Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my disclosure policy.

Make these cute mini bundt cakes from scratch! Decorate them with lemon glaze and fruit for a delicious summer dessert. Or top them off with glaze, coconut and chocolate eggs for a spring treat. These bite size desserts are delicious and perfect for your next party or family gathering.

Mini Desserts

I enjoy making and serving bite sized desserts like these mini Bundt cakes! You can make tiny desserts in shot glasses, such as these mini cheesecake parfait, bake cakes like mini rum cake or make these little lemon cream puffs.

Save This Recipe Form

Want To Save This Recipe?

Enter your email below & I will send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes each week!

bundt cakes on a plate with iced tea

Small desserts are awesome for parties or picnics because they don’t require serving utensils or even silverware. Additionally they encourage portion control and enable you to indulge with less guilt.

Lemony Flavor

Lemon is the perfect cake flavor for these mini Bundt cakes. The cakes are sweet, of course, but the lemon gives them just a bit of tartness which adds a depth of flavor that plain vanilla cake just doesn’t have.

The little cakes are light and moist. They have a buttery lemon flavor and they aren’t dense or heavy like homemade cakes can sometimes be. Using lemon juice in the glaze gives them an extra lemony burst of flavor.

In order to get this lemon flavor the recipe calls for zesting and juicing some lemons, which does take a little bit of time and effort, but it is worth it! You could skip the lemon zest and use bottled lemon juice, but the cakes won’t taste nearly as lemony and delicious.

 lemon raspberry bundt cake

How to Make Mini Bundt Cakes

1. Juice and Zest the Lemons

You will need 3 lemons to make both the lemon cake and the lemon glaze. It is more efficient to zest and juice all three lemons at once and just save some of the zest and juice for the glaze.

zest and juice a lemon

Use a lemon zester to scrape off a layer of lemon peel from these lemons. Then use a citrus juicer to juice both lemons. You need about 2 Tablespoons of zest and 4 Tablespoons of juice for the cake. Save the rest of the zest and juice for making the glaze.

2. Prepare the Mini Bundt Pans

I used a 12 cake mini bundt pan to make these cakes. It needs to be greased well before each use. Even if it is labeled as non-stick it still needs to be greased. I used non-stick cooking spray to coat the pans. These cakes will absolutely stick in the pans if you don’t grease them!

3. Mix the Butter, Sugar and Eggs

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until they are well blended. You will get the best results if you use room temperature butter.

creaming butter and sugar for mini bundt cakes

Once they are mixed add the eggs one at a time, blending well after each egg. Scrape the mixer bowl as necessary.

4. Get the Remaining Ingredients Ready

Combine the 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons of lemon zest with the buttermilk in a meansure cup. Don’t forget to save some juice and zest for the glaze!

wet and dry ingredients for mini bundt cakes

In a separate bowl combine the flour with the baking soda and salt and stir to mix. Measure the flour carefully, because adding too much flour will affect the texture of the cakes.

5. Mix the Batter

Add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to the mixer bowl about 1/3 at a time. Mix well after each addition until all the buttermilk and flour is mixed in.

6. Bake the Mini Bundt Cakes

Pour the batter, which will be thick, into the prepared, well greased bundt cake pan. Fill each cake about 1/3 full of batter. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the cakes are lightly brown on top and spring back when you touch them.

7. Cool the Cakes

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then turn the pan upside down and gently shake the cakes out. You might need to use a knife to loosen the edges of the cakes and lift them out.

mini lemon bundt cakes on a cooling rack

8. Make Another Batch of Cakes

With this recipe and the mini bundt pan I used you will need to bake three batches of cakes to use up all the batter. You will get the best results if you let the pan cool, wash it, and re-grease it in between each batch.

I know, I know, it seems like a pain to cool and wash the pan. But every time I’ve tried to make multiple batches without doing that I have ended up with cakes that won’t come out and broken cakes.

cake that came out of the pan broken

The pan cools quickly so it doesn’t really add that much extra time. If you decide to ignore my advice and end up with broken cakes check out my recipe for Blueberry Lemon Trifle as a way of using up those not very pretty but still very tasty cakes.

 lemon blueberry bundt cake

Glaze the Cakes

The lemon glaze is made by combining melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and powdered sugar for an easy to spoon glaze. Even though the glaze tastes very lemony because of the lemon juice and lemon zest it dries white.

adding icing to the cake

You could certainly add food coloring if you wanted to. Using pink or blue food coloring for a baby shower would be super cute!

Versatile Decorating

One of the best things about these mini cakes is you can do so many different things to decorate them. For a summer party I topped them off with blueberries and raspberries.

Decorating Lemon Bundt Cakes

These fruits are the perfect size for the cakes and the perfect colors for a patriotic summer celebration like a Memorial Day cookout or Fourth of July picnic. They also make an excellent elegant dessert for a baby or wedding shower.

Last year for Easter I made these mini Bundt cakes again, but this time I decorated them with coconut and chocolate eggs for a cute birds nest dessert. The little birds nests are a lovely for spring or Easter.

mini bundt cake decorated to look like a birds nest dessert

You could also just decorated them with funfetti sprinkles for a birthday party. Or if you are looking for a more decadent dessert a chocolate ganache topping would be delicious.

Making a Full Size Bundt Cake

You could use this recipe for a larger size Bundt cake pan just by increasing the baking time. In a full size Bundt cake pan it would take about an hour to bake.

Top view of Lemon Bundt Cakes with raspberries and blueberries
 
4.46 from 124 votes

Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes

Published By Anne
Make these cute lemon bundt cakes from scratch and decorate them with lemon glaze topped with blueberries and raspberries for a delicious summer dessert or topped with coconut and chocolate eggs for a spring dessert.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Additional Time10 minutes
Total Time37 minutes
Servings: 30
Print Save Rate Pin

Ingredients
 

Lemon Cakes

  • 2 lemons to get 4 T lemon juice and 2 T lemon zest
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Lemon Glaze

  • 1 lemon to get 2 T lemon juice and zest
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon butter melted

For Decorating

  • blueberries and raspberries
  • toasted coconut and chocolate eggs
  • sprinkles

Instructions

Lemon Bundt Cake Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325. Spray the bundt cake pans with cooking spray, even if they say they are non-stick.
  • Zest and juice the two lemons. You should end up with 3-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 T of zest.
    2 lemons
  • In a mixer cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes until they are well combined.
    1 cup butter, 2 1/4 cup sugar
  • Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg and scraping the mixer bowl as necessary.
    3 eggs
  • Combine the 4 T of lemon juice and 2 T of zest with the buttermilk in a measuring cup. Set aside.
    1 cup buttermilk
  • Put the flour in a bowl and stir in the baking soda and salt.
    3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
  • Add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to the mixer bowl about 1/3 at a time. Mix well after each addition until all the ingredients are mixed.
  • Pour the batter into the bundt cake pan, filling each about 2/3 of the way full. Bake until the cakes are lightly browned on top and spring back when touched, about 12 minutes. 
  • Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the pan upside down and gently shake the cakes out. Use a knife if necessary to loosen the edges of the cake.
  • Let the cakes cool completely before glazing.

Glaze for Lemon Bundt Cakes

  • Zest and juice the lemon. You should end up with about 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon of zest. If you get less than 2 T of lemon juice add water to make the total liquid 2 Tablespoons.
    1 lemon
  • Mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice, melted butter and lemon zest.
    1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon butter
  • Mix the glaze until it is smooth and drizzle over the cakes.

Decorate

  • Top with raspberries and blueberries for a red, white and blue summer treat.
    blueberries and raspberries
  • Top with toasted coconut flakes and chocolate eggs for a spring birds nest dessert.
    toasted coconut and chocolate eggs
  • Top with sprinkles for any occasion.
    sprinkles

Notes

  • You need to prepare the bundt pan by spraying it with cooking spray before baking each batch of cakes. For best results let the pan cool, wash it, and spray it again before making a second or third batch. The small amount of extra time this takes makes a difference in how easily the cakes come out of the pan.
  • Even if the pan says it is non-stick it still needs to be sprayed with cooking spray.
  • In a full size Bundt pan this would take about an hour to bake.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g | Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition facts are estimates.

Enjoy this recipe?Follow Family Friendly Foods on Facebook
anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

12 thoughts on “Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes”

  1. Good Morning Anne
    Your recipe looks great! We are going to make these as favors for our Mom’s surprise party. I would like to know exactly what time of mini bundt pan you used, so as not to get those crusty edges that I have seen on other recipes on the internet.
    Also yours look beautiful.
    Thank you
    Gloria

    Reply
  2. These look Divine and just in time for some Easter baking.
    The one thing that I Never do is use the spray to spray my baking pans. The more you use the spray and bake with your pans, the more the spray bakes into the coating of the pans and makes it harder for your baked good to come out easily

    Reply
  3. To grease my pans, using a pastry brush; I use what is called Magic Pan Release
    You mix up equal part of all-purpose flour,
    Solid vegetable shortening ( I use Crisco)
    Vegetable Oil ( I use Crisco Oil)
    You can make as much or as little as you want providing they are all equal parts.
    In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Using a hand mixer, mix until it looks smooth and creamy.
    Store in jar with tight fitting lid and store in the fridge.
    Using a pastry brush or paper towel coat the inside of your baking pans.
    Use within 3-4 months if stored in pantry; longer if stored in your fridge.

    Reply
  4. I tried this recipe….I tasted the batter and found it was not very lemony…although I will admit I didnt use zest, cuz I dont like it

    Reply
  5. The printable recipe says to fill the mini pans 2/3 full.
    The step by step instructions say 1/3 full.
    Which is correct?
    I did the 2/3 for 30 minutes on convect and they still weren’t done.

    Reply
  6. 1 star
    The cake stuck to the pan and was ruined. I didn’t get cute little Bundt cakes I got a pile of crumbled cake. I followed the recipe exactly. Very frustrating.

    Reply
  7. 2 stars
    I tried these in mini silicone bundt pans, mini muffin cups and tulip muffin cups. They stuck no matter how much a greased the sides. Tulip muffin cups literally unfold into square parchment and they even stuck to that. They were extremely greasy as well. I tried both cooking spray and butter. The taste was good but the greasiness ruined it for me even if they didn’t stick.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating