Lemon Bundt Cake With Glaze

Classic doughnut-shaped Bundt cakes make great additions to brunch spreads. Their pretty shape makes any table very festive so they're also popular at showers, birthdays, and anniversaries. Our simple lemon cake recipe is a delicious treat that you can serve at coffee or tea time, but also enjoy during a special family meal or bake as a fun and easy weekend activity. Besides very common baking staples, you just need a 12-cup Bundt cake pan and a little over an hour. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle over it a simple lemon glaze that gives the cake a nice finish that also serves as a sticky surface to attach other decorations to: a grate of lemon zest, some edible flowers, a sprinkle of poppy seeds, or some colorful sprinkles can look really beautiful on this cake. And don't let our suggestion stop you from adding any other ingredients you can think of, like fresh berries or mint leaves.

As Bundt cakes do have intricate ridges and shape, the number one tip to bake and successfully de-mold one of these cakes is to carefully grease and flour the pan to avoid little bits and pieces sticking to these ridges and ruining what can be a flawless and beautiful cake. Secondly, always place the pan on a baking sheet to make it sit evenly—the mold shape itself isn't very stable and can make the cake tilt on an oven rack. Lastly, because these cakes are larger in size they do take longer to bake, so giving it the appropriate amount of time in the oven is key to a fully cooked batter.

Bundt cakes don't conform to any specific recipe so much as being defined by their round shape. You can find Bundt cakes in varied flavors and fillings. Inspired by traditional Eastern European cakes that had similar shapes, like the kugelhupf and the gugelhupf, what we know today as a Bundt cake is an American invention from the 1950s that was born when a manufacturer was commissioned to make a tin that resembled the European pans for similar cakes. He trademarked the name and shape of the tin and gave origin to this famous confection, naming it, perhaps, inspired by the German term "bund," which means "alliance" or "gathering." There is no doubt that Bundt cakes do precisely that, bring together friends and family who can share a delicious slice of cake.