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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.
I don’t seem to have a bundt pan, would an angelfood caje pan work ok?
Hi Sara, thanks for taking the time to write. I haven’t tried it myself. Sorry about that. I feel like it will be hard to remove from the pan since it is not fluted. – Meggan
An anget food pan will work as the center is removable. Just be sure to spray or grease it well.
My favourite go -to cake. Delicious 😋
Thank you, Catherine! So glad you loved it! – Meggan
Absolutely delicious!!
Thank you, Shari! I’m glad you enjoyed it! – Meggan
I cannot find a lemon cake mix. Can I substitute something else?
Hi Jeanette, I haven’t tried substituting out the lemon cake mix. I’ve substituted out the lemon pudding mix for vanilla, which tasted great. If you’re looking for a citrus-flavored bundt cake from scratch, I would recommend my 7UP Cake: https://cash-surge.live/7up-pound-cake/%3C/a%3E. Sorry about that! – Meggan
Can you use a nonstick silicone bundt pan? If so, does it need to be greased and floured?
Hi Christine, I would still grease and flour the pan to make sure the cake releases. I hope you love this bundt cake! – Meggan
Hi Meggan, so excited to make this cake in a few days! I just wanted to make sure – should I be following my box mix instructions or use the measurements your recipe calls for? My box mix calls for slightly different measurements (3 eggs instead of 4, etc) & I want to make sure I don’t mess the cake up!
Hi Izzy, packages vary so much. I would double check that the box you purchased makes 13×9 or two 8-inch rounds. Then use the amounts and directions I list in the recipe. I hope you love this cake! – Meggan
5 Stars!!! This cake is awesome! Moist and tasty! You can’t go wrong with Meggan’s recipes!
Wow, thank you so much, Debbie! Take care! – Meggan
My husband made this for my birthday.was easy for him to follow the recipie and the finished cake was gone so fast!! It was DELICIOUS!! This is a keeper in our household! Thank you for posting the recipie.
Note: he did pour some of the glaze mixture over warm cake like a cake soak.and finished glazing the cake after it cooled.
You’re welcome, Sue! I’m so glad you all loved it and happy belated birthday! – Meggan
Made this yesterday afternoon for my wife who LOVES Lemon anything! The recipe is very straight forward and easily executed. The cake baked up perfectly and came out of the bundt pan perfectly after resting for 20 minutes. Made the Lemon Glaze later after the cake had completely cooled and poured it on slowly. We both thought that this was super moist and deeply rich in Lemony flavor. The glaze complements the cake perfectly… not too sweet and not too tart. As Goldielocks might say: “it was just right!”
Thank you Meggan!!!
You’re so welcome, Bob! I’m so glad you loved it! – Meggan
Great lemon flavor, and so easy! I was looking for a recipe that used lemon cake mix but no lemon extract (because it tastes artificial to me). Thanks for the recipe 😊
You’re welcome, Andrea! I’m glad you loved it! – Meggan