’s notice. 

More Easy Cake Recipes: 

lemon bundt cake with thick lemon glaze

Lemon Bundt Cake

4.13 from 24 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 428kcal
Author: Emily Grace

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tbsp lemon extract

For the Glaze:

  • 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Make the cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Cream the butter and sugar with a electric mixer.
  • Add in all remaining ingredients and beat on medium-low for 10 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed (about 2 times).
  • Pour the lemon cake batter in a greased and floured bundt pan.
  • Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center of the pound cake comes out clean.

Make the glaze:

  • Combine all ingredients and mix well.
  • Pour the glaze over the lemon bundt cake and top with grated lemon zest.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 60mg | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 590IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1.4mg
Did you make this recipe? Mention @GraceGoodEats or tag #graceandgoodeats!

This post was published February 21, 2014 and updated August 20, 2019.

Recipe Rating




Annie

Thursday 29th of September 2022

I only made the glaze but was frustrated that no other commenters had made it before. I made the glaze but added some lemon zest rather than on top of the cake, a dash of salt and a dash of vanilla extract. Perfect consistency.

Caroline Koley Stoner

Sunday 27th of December 2020

I have a Meyer lemon tree. Best lemons ever. Any way to use that? Or lemon curd?

Evelyn M. Speaks

Wednesday 17th of August 2016

Wow What a lovely post. Lemon Pound Cake sounds so tempting. The icing on the cake looks perfect. Kindly share more lemon recipes. I love a pinch of lemon to my cakes. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep posting and Keep sharing.... Regards; Evelyn M. Speaks

Karly

Monday 14th of March 2016

YUMMY! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!

Marie

Sunday 13th of March 2016

Love this tip for making sure your cake comes cleanly out of the pan. I'm usually a little too lazy to take the time to do it properly, but for bundt pans and other more intricate designs it really makes all the difference. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!

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