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Easy and delicious lemon bundt cake with a buttercream frosting. This cake comes out perfectly moist and tender and is perfect for summer!
Hey Recipe Critic readers! This is Chelsea back from Chelsea’s Messy Apron. I hope you are all enjoying your summer and eating lots of great food!
This lemon bundt cake has been top on our favorites this summer. While maybe not a typical summer treat (meaning you have to turn on your oven), the colors totally make it seem like a fun summer cake.
This cake starts with a boxed mix which honestly I think is the best! It saves tons of time and you have a super intense and delicious lemon flavor which is sometimes hard to come by in a from scratch lemon cake (I’ve tried lots!)
I did make this cake with a glaze and a few weeks later with a buttercream and the buttercream was everyone’s voted favorite. The buttercream is absolutely delicious and bursting with fresh lemon flavor. If you’ve never tried lemon extract, you’ll be amazed how much it boosts the lemon flavor. You can find lemon extract usually on a baking or spices aisle right by other baking extracts (vanilla, almond, etc.)
I hope you all love this cake!
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Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 1 (13.25-ounce) box lemon cake mix
- 1 (3.4 ounce) instant lemon pudding mix dry
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
Frosting
- ¾ cup softened butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease and lightly flour a nonstick bundt cake pan.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the 1 (13.25-ounce) box lemon cake mix, 1 (3.4 ounce) instant lemon pudding mix dry, 1 cup sour cream, 4 large eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon lemon extract, and ¼ cup water until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Pour the mixture and spread evenly in the bundt cake pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then invert the cake onto a cake stand or plate.
- In a small bowl whisk together ⅓ cup lemon juice juice and ⅓ cup granulated sugar. Brush this mixture generously over the cake being slow to allow it to soak in. Do this while it is still pretty warm and then let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, whisk the¾ cup softened butter with 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest on medium-high speed until very fluffy.
- Mix in 1 cup of the 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon lemon extract. Add the remaining powdered sugar, then whisk mixture until very fluffy (about 5 minutes).
- Pipe or spread the frosting over the cake and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
M
This recipe looks felish. Do you think it could be made as cupcakes?
I would try using this Lemon Cupcakes recipe instead!