Home » Course or Meal » Meyer Lemon Cake (Lemon Bundt Cake with Glaze or Icing)

Meyer Lemon Cake (Lemon Bundt Cake with Glaze or Icing)

Meyer lemon cake is a crowd-pleaser. From young to old, everyone loves the sweet and tart flavor and moist crumb, and you’ll love how easy it is to make. Use the glaze and icing, or keep it naked; it’s delicious either way!

overhead Meyer lemon cake
Meyer lemon cake with glaze

This Meyer lemon cake recipe is simply another in a collection of lemon cake recipes on this site.

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It was a lemon cake recipe in my school book. from when I was 7 years old, that got me hooked on baking (and later, cooking).

meyer lemon bundt cake with limoncello

This is my handwritten copy of the recipe. Note the one hour baking time reduced to 15 minutes, haha!

lemon cake handwritten recipe 7 years old

On a side note, I recently discovered that a famous celebrity chef (Curtis Stone) who I have met and really admire, has an eerily similar handwritten recipe on his site. 🫣 The strangest part is that it’s for an ORANGE CAKE and it’s on a similar sheet of paper with the same handwriting! We both underlined our title and have a line across the paper! What are the chances?

Curtis stone recipe handwritten
Courtesy of Curtis Stone’s website. The left recipe is the one I refer to.

This photo of Curtis and me was taken at a James Beard event which I attended with Cynthia from What a Girl Eats. Cynthia joked, when we were being given our table number, that we needed to be seated at Chef Stone’s table.  What a delightful (but shocking) discovery when we realized that we actually were seated at the same table with him! Not only did we meet him and taste his delicious appetizers before the event, but we chatted, and had a few more photos taken with him after dinner. 😎

Curtis Stone with Christina Conte

The first lemon cake recipe that I shared on Christina’s Cucina was my copycat Better Than Starbuck’s Iced Lemon Loaf (and I still stand by this claim). If you’re a lemon lover, I can’t NOT share this easy lemon posset dessert with you from my pal, Cynthia at What a Girl Eats!

lemon pound cake homemade recipe better than starbucks icing
Better than Starbucks Iced Lemon Loaf

I’ve expanded my repertoire, and share lots of different recipes now, but you simply might not know it when you see how many lemon cake recipes I have.

slicing Meyer lemon bundt cake
Slicing my Meyer lemon cake

I then posted a similar lemon pound cake that was gluten free which a friend had made. I just couldn’t believe a gluten free cake could taste so good, so I had to share the recipe.

sicilian whole orange cake
Sicilian whole orange cake

Years later, my mother discovered an amazing whole orange cake recipe, which was super popular, and we tried it with lemons as well. The whole lemon cake was utter perfection as well!

whole lemon cake
Sicilian whole lemon cake

I then published a gluten free whole lemon cake recipe, which was met with rave reviews, just like the original.  So today’s bundt cake recipe is made with a whole Meyer lemon, or possibly one and a half, depending on how large/heavy your lemons are.

Basket of freshly picked Meyer lemons

If you cannot use homegrown Meyer lemons, you may want to add a drop or two of lemon oil to boost the lemon flavor, but it’s not critical. Even store-bought Meyers are usually very good, but do use organic since you’re ingesting all of the rind.

This glazed version is perfect with some freshly whipped cream and macerated strawberries on top!

Bundt cake with lemon slices on top

You will have to make a decision on one of three ways to serve this cake: plain, glazed or iced. To be honest, you can’t go wrong with any of these choices! As you can see on the glazed cake above, I added three lemon slice to the glaze as it simmered and then put them on top, just for a bit of pizzaz!

Meyer lemon bundt cake

The cake’s moist texture, and delightful crumb comes from using the entire lemon, and is the reason for its popularity. You can actually see how gorgeous it is! Just don’t expect a super light sponge cake as this is a bit more dense, but totally wonderful! Try the apricot cake version, too!

Bundt cake with lemon slices on top

NOTE: in these photos, the measurements given will result in a bundt cake that is represented by the glazed cake photos. The iced cake is made using a smaller amount of batter such as in this lemon cake recipe and will result in a shorter bundt cake like this one below.

shorter bundt cake

FOR BEST RESULTS, PLEASE USE A KITCHEN SCALE. There is no way to know how much a lemon weighs to use the right amount without using a scale. Cups are simply inaccurate.

Meyer Lemon Cake Recipe

slightly adapted from my Sicilian whole lemon cake recipe            serves 12

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

  • eggs
  • sugar
  • flour
  • baking powder or Pane Degli Angeli vanilla baking powder
  • butter
  • plain Greek yogurt
  • Meyer lemons
  • vanilla extract, if using plain baking powder
  • optional (lemon oil)

Glaze

  • Meyer lemon juice
  • sugar

OR ~

Icing

  • powdered/confectioner’s sugar
  • Meyer lemon juice
  • optional (Meyer lemon rind)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)

Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan (don’t miss any spots and be generous so that the cake releases easily). This bundt pan is made in USA. 🇺🇸

Directions

Wash and weigh the correct amount of lemons, then cut them into chunks and remove the seeds. DO NOT REMOVE THE RIND.

beaten sugar and eggs

Beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl in a mixer until light and creamy.

adding flour to mixture

Sift the flour with the baking powder or Paneangeli, then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter.

adding yogurt to the mixture

Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt.

Blend the lemon chunks in a food processor until finely chopped. It will still have small pieces of rind, and that’s fine. If using the lemon oil, add it to the processed lemon. Now, stir this into the batter until evenly mixed.

bundt pan with batter

Finally, add the batter to the prepared bundt pan and bake for about one hour. Test with a cake tester or skewer; it should come out dry (no batter). Allow to cool in pan for about 15 minutes, before gently shaking to loosen the cake from the pan. If it feels like it’s stuck, let it cool a little bit longer before trying again. Then place a cooling rack (upside down) on top of the pan and quickly invert the cake onto the rack and remove the bundt pan. It should look like this.

bundt cake cooling on rack

If glazing, do so while the cake is still warm.

glazing bundt

Add glazed lemon slices if desired.

overhead view of Meyer lemon cake

Here’s a close up of the inside crumb.

inside crumb of cake

If icing, allow the cake to cool completely before icing.

adding icing to bundt cake

Allow the icing to set before cutting.

Meyer lemon bundt cake cut open with glass of limoncello

And you can always serve it with a glass of limoncello!

limoncello with cake

Please use the comment section for any questions, but please read my post (not just the recipe card) before sending a question which is already answered above, thank you!

sliced Meyer lemon bundt cake from above

Enjoy this delightful cake and let me know in the reviews if you made it!

slice of Meyer lemon cake

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Meyer lemon cake social

Meyer Lemon Cake

Servings: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
A moist and delicious lemon lover's cake dream come true. Uses the entire Meyer lemon, rind and all.
4.8 from 27 votes

Special Equipment

  • 1 12 cup bundt pan
  • 1 cake tester optional

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar
  • 2 ⅔ cups all purpose flour
  • 3 ½ tsp baking powder or 1 ½ packets Italian Pane Degli Angeli vanilla baking powder
  • ½ cup butter softened
  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 ½ large Meyer lemons organic
  • ¾ tsp vanilla extract if you are using baking powder instead of Pane Degli Angeli

Glaze (choose this glaze OR the icing below)

  • 1 ½ oz lemon juice
  • 1 ½ oz water
  • 4 ½ Tbsp sugar

Icing

  • 1 ½ cup confectioner's sugar
  • lemon juice as needed
  • tsp lemon rind grated, to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
  • Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan (don't miss any spots and be generous so that the cake releases easily). This bundt pan is made in USA.

Meyer Lemon Cake:

  • Wash and weigh the correct amount of lemons, then cut them into chunks and remove the seeds. DO NOT REMOVE THE RIND.
  • Beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl in a mixer until light and creamy.
  • Sift the flour with the baking powder or Paneangeli, then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter.
  • Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt.
  • Blend the lemon chunks in a food processor until finely chopped. It will still have small pieces of rind, and that's fine.
  • Add the processed lemon to the batter and mix well.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for about one hour. Test with a cake tester or skewer; it should come out dry (no batter).
  • Allow to cool in pan for about 15 minutes, before gently shaking to loosen the cake from the pan. If it feels like it's stuck, let it cool a little bit longer before trying again. Then place a cooling rack (upside down) on top of the pan and quickly invert the cake onto the rack and remove the bundt pan. It should look like this. 
  • If glazing, do so while the cake is still warm. Add glazed lemon slices if desired.

Glaze:

  • Put the glaze ingredients in a small pot and bring to a simmer. (Add a few lemon slices if desired, to decorate the top of the cake).
  • Let simmer for about 3 minutes, then brush onto cake.

OR Icing:

  • Stir the lemon juice into the sugar until smooth consistency is reached, it should slowly pour off a spoon. Add more or less juice to achieve this consistency.
  • Pour or spoon icing on the cake and allow to set before serving.
  • Optional: sprinkle some lemon rind on top of the icing after it's dripped down the cake, but before it has set.
  • Allow the icing to dry completely before cutting (for best results).

Notes

  • If glazing, do so while the cake is still warm.
  • If icing, allow the cake to cool completely before icing.
  • PLEASE DO NOT USE THE GLAZE AND THE ICING

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 222mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 328IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 2mg

Meyer lemon bundt cake cut open

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4.78 from 27 votes (27 ratings without comment)

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27 Comments

      1. Thanks Christina! I’m in the UK and haven’t heard of any of these types of lemons so I don’t think they’re available here but I might give it a try just with rind and juice of standard lemons! Thanks for the recipe and your advice.

        1. Ah yes, you won’t have them there. Meyer lemons are a cross between a regular Eureka lemon and a mandarin orange, so it’s sweeter and more thin skinned. So, here’s a thought: try half the weight of lemon and half of mandarin oranges? I think that would actually be very delicious! Let me know if you try :)

    1. I have absolutely no idea what you’re referring to, Sandra. All of my recipes are free to print without any purchase or installation. I don’t even have an app.