Lemon Bundt Cake has a moist crumb and is full of lemon flavor with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and instant lemon pudding.
Lemon Bundt Cake with Pudding
This lemon bundt cake recipe comes to you from Miranda of Cookie Dough & Oven Mitt.
Remember when she wrote her first cookbook and I made Peanut Butter Buckeye Cookies?
Well, she wrote another cookbook, Easy Cake Cookbook, that I got to preview and this recipe is from it.
The cookbook is full of easy cake recipes that I am excited to work my way through.
I decided to start with this lemon pudding cake. It is made from scratch but has the addition of instant lemon pudding to kick up the lemon flavor and make it really moist.
The girls, my mom & I loved it.
Equipment you’ll need
- Bundt Pan – There are so many pretty shapes – mine is pretty basic but if I had more room, I would have a huge collection.
- Hand Mixer – You could also use your hand mixer, but I always reach for my hand mixer.
- Lemon Zester – For all that fresh lemon flavor.
- Measuring Cups – You’ll need a few.
- Measuring Spoons – These are magnetic, stackable, and double sided – they’re my favorite.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Sugar
- Butter
- Lemon Zest
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- Flour
- Instant Lemon Pudding Mix
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Lemon Juice
- Buttermilk
How to make a Lemon Bundt Cake
- First, preheat your oven to 325°F and generously spray a 10″ (12 cup) bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Then, to a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, and butter and cream together with a hand mixer on medium, until light & fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if needed.
- Next, in a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, lemon pudding mix, baking soda, and baking powder and whisk together.
- Then, add the buttermilk to a measuring cup and pour in the lemon juice. Whisk together.
- Next, we’ll alternate the mixtures to combine everything together. Start by adding some of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, while beating on medium speed. Then add some of the butter milk mixture. Continue alternating, until you’re out of ingredients, ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if needed.
- Finally, pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let it cool for about 10 minutes and then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
How to store leftovers
Keep this cake tightly covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 4-5 days.
What if I don’t have buttermilk?
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, it’s easy to make your own!
To a liquid measuring cup, add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar then finish filling to 1 cup with milk. Let stand for 5-10 minutes to let milk curdle. Ta-da – buttermilk.
What should I top this cake with?
I sprinkled the top of my cake with powdered sugar but it’s easy to make a lemon bundt cake glaze.
Whisk together 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and the zest of 1 lemon. That’s it! Drizzle over the cake.
Need more bundt cake recipes? Try these:
If you want another lemon baking idea, try my lemon zucchini bread or lemon powder sugar cookies!
Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest grated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 3.4 oz instant lemon pudding mix
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° F and generously spray a 10-inch bundt pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with a hand mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
- To another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, lemon pudding mix, baking powder, and baking soda.
- To a measuring cup, add the buttermilk then whisk in the lemon juice.
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter-sugar mixture in multiple additions, alternating back & forth, starting and ending with the flour mixture and beating on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for approximately 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut & serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Very good and lemony. Really liked that it does not need icing. The glaze was perfect. Will definitely make again.
Glad you liked it!
Good lemon flavor but I have tried this recipe twice now and both times it rises great while baking but falls within the last 5 minutes of baking and when I take it out of the oven, it is still underbaked in the middle.
Hi Nita. Usually when that happens, you either overmixed the batter or there’s an issue with your oven temperature.
My oven is slow too, 65 min probably won’t cook it for me so I have skinny wood skewers I use to check if it is done.
Is the 1/2 tsp baking powder really enough for 2 3/4. Cups of flour? Cake fell in the middle at end of baking
Yes, I haven’t had any issues with falling.
I accidentally got regular lemon pudding rather than instant (not easy to find!). Can I use that or will it not bake right?
Whoops. I think cook & serve will work fine, the ingredients are nearly the same. Let me know how it works out!
Hey it’s berry good but I’m diabetic terror too much sugar can you come out with something less sugar please &thank you Elena pannunzio
MELISSA, have made several different lemon bundts to gift always, to 1st responders, the kind nurses where i receive infusions, a dear friend for her 97th b’day, and they’ve all been very good; I chose yours today, for the nurses/staff mostly because i make another lemon loaf with pudding mix and its excellent, so i’m guessing this secret ingredient may make yours a favorite!!
i’ll request a small slice after its given to the nursing staff and then let you know, ok? I love baking for all the 1st responders who’ve touched our lives, during, b4, and after the covid epidemic!! thx for this great recipe, :): kelli
I love that you do that! Let me know how it goes 🙂
i see no salt in the list of ingredients, was that an oversight??
No, no salt in this one.