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This lovely Cream Cheese Lemon Bundt Cake is bright and fresh, and loaded with fresh citrus flavor from fresh lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice. A homemade lemon bundt cake with a sweet cream cheese filled center.
For another sweet lemon dessert try these 2-Ingredient Lemon Bars that are made with just a can of lemon pie filling + angel food cake mix.
Cream Cheese Filled Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe
Every bite of this lemon bundt cake will remind you of all the best parts of summertime and sunshine with it’s tangy citrus flavor of lemon, sweet lemon cake base, sweetened cream cheese filling, and a simple lemon glaze on top.
And it’s homemade – which means if you don’t love this quick and easy semi-homemade shortcut recipe, like this Easy Lemon Blueberry Cobbler, then you’ll love this homemade recipe for lemon bundt cake.
Ingredients Needed
Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients
- Cream Cheese : Make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature so your mixture doesn’t have lumps in it. Simply leave the cream cheese out, at room temperature, for up to 2 hours before.
- Granulated Sugar
- Large Egg
- All-Purpose Flour : This helps the cream cheese filling thicken and set, and helps it stay in the center of the bundt cake rather than sinking down while baking.
Homemade Lemon Bundt Cake Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Granulated Sugar
- Vegetable Oil
- Fresh Lemon Zest : From about 3-4 large lemons. Be sure to zest the lemons first before juicing them.
- Large Eggs
- Plain Greek Yogurt
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice : From about 2 large lemons.
- Yellow Food Coloring : This is completely optional but I recommend adding a drop or two of yellow food coloring because it will give the bundt cake more of that bright yellow lemon color.
Simple Lemon Glaze Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice : From 1 large lemon.
- Fresh Lemon Zest : Optional garnish if wanted. I don’t add this as it can make the cake more tangy and butter. The lemon zest inside the cake is wonderful because it gets baked in and infuses the cake. But I am not a huge fan of just raw lemon zest on the outside of a cake for garnish.
How To Make Cream Cheese Lemon Bundt Cake (Printable Recipe Card)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Make The Cream Cheese Filling : In a small mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add in the egg and flour, and beat just until combined. Set aside.
Make The Lemon Bundt Cake : In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and baking soda. Set aside.
Using a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil, and lemon zest until fragrant; about 1 minute.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is completely blended in and incorporated before adding the next.
Add the plain greek yogurt and lemon juice and beat until combined and smooth.
Pour the dry ingredients into the larger bowl of wet ingredients and beat on low speed, just until combined and no flour streaks remain in the batter. Do not overmix.
If you want a stronger yellow color, you can stir in 1-3 drops of yellow food coloring at this point.
Assemble The Cake For Baking : Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with cooking spray or Baker’s spray and immediately pour half of the lemon cake batter into the bundt pan. The bundt pan should be about 1/3 of the way full.
Gently scoop or pipe in the cream cheese filling on top of the batter, making sure not to mix it in with the batter. You just want it to sit on top of the lemon cake batter.
Scoop the remaining lemon cake batter on top of the filling and even out the top.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cake bounces back and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Cool the cake completely, inside the bundt pan at room temperature, before turning it out and placing it upside down on a flat plate or cake stand.
Once the cake is cooled prepare the lemon glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until a thick glaze forms.
Drizzle or pour the lemon glaze over top of the cooled bundt cake and garnish with lemon zest (optional). Serve and enjoy!
How To Store A Cream Cheese Filled Lemon Bundt Cake
Because of the perishable nature of cream cheese, a dairy product that is susceptible to bacteria growth, it’s important that the bundt cake does not stay out at room temperature for longer than 2-3 hours after it’s baked.
If you’re not serving it right away (after the cooling time) then I suggest storing it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The cake can be eaten chilled, at room temperature after it has baked and cooled, or let the cake sit out at room temperature for several minutes before serving (if it was stored in the fridge).
Bundt Cake Tips For Success
- Do Not Overmix The Batter : Try to prepare all the ingredients so they’re set out on the counter and ready to use. As you add things into the cake batter, make sure you are mixing it in just until combined and no further (especially when adding the dry ingredients and the eggs). Overworking the ingredients can cause the cake t be dry, dense, and thick.
- Spray The Bundt Pan Right Before Putting The Batter Into It : You don’t want to spray the bundt pan too far in advance because then the cooking spray will pool up in the bottom of the pan, instead of staying all over the pan which will help the cake release easier. For even better results, like no-fail results, I recommend using baker’s spray when making bundt cakes. It’s a cooking spray with flour mixed into it so it really prevents the cake from sticking. Which means it will easily come out of the bundt pan later.
- Check The Cake : Check the cake several minutes before the indicated time just to make sure that it doesn’t overcool. Overcooking a bundt cake is sure to leave you with a dry, dense piece of cake. Use a toothpick to determine doneness; if there is wet batter it needs to cook longer, if the toothpick is dry or has moist crumbs on it then it’s time to remove it from the oven.
- Glaze Tip : You don’t want to pour a runny glaze over the top of this cake. Ideally, the glaze should be just thick enough to slightly run down to the middle of the cake when poured over it. Add more powdered sugar, if needed, for a thicker glaze. If the glaze is too thin or watered own, it won’t really show up on the cake and instead kind of run down the cake.
Cream Cheese Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Lemon Bundt Cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest (about 3-4 lemons)
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- yellow food coloring optional
Simple Lemon Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- fresh lemon zest optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Set out a 10-inch bundt pan for later.*You want to spray the bundt pan with cooking spray right before pouring the batter in, so just set it aside for now.
Make The Cream Cheese Filling
- In a small mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy.1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese, 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Add in the egg and flour, and beat just until combined. Set aside.1 large egg, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Make The Lemon Bundt Cake
- In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and baking soda. Set aside.2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Using a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil, and lemon zest until combined well and fragrant; about 1 minute.1½ cups granulated sugar, 2/3 cup vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is completely blended in and incorporated before adding the next.3 large eggs
- Add the plain greek yogurt and lemon juice and beat until combined and smooth.2/3 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Pour the dry ingredients into the larger bowl of wet ingredients and beat on low speed, just until combined and no flour streaks remain in the batter. Do not overmix!
- If you want a stronger yellow color, you can stir in 1-3 drops of yellow food coloring at this point.yellow food coloring
Assemble The Cake For Baking
- Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with cooking spray or Baker's spray and immediately pour half of the lemon cake batter into the bundt pan. The bundt pan should be about 1/3 of the way full.
- Gently scoop or pipe in the cream cheese filling on top of the batter, making sure not to mix it in with the batter. You just want it to sit on top of the lemon cake batter.
- Scoop the remaining lemon cake batter on top of the filling and even out the top.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cake bounces back and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cake completely, inside the bundt pan at room temperature, before turning it out and placing it upside down on a flat plate or cake stand.
Simple Lemon Glaze & Serving
- Once the cake is cooled prepare the lemon glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until a thick glaze forms.1½ cups powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Drizzle or pour the lemon glaze over top of the cooled bundt cake and garnish with lemon zest (optional). Serve and enjoy!fresh lemon zest
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