Easter Lemon Bundt Cake
This easy-to-make homemade lemon bundt cake is a showstopper for Easter because of its easter bundt cake decorations. The citrus bundt cake has a vanilla lemon flavor and a lemon glaze topping. This bundt easter cake is fresh, rich, moist, and buttery. It is the moistest lemon bundt cake ever!
Without its easter bundt cake decorations is this citrus bundt cake the perfect snack for spring and summer. This easy lemon bundt cake is made from scratch, so without any cake mix.
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Lemon bundt cake
Bundt easter cakes are a tradition for Easter. Especially with a lemon glaze and lemon flavor. That is why I wanted to make my own version of an easter lemon bundt cake. I wanted to make a homemade lemon bundt cake from scratch without cake mix. Despite that it is a homemade cake, the recipe is quick and easy to make and it tastes so much better than premade cake mix.
The first time I made this cake it was a little dry, so I adjusted the recipe to make it moister. That resulted in a perfect moist homemade lemon bundt cake. Read also my ultimate baking guide with baking tips to prevent baking failures.
Ultimate Baking Guide
Do you want to improve your baking? Read my Ultimate Baking Guide where I share the best baking tips ever. No more baking failures!
🧁 Ingredient Notes
Butter – I love to regulate the amount of salt I use for baking, that is why I always use unsalted butter. It also will create the perfect buttery base. Make sure the butter is at room temperature.
Flour – you can choose to use all-purpose flour in combination with baking powder or to use only self-raising flour. You can substitute them 1:1 when using 6 grams of baking powder if you use all-purpose flour.
Sugar – you can choose light brown sugar or granulated sugar. Sugar beats air in the bundt cake and it makes the bundt cake sweeter. You can choose to do less or more sugar in the bundt cake 225 – 300 grams. I choose 275 grams of sugar.
Eggs – you need 4 eggs at room temperature.
Vanilla extract – gives an extra flavor into your bakings, use a great quality for a better flavor.
Sour cream with fat – Sour cream adds moisture without thinning your batter. It will make the cake moister and richer.
Lemon – you need to add lemon zest and lemon juice in the cake batter to give it its lemon flavor.
Baking powder – leavening agent to help the bundt cake rise when using all-purpose flour. If you use self-raising flour, you can leave out the baking powder.
Salt – adding a pinch of salt enhances the natural flavor of the bundt cake.
🔪 Step-by-step instructions
For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
How do you make the lemon bundt cake?
Preheat a convection oven at 160°C (320°F). Use non-stick vegetable oil spray, melted shortening, or butter to grease the bundt cake pan thoroughly (also between the edges and in the middle). Otherwise you will not get the cake out of the cake tin properly. Dust with 1 tbsp of flour or granulated sugar, and tap out the excess.
Beat the butter, sugar, and oil in a large bowl for about 5 minutes, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, until light in color and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract until combined. Sieve the flour above the mixture. After that add salt, baking powder. Mix everything together at medium-high speed until combined.
Add the sour cream, the zest of a lemon, and the juice of a half lemon, and mix together until combined. Add the batter into the greased bundt cake pan. Bake the cake in the middle of a convection oven for about 50-60 minutes at 160°C (320°F).
Check the doneness of the cake with a wooden tooth stick. Insert a wooden toothpick near the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Let the cake cool in the cake pan for about 10 minutes. After that turn the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
When the cake comes out of the oven, try to flip it after 10 minutes and put it on a plate or cooling rack. The butter is then still warm, so it comes out easily. Wait for the cake to cool before applying the icing.
How do you decorate the easter bundt cake?
Put the powdered sugar in a bowl. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over the icing sugar and mix with a spoon to a smooth glaze. Add some lemon juice if it is not smooth enough. Decorate the cake with filled milk chocolate dragee eggs and optionally with a chocolate Easter bunny in the middle.
🍽 Equipment
The equipment you need for this homemade lemon bundt cake
🍰 Variations
- You can replace the sour cream for greek yoghurt, plain yoghurt or creme fraiche.
- You can replace the all purpose flour with self raising flour 1:1. If you choose to use self raising flour leave out the baking powder.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- To make sure your cake is done inside, do a toothpick test. Stick a toothpick or thin wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out sticky or covered in batter, let it bake some more.
- Add a dash of vegetable oil into the cake batter to make the cake moister. You can also choose to replace the butter with vegetable oil 1:1.
- Make sure you grease the bundt cake pan with butter.
- Let the bundt cake cool for about 10 minutes at a cooling rack and remove it from the tin.
- Let it completely cool down before glazing and decorating.
🧈 How long can you store a bundt cake?
The best temperature to eat a bundt cake is at room temperature. A covered undecorated bundt cake can be left unrefrigerated for up to 5 days.
If you decorated the bundt cake with lemon glaze, you need to store it in the fridge when not serving. In the refrigerator, a bundt cake can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Take the bundt cake a few hours before serving out the refrigerator so it can be set to room temperature.
You can also freeze a bundt cake in an airtight container. It is better that you freeze the bundt cake before decorating with the lemon glaze. Let the undecorated bundt cake completely cool down before freezing. After that wrap the bundt cake first with cling foil and after that with aluminum foil or in an airtight container. You can freeze a bundt cake for up to 3 months. Transfer the bundt cake from the freezer to the refrigerator one day before serving.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Check the doneness of the cake with a wooden tooth stick. Insert a wooden toothpick near the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Let the cake cool in the cake pan for about 10 minutes. After that turn the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
Use a non-stick bundt cake tin. Grease the pan thoroughly. Use non-stick vegetable oil spray, melted shortening, or butter. Use a pastry brush to apply melted shortening to all its nooks and crannies. After that put 1 tbsp flour or granulated sugar into the greased pan before adding the batter. After baking let the bundt cake cool for about 10 minutes on a cooling rack and remove it from the tin. If you wait longer the butter will become hard again and that makes it harder to remove the cake from its pan.
This lemon bundt cake recipe is a very moist bundt cake, so follow the exact recipe and instructions. You can also add a dash of vegetable oil to make the bundt cake moister. The sour cream in the recipe makes the bundt cake also very moist. Bake it in the middle of the oven at the right temperature. Don’t overbake, because that makes a cake always dry. Always check 5-10 minutes before the end of the baking time if the cake is ready.
No this isn’t just a bundt easter cake. Without the chocolate Easter bunny and the Easter dragee eggs, it is a normal moist lemon bundt cake. Because of the freshness of the lemon, it is a perfect citrus bundt cake for the summer or spring.
A bundt cake is a round cake with a hole in the middle. Bundt cakes are known for their beautiful shapes.
⭐️ Did you make this? Please leave a star rating below or a review in the comments section.
⚖️ Baking in grams
The most accurate way to bake is by baking by weight. Measuring cups are very inaccurate and can lead to baking failures. Therefore all of my recipes are posted in grams. I always bake with a scale, so I have a recipe card that automatically converts metrics to US customary, but it can have errors. So I advise you to bake with a digital scale. You can find them on Amazone for a small price.
📖 Recipe
Easter Lemon Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Cake Pan Non-stick pan
Ingredients
Lemon Bundt Cake
- 225 grams unsalted butter room temperature + extra for greasing the bundt cake pan
- 300 grams All-Purpose Flour or self-raising flour (if you use self-raising flower, you don't have to add baking powder to the mixture)
- 275 grams granulated or brown sugar You can choose to do less or more sugar in the bundt cake 225 – 300 grams.
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Sour Cream or plain yoghurt
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
Lemon Glaze
- 150 grams powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice fresh or bottled lemon juice
Decoration
- 1 chocolate easter bunny
- 10 chocolate dragee easter eggs
Instructions
Easter Lemon Bundt Cake
- Preheat a convection oven at 160°C (320°F). Grease the cake tin with butter, dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
- Beat the butter, sugar, and oil in a large bowl for about 5 minutes, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, until light in color and fluffy.225 grams unsalted butter, 275 grams granulated or brown sugar
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract until combined.4 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Sieve the flour above the mixture. Add salt, baking powder. Mix everything together at medium-high speed until combined.300 grams All-Purpose Flour, 2 tbsp baking powder, 1 pinch of salt
- Add the sour cream and mix until combined. Add the zest of a lemon. After that squeeze the juice of the lemon out above the cake batter. And mix together until combined. Add the batter into the greased bundt cake pan.1 lemon, 2 tbsp Sour Cream
- Bake the cake in the middle of a convection oven for about 50-60 minutes at 160°C (320°F).
- Check the doneness of the cake with a wooden tooth stick. Insert a wooden toothpick near the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Let the cake cool in the cake pan for about 10 minutes. After that turn the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
Lemon Glaze
- Start with this step if the cake is completely cooled down!
- Put the powdered sugar in a bowl. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over the icing sugar and mix with a spoon to a smooth glaze. Add some extra lemon juice or water if it is not smooth enough. Add the glaze on top of the bundt cake.150 grams powdered sugar, 2 tbsp water, 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Decorate the cake with Easter chocolate dragee eggs and optionally with a chocolate Easter bunny in the middle.
Notes
- To make sure your cake is done inside, do a toothpick test. Stick a toothpick or thin wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out sticky or covered in batter, let it bake some more.
- Add a dash of vegetable oil into the cake batter to make the cake moister. You can also choose to replace the butter with vegetable oil 1:1.
- Make sure you grease the bundt cake pan with butter.
- Let the bundt cake cool for about 10 minutes at a cooling rack and remove it from the tin.
- Let it completely cool down before glazing and decorating.
- You can replace the sour cream with Greek yogurt, plain yogurt, or creme fraiche.
- You can replace the all-purpose flour with self-raising flour 1:1. If you choose to use self-raising flour leave out the baking powder.
- You can store a covered bundt cake for 5 days in the refrigerator. A bundt cake out of the refrigerator can be stored for 2 days.
- A covered bundt cake can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
