Springtime means warmer weather, which calls for refreshing citrus desserts! Start the season off with this delicious Lemon Cheesecake Bundt Cake.
THE LEMON CHEESECAKE BUNDT CAKE EXPLAINED:
A moist lemon bundt cake with a sweet cream cheese filling swirled throughout. This dessert is perfect for spring and summer, and it’s not too rich!
HOW TO MAKE THIS LEMON CHEESECAKE BUNDT CAKE:
make the cheesecake filling:
In a small-medium mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth. Set aside while making the cake batter.
grease the pan:
Make sure the oven rack is in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the 12 cup bundt pan like crazy. When you think it’s enough, it probably isn’t, keep greasing. I use a ¼ cup of melted butter and spread it around the entire pan. Then spray over the butter with pam.
start making the cake batter:
In a small bowl, add the sugar and zest the lemons into the sugar. Mix around to really get the oils from the zest to absorb into the sugar.
In a medium-large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat together butter, cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon zest/sugar mixture until creamy and lighter in color.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until invisible. Through all these steps, the sides and bottom should be scraped down to make sure all the ingredients are being incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the ⅓ of the flour mixture into the batter and mix until incorporated. Pour ½ of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Repeat until the flour mixture and buttermilk is completely added.
pour into the pan and bake:
Pour lemon pound cake batter into your prepared bundt pan about ¼ of the way. Scoop the cheesecake mixture onto the batter in the pan all around the ring. Pour the remaining batter over the cheesecake mixture and bake on 350F (175C) for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes. Place a hot moist hand towel over the top to steam out the cake so it doesn’t stick.
make the lemon icing:
While waiting for the cake to cool, make the icing. In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice and powdered sugar together until smooth. The consistency you’re looking for is thinner than toothpaste, thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to be fully white and non-transparent. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar by the teaspoon. If too thick, add more lemon juice by the ½ teaspoon. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
grocery list:
- cream cheese
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- flour
- butter
- sour cream
- lemons
- cornstarch
- baking powder
- salt
- buttermilk
- lemon juice
- powdered sugar
equipment list:
click here to purchase the equipment listed below
- mixing bowls
- bundt cake pan
- cooling rack
- whisk
FAQS:
How do I store this cake?
If you use the pan with a carrier linked below, you can use the carrier to store the cake short-term. The cake can either be placed in the refrigerator (although I wouldn’t recommend doing this for too long because the cake tends to dry out) or it can be kept at room temperature. I placed my slices into a ziploc bag and kept the bag in a cool, dark, cabinet for up to 5 days. If you want to freeze the slices, the directions are right below.
Freezing instructions
I usually freeze my cakes because I don’t want to waste them, but this cake went so fast I didn’t even get the chance to freeze any of it! I don’t see a reason why it can’t be frozen. If you choose to go that route, I recommend cutting it all into slices and placing the slices into a ziploc bag with the least amount of air in it as possible and placing the bag into the freezer
Scaling- Double/triple or half the recipe (how to/what not to do/why)
This recipe cannot be doubled or tripled but you can make two or three cakes in separate batches. It works out better like that anyway because of the amount of batter, you would need an industrial size mixer. This recipe can be halved- a bundt cake pan typically holds 10-12 cups of batter (this is the pan I used). So if you want to half the recipe, use a 6 cup capacity bundt pan like this one.
Troubleshooting- tips + tricks when making the recipe
The number one problem with bundt cakes is the fact that it sticks to the pan when inverting it onto the cooling rack. To prevent this from happening, the pan needs to be greased like crazy. Sometimes the pan can be greased perfectly, but it will still stick. In this case, a hot moist towel can be placed over the top so it steams the cake out of the pan.
Can this recipe be gluten-free/vegan or can any of the ingredients be substituted for other dietary restrictions?
Unfortunately, it is not my specialty. However, there are many bloggers who specialize in gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, dairy-free, etc. desserts and I recommend giving them a try!
Lemon Cheesecake Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Lemon Bundt Cake:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 oz sour cream
- 2 cups (480g) granulated sugar
- 2-3 lemons the zest
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (410g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
Lemon Icing:
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a small-medium mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, the egg, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth. Set aside while making the cake batter.
- Make sure the oven rack is in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the 12 cup bundt pan like crazy. When you think it’s enough, it probably isn’t, keep greasing. I use a ¼ cup of melted butter and spread it around the entire pan. Then spray over the butter with pam.
- In a small bowl, add the sugar and zest the lemons into the sugar. Mix around to really get the oils from the zest to absorb into the sugar.
- In a medium-large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat together butter, cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon zest/sugar mixture until creamy and lighter in color.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until invisible. Through all these steps, the sides and bottom should be scraped down to make sure all the ingredients are being incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the ⅓ of the flour mixture into the batter and mix until incorporated. Pour ½ of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Repeat until the flour mixture and buttermilk is completely added.
- Pour lemon pound cake batter into your prepared bundt pan about ¼ of the way. Scoop the cheesecake mixture onto the batter in the pan all around the ring. Pour the remaining batter over the cheesecake mixture and bake on 350F (175C) for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes. Place a hot moist hand towel over the top to steam out the cake so it doesn’t stick. Invert the cake over onto a cooling rack.
- While waiting for the cake to cool, make the icing. In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice and powdered sugar together until smooth. The consistency you’re looking for is thinner than toothpaste, thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to be fully white and non-transparent. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar by the teaspoon. If too thick, add more lemon juice by the ½ teaspoon. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
If you loved this recipe for Lemon Cheesecake Bundt Cake make sure to check out my Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Sheet Cake and my White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.
So good