Easy Citrus Bundt Cake
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This Easy Citrus Bundt Cake is bursting with fresh orange and lemon flavors for spring. It’s super moist, tender, and flavorful – and you don’t even need to decorate it!
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Why I Love This Recipe
Say hello to this Easy Citrus Bundt Cake. Although perennially popular, bundt cakes are especially lovely in the spring and summer. When added to the mix, citrus becomes a delightfully refreshing dessert.
This Citrus Bundt Cake is exceedingly easy to make, ultra moist and tender, and oh-so-flavorful—a little like a taste of sunshine in every bite — it’s the perfect citrus recipe!
The cake has three easy components. Once the batter is made and the cake is baked, we’re adding a glaze that infuses even more citrus flavor into it. Finally, there is an optional glaze you can drip over the sides if desired.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need:
- Flour: We’re using sturdy, all-purpose flour, but you can also substitute cake flour for a softer cake if desired.
- Butter: Use room-temperature butter that’s still cool to the touch. If it’s too warm, the butter and sugar cannot be creamed properly.
- Sugars: We’re using granulated sugar in the cake and also powdered sugar in the optional icing.
- Citrus: This is where the flavor shines so use fresh citrus for both the juice and the zest. I’m using a combination of lemon zest and orange zest. Or if preferred, you can use one of the other.
- Eggs, Sour Cream, and Milk: We’re adding a lot of moisture to this cake that will bring a soften, tender, delicious crumb.
Bundt Cake Origins
Food and Wine says, “Bundts (or, at least, the confections that inspired them) may be generations-old Eastern European cakes, but the signature aluminum pan they’re baked in is a modern innovation. Bundt pans were invented by H. David Dalquist in 1950, and today we use them to make those classic cakes.
Dalquist was the owner of Minnesota’s NordicWare company, and he cast the pan for the Minneapolis-based Hadassah Society (a group for Jewish women), which wanted to recreate traditional kugelhopf—a dense, ring-shaped cake. Originally, he called his invention a bund pan, for the German word that translates to “bond” or “alliance.” Why did he add the T? No one knows, though some speculate that Dalquist wanted to put some space between the name of his product and the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group. Others guess it was for trademarking purposes.
Demand for the distinctly shaped aluminum cakes grew slowly after that initial order, but it wasn’t until 1966 when production really blew up—thanks to a Bundt cake placing second in the 17th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off. The gooey, chocolaty cake (called the Tunnel of Fudge Cake) inspired women around the country to try making their own Bundt cakes. Dalquist was inundated with orders and started making 30,000 Bundt pans a day. Today, more than 70 million households have a Bundt pan. Dalquist died in 2005 at the age of 86, still overseeing the production of his hit pan.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Cover the cake or leftovers and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Just lemon will make a lovely cake, and just orange will make it sweeter. Lemon and lime is a zingy combination, but add some orange to balance out grapefruit to prevent the crumb becoming a little too tart.
More Bundt Cake Recipes to Try
Citrus Bundt Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt Pan (10 inch Bundt pan)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons citrus zest (I use a combination of orange and lemon zest)
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Glaze
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 2 teaspoons lemon and orange zest
Citrus Icing
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 10-inch Bundt pan.
- Zest lemon and orange peel with a grater. Set aside. Reserve 2 teaspoons zest to use in the glaze.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, and zest, beating until creamy and light. Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, add the milk and orange juice, and beat until the batter is completely combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50-70 minutes.
- Remove cake from the oven and carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake slightly. Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
For the glaze
- In a small bowl, add orange juice, lemon juice, and confectioners’ sugar, mix until smooth. Brush over hot cake, both top and sides. Let the cake absorb glaze and then brush on more. Continue, using all prepared glaze.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before icing and serving.
For the citrus icing
- Mix sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, adding just enough additional juice to create a thick glaze, one that’s just barely pourable.
- Drizzle on cake top and let it run down the sides.
Notes
- Mini Bundt Cakes: You can also bake this cake in mini bundt molds if preferred. Depending on the size of the mini Bundt pans, it should make between 10 to 12 mini cakes when filled about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (again depending on the size) but I would begin checking for doneness at about 15 minutes.
- Icing: I often simply dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar instead of icing it. But for special occasions and holidays, it makes the cake a bit more special. Be sure to wait until the cake is completely cool before icing.
- Storing: Cover the cake or leftovers and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.