This lovely Lemon Bundt Cake recipe is completely made from scratch and creates the moistest and most beautifully bright pound cake infused with fresh lemon flavor.
With a sweetened cheesecake filling and glorious lemon glaze on top, each sweet and tangy bite tastes like the best of the summer season in every single slice.
Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
Our easy Lemon Bundt Cake recipe is full of big, bold lemon flavor (from lots of lemon juice and lemon zest!) and looks especially elegant with its thick glaze topping and lemon zest garnish.
While I often prefer a recipe with a box mix shortcut, this homemade lemon pound cake takes only 20 minutes to prepare and has a more pronounced lemon flavor that I was looking for than its cake mix counterpart.
What makes this the most moist lemon bundt cake and raises it a level above the basic lemon bundt cake recipes is that this one has a cream cheese filling baked in between the batter.
Soft and tender with a sweet cheesecake swirl, this lemon cream cheese bundt cake is the best tasting treat with big bursts of citrus flavor and an extra boost of lemon from the thick glaze on top.
Why We Love Lemon Bundt Cake
- Quick and easy to prepare in 20 minutes.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Tart, sweet, and beautifully bright lemon cake coated in more lemon.
- Lemon lovers dream dessert!
- Perfect for potlucks, spring and summer parties, BBQs, or just having on hand for a lemony after dinner treat.
Lemon Bundt Cake Ingredients
- Cream cheese
- Granulated white sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Vegetable oil
- Lemon zest
- Plain greek yogurt: You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt if you prefer.
- Lemon juice: I prefer using freshly squeezed lemon juice, for my cake but you can also use juice from concentrate.
- Yellow food coloring, optional
- Powdered sugar
Substitutions and Additions
- Create More Color: If you want a stronger yellow color, you can fold a few drops of yellow food coloring into the cake batter.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve your slice with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries on the side.
Recommended Tools
- 10 inch Bundt pan (10-12 cup capacity)
- Hand or stand mixer
- Cooking spray: I recommend using a cookie spray that has the addition of flour for best results.
How to Make Lemon Bundt Cake
- Make The Cream Cheese Mixture: Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and flour just until incorporated. Set aside.
- Make The Dry Mixture: Whisk together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
- Complete The Cake Batter: Beat together the sugar, oil, and lemon zest until fragrant. Add in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the greek yogurt and lemon juice until smooth. Pour in the dry mixture and mix until just combined.
Pro Tip: If you want a stronger yellow color, you can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to the batter. This is optional. - Pour In The Pan: Pour ½ of the cake batter into the pan, top with the cream cheese filling, and then add the remaining cake batter on top of the filling.
- Bake: Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-55 minutes or until the cake bounces back and a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Cover With Lemon Glaze: Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice until it forms a thick glaze. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake so that it runs down to the middle of the cake.
- Serve: Garnish with optional lemon zest. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best Lemon Bundt Cake
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start baking. This will help ensure that your cake turns out light and fluffy.
- Do not overmix the batter. Try to prepare your ingredients beforehand, have them at room temperature and mix just until things are combined.
- Spray your pan just before you put the batter in it. This helps the spray stay all over the pan, instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. It also helps to have a good quality pan and to use cooking spray with flour in it, if possible.
- Check your cake several minutes before the indicated time just to make sure that it doesn’t overcook. Overcooking a Bundt cake is sure to leave you with a dry, dense piece of cake.
How to Store Lemon Bundt Cake
- To Store: This bundt cake can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, it should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Pieces can be individually wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 2-4 months.
More Easy Lemon Recipes
Other Easy Cake Recipes
- Cookies And Cream Poke Cake
- Butter Cake
- Blueberry Dump Cake
- Lemon Eclair Cake
- Raspberry Coffee Cake
- Lemon Ricotta Cake
- Lemon Drop Cakes
Lemon Bundt Cake
Serves — 8
This Lemon Bundt Cake is the best tasting tangy sweet treat with a big burst of fresh citrus flavor. Easy to make from scratch, each slice is super moist with a cheesecake swirl baked in the middle of the bright lemon cake batter.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounce package cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
Lemon Cake:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ cups white granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup plain greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- yellow food coloring optional
Lemon Glaze:
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make the cream cheese filling in a medium sized mixing bowl by using a stand or hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Mix in the egg and flour just until incorporated. Set aside.
- Start the lemon cake by whisking together the all-purpose flour, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside for now.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat together the sugar, oil, and lemon zest until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding in the next.
- Stir in the greek yogurt and lemon juice and mix until smooth.
- Pour in the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- If you want a stronger yellow color, you can add a few drops of yellow food coloring at this point. Fold it into the batter. This is optional.
- Grease the bundt pan lightly with cooking spray and pour in about ½ of the cake batter or until the pan is about ⅓ full.
- Gently scoop or pipe in the cream cheese filling on top of the batter, making sure not to mix in with the batter.
- Scoop the remaining cake batter on top of the filling and even out the top.
- Cook for 45-55 minutes or until the cake bounces back and a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- Cool cake completely before turning it out and placing it upside down on a flat plate or cake stand.
- Once the cake is almost cooled, prepare lemon glaze.
- Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice until it forms a thick glaze.
- Garnish with optional lemon zest. Slice and serve.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: This Bundt cake can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, it should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Pieces can be individually wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 2-4 months.
- Do not overmix the batter. Try to prepare your ingredients beforehand, have them at room temperature and mix just until things are combined.
- Spray your pan just before you put the batter in it. This helps the spray stay all over the pan, instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. It also helps to have a good quality pan and to use cooking spray with flour in it, if possible.
- Check your cake several minutes before the indicated time just to make sure that it doesn’t overcook. Overcooking a Bundt cake is sure to leave you with a dry, dense piece of cake.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 401IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg
Great follow along instructions beautiful pictures. And some really good tips.