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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.
Silly question but could you also do this with orange boxed cake and use orange juce/extract in place of lemon?
Hi Elp, I’m sure you could! I haven’t tried it, but I can’t think of a reason why not? -Meggan
I’ve used the orange box mix and turned it into margarita cake. I add grand marnier to the mix and the glaze I use grand marnier and tequila. Garnish it with orange and lime slices.
WOW Shelly, this sounds so amazing! Thank you for sharing!! -Meggan
Love this
Hi Meggan,
What’s the best way to store this if I am making it the day before? Also should I wait to put the glaze on it?
Thanks!
Hi Erika, just store it at room temperature covered. You could wait on the glaze or not, if shouldn’t really matter. But just wait until the glaze has hardened before you cover it! Thanks! -Meggan
Hello,
I made the glaze with lemon juice and vanilla but it’s solid. There’s no way to drizzle it. Am I missing a liquid component? I don’t think 3 tablespoons of lemon juice is enough to dilute 2 cups of powdered sugar.
Hi Sue, I am so sorry. I retested this a few weeks ago and it should be 1/4 cup of lemon juice and not 3 tablespoons. I updated the recipe. I hope you were able to add more liquid and use the glaze! Sorry about that!
I love this recipe. It’s so easy to make. I have made it several times and my husband loves it! Absolutely delicious and very tasty too! Thanks for sharing ! 🙂
Thank you so much Noreen! That’s awesome! 🙂 -Meggan
Can I use vanilla pudding?
Hi Debbie, you can. It won’t have as strong of a lemony flavor as using lemon pudding, but if you like how it tastes, that’s all that matters. Thanks! -Meggan
Hi Debbie, I just wanted to let you know I made the Lemon Bundt Cake with vanilla pudding this weekend. I loved it! I used a Duncan Hines lemon cake mix which had plenty of lemon flavor. I now think the pudding is just there to make the cake more moist. Sure it adds flavor, but not enough to drown out the cake mix. The vanilla pudding was really great. I absolutely loved it. I would use that again in the future. Thanks for the idea! -Meggan
I made 2 of these for an event and they were delicious. There was no leftover cake! I agree that the bright yellow color screams “artificial color” but the taste outweighs this minor fault. I thought the glaze tasted too sugary so I added 2 Tlb. Of melted butter and it was much better (for my taste buds).
I made your lemon bundt cake, absolutely amazingly good. I put the left over cake in the refrigerator and tasted even better the next day!!!!!
My question is, can I make this cake ahead and freeze?
Hi Mary Kay! I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake. Yes, you can absolutely freeze it. Make sure you let the cake cool completely, and then I would recommend wrapping it in press n’ seal first, and then a layer of aluminum foil after that. It should be good for 4-6 months! Thanks! -Meggan
I made your lemon bundt cake, absolutely amazingly good. I put the left over cake in the refractor and tasted even better the next day!!!!!
My question is, can I make this cake ahead and freeze?
No need to feel bad. Thank u for your reply. Cake turned out awesome