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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.
I love from-scratch baking, but when it comes to lemon cake, I reach for a boxed mix every time. Why? Because the bright yellow color and lemony flavor are hard to match with actual lemons, no matter how ripe and juicy they are. I learned this trick in my pastry classes at culinary school, and your favorite restaurants, bakeries, and wedding cake makers are all doing the exact same thing. It’s one of those “industry secrets” that no one talks about, and now you can get on the fun.
Table of Contents
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Lemon Pudding Cake Recipe ingredients
- Lemon cake mix: This gives you a head-start on the cake and is the secret to ultra-lemony flavor. Yes, even restaurants use boxed lemon cake mixes. Since package sizes vary, look for a box that makes 13×9 or two 8-inch rounds.
- 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.
How to make Lemon Bundt Cake with Cake Mix
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat a large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray (if you don’t grease the pan enough, the top of the cake pay stick and tear when you flip the pan to remove the cooled cake). 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.
- 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.
Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe Variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 12 slices (or fewer bigger slices, depending on how you cut them).
- 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.
Storing Lemon Bundt Cake
Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
Lemon Pudding Cake Recipe FAQs
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.
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.
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.
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Lemon Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Pan (I only use the Nordic Ware ones)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 package lemon cake mix (see note 1)
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix (see note 2)
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (see note 4)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 4 eggs
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh strawberries for serving, optional
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray (if you don't grease the pan enough, the top of the cake pay stick and tear when you flip the pan to remove the cooled cake).
- 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
- Lemon cake mix: This gives you a head-start on the cake and is the secret to ultra-lemony flavor. Yes, even restaurants use boxed lemon cake mixes. Since package sizes vary, look for a box that makes 13×9 or two 8-inch rounds.
- 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.
- 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.
Had high expectations for this recipe but was very disappointed with the result. The lemon flavor was just too minimal to recommend. I used a name brand lemon cake mix and name brand lemon pudding mix along with myer lemon zest and juice. Still did not achieve a lemon flavor in the finished cake. Will keep searching for a great lemon cake recipe.
Hi Lisa, I’m sorry this cake didn’t meet your expectations. If you are open to it, I would suggest experimenting with adding lemon extract or even more zest to the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to write again, I’m here to help! Take care! – Meggan
I served this for my birthday and everyone loved it. I substituted heavy cream for the water and also into the icing. No one knew it was a box cake mix. Also substituted white cake mix and used lemon pudding. It was definitely a hit. Yummy👍😋
Glad it was a hit, Rita! Take care! – meggan
Why does the cook time at the top say 1 hour? And then the recipe says 40 minutes. Wish I would have noticed that before I overcooked my cake.
Hi Mary, I’m so sorry your cake was overcooked. And sorry for the confusion. The overall cooking time of the recipe is an estimate and includes the time for the cake and the glaze. Also, since ovens vary, each baking time will be different, so cooking until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached, is included as that’s the more accurate way to tell if a cake is done. i’m so sorry again and I hope your cake wasn’t completely ruined. – Meggan
I’ve made this 5 times and have been begged for my recipe 5 times!
Fantastic recipe, thank you!
You’re so welcome, Ann! I’m so happy that it was a hit! – Meggan
Can I substitute sour cream for the water?
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
Absolutely delicious! This is a keeper! I used vanilla pudding and omitted the zest. I also increased the fresh lemon to 1/3 cup.
I’m so happy you loved it, Deborah! Thank you for writing, take care! – Meggan
If the cake mix says “pudding in the mix”, should Instill add the pudding?
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
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
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
How much powdered sugar/vanilla/lemon juice for the glaze? I’m definitely a beginner 😁
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
Can I bake this in round cake pans? I was thinking 3 7-inch pans.
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