This pinwheel lemon bundt cake recipe is easy to make and doesn’t require you to be a professional baker. The light and airy cake is bursting with lemon flavor and topped with a lemony sugar glaze. Get ready to wow your family and guests with this tasty and GORGEOUS dessert.

Why this recipe works

Although this is called a cake, there’s no boxed cake mix involved, meaning you’ll be making it from scratch. Now before you get intimidated and think you need 10+ ingredients, this from-scratch recipe calls for things you most likely already have in your pantry.

All the classics like flour, softened unsalted butter, baking powder, sugar, large eggs, and salt come together in a bundt pan and create an incredible pound cake-like texture. The tangy lemon flavor is brought out with lemon zest and lemon glaze.

With minimal prep time and a reasonable cooking time, this is a dessert you’ll want to make time and time again. Don’t hesitate to take it to parties, potlucks, or any other gathering this spring and summer!

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Mix the wet ingredients.

Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time. Make sure to beat the mixture well after each egg is added.

2. Add the dry ingredients.

Add the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk gently so you do not overmix the flour mixture. Then add the lemon zest and gently fold over a few more times.

sifting dry and wet ingredients together for a lemon Bundt cake

3. Bake

Once you’ve got your batter made, transfer it to a HEAVILY GREASED AND FLOURED 10-cup Bundt pan and bake in a preheated (350°) oven for 35-40 minutes. Test for doneness with a skewer or toothpick. It will come out clean when done.

3. Prepare lemon syrup.

While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon syrup using granulated sugar and lemon juice. Add both to a sauce pan and cook over low heat, simmering for about 3 minutes until it has reduced by half.

4. Add syrup to the finished cake.

Once the cake has finished baking, poke holes in it with a skewer. Pour the syrup over the cake and allow it to cool completely in the bundt pan. It will soak up the syrup during the drying process.

Poking holes in a lemon Bundt cake and pouring lemon syrup on top

5. Prepare the glaze.

Again, while the cake is cooling, make the glaze using powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix the two ingredients together in a small bowl.

6. Spoon glaze over bundt cake.

Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a serving dish. Then spoon the lemon glaze on top. Serve your pinwheel lemon bundt cake and enjoy!

Spooning a lemony glaze on top of Lemon Bundt cake

Yes, you can make a lemon cake in a loaf pan, but that’s boring. Pick yourself up one of these Pinwheel Bundt pans. You can purchase them at Kohl’s, Target, Home Goods, etc. They make stunning cakes, but again, I will warn you to heavily grease the pan or the cake will not slide out.

Lemon Bundt cake on a white plate with a lemon sugar glaze

Variations

Play around with other citrus flavors. If you like lemon cakes, have a go at using lime or orange to create a different citrusy flavor.
Add a fruit topping. Since this is a lemon bundt cake, you can’t go wrong with adding a few thin lemon slices on top. Or, you can change things up by adding strawberry slices.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice before serving. Right before serving the slices, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for an extra tangy taste.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

• Use cooking spray, Crisco or brush the pan with melted butter then sprinkle it with flour to grease it. Grease EVERY nook and granny, take your time … as a properly greased pan will ensure the cake doesn’t stick and has sharp definition.
• If the mixture curdles when you add the eggs you can add half a tablespoon of flour to fix it.
• Remember not to over mix when you add the flour and lemon zest, you should stop mixing when you can no longer see white streaks of flour. Overbeating will result in a crumbly fall apart cake.
• Don’t overfill the Bundt pan, it should only be ⅔ full of batter.
• Allow the cake to cool, but not too long. Anything over 30 min will result in the cake getting moist on the bottom and once again, sticking to the pan.

Storage: store in an airtight container at room temperature. The Lemon Bundt Cake will stay fresh and moist for 3-4 days.

Lemon Bundt Cake

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup Unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup Granulated white sugar
4 Large Eggs, room temperature
1 ½ Cups All-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons Baking powder
¼ teaspoon Sea salt
3 lemons, zested

For the Lemon syrup:

¾ Cup Powdered sugar
Juice of 3 lemons

For the Glaze:

1 Cup Powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 10 cup bundt pan.
Cream the softened butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl with a handheld electric
mixer (or Kitchen Aid).
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt and fold together, taking care not to overmix.
Add the lemon zest to the mixture and fold in gently.
Transfer the cake batter to the Bundt pan and smooth over the top with the back of a spoon.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Meanwhile, prepare the lemon syrup by combining the powdered sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan set over a low heat. Simmer for 3 minutes or until the mixture has reduced by half.
Remove the cake from the oven and poke several holes with a round skewer. Pour the syrup on top of the cake. Leave the cake to completely cool in the Bundt pan. It will soak up all the lemon syrup as it cools.
Prepare the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a small dish.
Turn out the cake from the Bundt pan and use a spoon or small jug to pour the glaze on top.