This rich lemon honey bundt cake is loaded with the honey flavor and the perfect amount of lemon. Top it with the caramelized honey glaze for an extra special treat.
Honey and lemon are a perfect match. They come together beautifully in this Italian Bundt cake. It is the perfect mix of sweet and tart and the texture of the cake itself is great thanks to buttermilk and sour cream.
The glaze melts in to take it to the next level of amazing. It is perfect for any special occasion.
I know it is hard to believe, but at one point MiMi was the dessert committee for our family. I seem to have taken that over in the last few years.
My cousins would rave over her sweets. My siblings and I didn’t know how good we had it.
In the early stages of this site, she was helping quite a bit and having fun making paired cakes and ice creams. On this particular day everything was Italian themed.
The dinner was a wonderful rolled beef stuff with all the good stuff. We finished the meal with this cake and lemon Italian ice.
I am not sure why we didn’t share the Italian ice recipe because it was delicious. If that is something you would be interested in, let me know in the comments.
There would be no complaints if we whipped up more so that we could share the recipe, of that I am certain. Just give us the excuse to need to do it!
Tips For Making This Bundt Cake Recipe
Start with softened butter and room temperature eggs, sour cream and buttermilk to make incorporating everything easier. From there the batter is super simple.
This cake is absolutely loaded with honey, it is the predominant flavor. So you may want to use a mild to moderate flavored honey unless you are a HUGE honey fan.
A fun fruity orange blossom style honey would be lovely. It might even be fun to use a little lavender honey or something if you like a bit of floral.
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For a bolder lemon flavor, feel free to add a bit of lemon extract. It is easy to alter the recipe a bit to get it just the way you want it!
Making the Lemon Honey Glaze
The glaze is also super simple to make. Start by stirring together a little lemon juice, sugar and honey.
Melt it over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then let it continue cooking until it is bubbly and golden brown, a few minutes should do it.
Stir in a pinch of salt, cream and butter to round out the caramelly goodness. Let it cool while the cake finishes baking.
Pouring the mostly cool glaze over the still warm cake allows some of it to sink into the cake. For a cleaner finish, glaze the cake over a wire rack and allow the excess to drip onto a sheet pan.
If you don’t mind a little pool of glaze around your cake, go ahead and do it with the cake on the cake plate. Either way, it will taste amazing!
This cake does not need additional frosting. However, if you want a little something extra some honey whipped cream goes fabulously with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you glaze a Bundt cake hot or cold?
In most cases, you want to let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze. Trying to glaze a hot cake will thin out the glaze, causing more to drip off of the cake.
How do I store Bundt cakes?
Like most cakes, Bundt cakes are best stored covered at room temperature. They will last that way for several days. For longer storage, freeze individual slices for up to three months for a quick treat later. Refrigerating cakes tend to dry them out and make them go stale more quickly.
More Lemon Recipes
If you like lemon Bundt cakes, be sure to check out the recipe for lemon bundt cake with ginger glaze or the bright lemon blueberry bundt cake.
Maybe you prefer lemon cakes, in which case lemon velvet cake with lemon condensed milk buttercream is more your style.
Or for more lemon and honey goodness, try making a pitcher of honey lemonade.
Italian Lemon Honey Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1½ cups honey
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
Glaze
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk and set aside.3 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Cream butter and honey until light and fluffy.1 cup unsalted butter, 1½ cups honey
- Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla and almond extract.3 large eggs, ½ cup sour cream, 4 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix in half of the buttermilk and then add in another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then mix in the rest of the buttermilk and finish by adding in the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.½ cup buttermilk
- Pour cake batter into a greased Bundt pan.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn the cake over on a wire rack or cake plate and remove the pan. Let cool before glazing.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Combine the lemon juice, sugar and honey in a medium pan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves into a liquid. Continue to cook without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally. Mixture will bubble and start to darken in color.1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup honey
- Once mixture is a medium brown remove from heat. Carefully stir in the butter. Add cream and stir until smooth. Add salt and stir until combined.⅓ cup heavy cream, 2 Tablespoons butter, 1 pinch salt
- Let sauce cool until just warm before pouring over the cake.
Notes
Video
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This recipe was originally published in May of 2016. It was republished with new photos and an updated glaze recipe in 2021.
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