Lemon Bundt Cake

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This amazing Lemon Bundt Cake uses two secret ingredients (cake mix and instant pudding!) to make it the easiest, most delicious lemon cake you’ve ever had.

An unsliced lemon bundt cake with lots of glaze and some strawberries nearby.


 

I love from-scratch baking, but when it comes to lemon cake, I’ve been known to reach for the boxed mix. Why? Because the color and flavor are hard to beat with actual lemons, no matter how ripe and juicy they are.

In fact, many restaurants and bakeries all over the country use lemon cake mixes in their lemon baked goods. It’s the best way to ensure that strong lemony flavor (and the bright yellow color). They just never talk about it.

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for lemon bundt cake.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Instant lemon pudding: Can’t find lemon pudding? Vanilla tastes great too! Most of the lemon flavor comes from the cake mix, so you don’t lose too much flavor with vanilla pudding. I tested this to make sure.
  • Vegetable oil: Readers have reported that substituting ½ cup applesauce for the ½ cup oil works perfectly. To quote Karen from the comments, “[I] saved over 800 calories per whole cake without any noticeable difference in taste or texture.”
  • Lemon zest: Zest the lemons before you cut them in half for juice. To zest a lemon, hold a grater in one hand and the lemon in the other over a cutting board or clean work surface. Going in one direction, push the lemon away from you across the rough side of the grater, removing the colorful part of the fruit, exposing the pith. Gently rotate the lemon as you go.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat a large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix and pudding mix.
Dry ingredients for lemon bundt cake next to a greased pan.
  1. Add water, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs and whisk to combine. Pour into prepared pan.
Lemon bundt cake batter in a bundt pan.
  1. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert on to cooling rack set over a baking sheet and cool completely.
A bundt pan cooling on a baking rack.
  1. To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake and let glaze harden for at least 10 minutes.
An unsliced lemon bundt cake with lots of glaze and some strawberries nearby.
  1. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with fresh strawberries if desired.
Slices of lemon bundt cake plated with strawberries.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This recipe makes 12 slices (or fewer bigger slices, depending on how you cut them).
  • Storage: Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
  • Bundt pan size: Any 12-cup bundt pan will work.
  • Greasing the pan: Be very generous with your nonstick spray or shortening. Nothing ruins a bundt like a stuck cake!
  • Blueberries: Fold 6 ounces fresh blueberries into the batter at the end of Step 2 (do not use more than 6 ounces). Bake as directed.
Slices of lemon bundt cake plated with strawberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use applesauce instead of oil in this lemon bundt cake?

Yes! A lot of readers have had success with this substitution. Just use ½ cup applesauce instead of the ½ cup oil in the recipe.

What if I can’t find lemon pudding?

Vanilla pudding tastes great too! Most of the lemon flavor comes from the cake mix, so you don’t lose too much flavor with vanilla pudding. I tested this to make sure.

Can I substitute lemon Jello for the lemon pudding?

No, unfortunately not. There are other cakes in the world that use lemon Jello instead of lemon pudding. The amount of eggs, water, oil, etc. is different for cakes made with Jello. This recipe has only been tested with pudding.

More lemon recipes

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A lemon bundt cake on a cooling rack surrounded by strawberries.

Lemon Bundt Cake

This amazing Lemon Bundt Cake uses two secret ingredients (cake mix and instant pudding!) to make it the easiest, most delicious lemon cake you’ve ever had. 
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 367
5 from 618 votes

Equipment

Ingredients 

For the cake:

For the glaze:

Instructions 

To make the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix and pudding mix. Add water, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs and whisk to combine.
  • Pour into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached, about 40 minutes.
  • Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert on to cooling rack set over a baking sheet and cool completely.

To make the glaze:

  • Whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake and let glaze harden for at least 10 minutes.
  • Transfer to a serving platter and serve with fresh strawberries if desired.

Recipe Video

Notes

  1. Instant lemon pudding: Can’t find lemon pudding? Vanilla tastes great too! Most of the lemon flavor comes from the cake mix, so you don’t lose too much flavor with vanilla pudding. I tested this to make sure.
  2. Vegetable oil: Readers have reported that substituting ½ cup applesauce for the ½ cup oil works perfectly. To quote Karen from the comments, “[I] saved over 800 calories per whole cake without any noticeable difference in taste or texture.”
  3. Lemon zest: Zest the lemons before you cut them in half for juice. To zest a lemon, hold a grater in one hand and the lemon in the other over a cutting board or clean work surface. Going in one direction, push the lemon away from you across the rough side of the grater, removing the colorful part of the fruit, exposing the pith. Gently rotate the lemon as you go.
  4. Yield: This recipe makes 12 slices (or fewer bigger slices, depending on how you cut them).
  5. Storage: Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 367kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 4gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 374mgPotassium: 55mgFiber: 1gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 90IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

    1. Hi Judy, I haven’t tried this myself with this cake, sorry! I believe you can, and you may need to adjust the amount of sour cream to have the batter maintain the proper consistency. Sorry about that! I wouldn’t want you to have a ruined cake. – Meggan

  1. Absolutely delicious! This is a keeper! I used vanilla pudding and omitted the zest. I also increased the fresh lemon to 1/3 cup.5 stars

    1. Hi Marimer, I haven’t tried adding pudding to the boxed cake mix that already has pudding in it. However, I’ve made this recipe with the pudding cake mix and not added the pudding mix and it was almost inedible! Sorry about that! – Meggan

  2. The video states. 1 package of lemon pudding. A package of pudding is 3.4 ounces. The recipe states 3 ounces. Which one is correct?
    Thank You

    1. Hi Jeff, you’re right. Thank you for pointing it out. I’ve updated the recipe. It should be 1 (3.4 ounce) package. Please write back and let me know how you liked this cake! Thank you again. – Meggan

    1. Hi Angellina, thank you for your questions. Sorry for the confusion. This recipe is for boxed cake mix, the powdered ingredients in the photo are powdered sugar and pudding mix. There is a recipe care in the recipe towards the bottom of the post, above where you wrote these comments, that has the full amounts and directions for the cake and the glaze. You can reach the recipe card using the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page, clicking”Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe” in the Table of Contents”, or by scrolling to the recipe itself. I hope this helps and clears up the confusion! Sorry again! – Meggan

    1. Hi Todd, sure! Other readers have made it in two round pans successfully. Keep an eye on them and be midful of the cooking time, as it will likely be shorter. – Meggan

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