Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

This lemon cream cheese bundt cake is a dense, but moist cake, and so decadent. It’s got the perfect light lemon flavor in every bite, and the sweet cheesecake like filling is so creamy and delicious – it’s the perfect summer cake! 

This lemon cream cheese bundt cake is stuffed full of a delicious cheesecake like filling, then topped with the perfect light glaze. It’s one of those desserts you can’t get enough of! It’s moist, tender, and so delicious.

This cake is dense like a pound cake with a great light lemon flavor throughout. It’s moist, and delicious, and the cream cheese filling throughout the cake makes it extra moist, rich, and decadent. The outside of the cake gets a slight crunchy texture, that pairs nicely with the soft middle and it’s so delicious and practically addictive.  You might also love our homemade White Chocolate Raspberry Nothing Bundt Cake.

Ingredients Needed: 

This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.

• all purpose flour
• baking soda – this gives the cake a nice lift, so it is not too dense
• salt – this balances out the sweetness
• unsalted butter
• granulated sugar
• eggs
• lemon zest and lemon juice – to give the cake the perfect lemon flavor
• vanilla extract
• sour cream – keeps the cake moist
• yellow food coloring
• cream cheese – make sure to use the block kind, not whipped, and soften it before mixing
• powdered sugar 
• milk

How to make this Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake?

This lemon bundt cake looks complicated, but it’s really not. It’s got a few steps, but the results are worth it, and I promise it’s really not that hard!

1. Preheat the oven and prepare a bundt pan. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk them together.
2. Then in another bowl (a stand mixer bowl is perfect) add the butter and sugar and cream them together for a couple minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring completely after you add each one. 
3. Then add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix until just combined. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
4. Add half the sour cream to the mixture, then half the dry ingredients, mixing fully after each addition. Then the rest of the sour cream, and the rest of the flour. If you’re adding the food coloring add it in with one of the sour cream additions.
5. In another bowl, whisk the cream cheese until it’s smooth and creamy. Then add in the sugar and mix it in. Add in the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
6. Pour half the cake batter into the prepared pan. Then spoon the cheesecake mixture over the cake batter (try not to have the cheesecake filling touch any edges of the pan). Then pour the rest of the cake batter over the cheesecake filling and smooth out the top.
7. Bake the cake until a toothpick can be inserted and comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay, but you don’t want any raw batter). Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully invert the pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely. 
8. When the cake is cool, whisk the milk and powdered sugar together for the glaze. Add more milk, or more powdered sugar if needed to get a thick, but pourable glaze. Put the cake onto a serving platter, cake stand, or large plate, and pour the glaze evenly over the top. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes, before slicing up the cake and enjoying!

Tips for making Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake:

• You can skip adding the yellow food coloring if you want a less vibrant color and a more natural yellow cake color.
• To add more lemon flavor, you can substitute fresh lemon juice for the milk in the glaze.
• Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container, or covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days.

How to store this lemon cream cheese swirled bundt cake?

The cake needs to be stored in the fridge because of the cheesecake swirl in the middle. Cover any leftover cake tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for up to 4 or 5 days. 

You can also store it in the freezer if you want it to last longer. Just make sure to let it cool to room temperature and don’t glaze the top of the cake. Then wrap the whole cake in plastic wrap, then in foil. The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let it defrost overnight in the fridge, then make and top the cake with your glaze when you’re ready to serve.

This lemon cream cheese bundt cake is the perfect summer dessert. It’s great for a variety of occasions, and is perfectly refreshing, sweet, and so delicious!

More lemon dessert recipes:

• Lemon Loaf
• Lemon Crinkle Cookies
• Lemon Cream Pie
• Lemon Sheet Cake

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