Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake – This is hands down the best lemon Bundt cake recipe you can find out there. Deliciously flavored with lemon zest and juice, this cake is rich, buttery, and extremely moist in texture. Together with the lemon poppy seed loaf and the lemon magic cake, the lemon ricotta Bundt cake counts among the ultimate desserts for lemon lovers. Quick and easy to prepare, this foolproof recipe is a keeper!

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

An easy Lemon Bundt cake recipe

We all need perfect quick and easy cake recipes for lazy days. You know, the kind of recipe you bake at the last minute, grabbing the few ingredients you have at hand. The cake I’m sharing with you today is one of them: basic, plain ingredients and no advanced baking skills whatsoever. I have been baking it many, many times, and I’m pretty confident that you will love the recipe too.

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

This cake actually reminds me of my Orange Pound Cake, which is one of your all-time favorite on the blog (if you haven’t tried it yet, you should definitely add it on your to-bake list!). I like everything with citrus, that always bring a lovely fresh touch to your baking. The key to success in terms of flavor is to use both the juice and the zest. But please forget any concentrate and just go for natural fruit flavors, it is much better and doesn’t require much more effort, I promise.

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

A few basic ingredients (no cake mix!)

When it comes to this lemon ricotta Bundt cake recipe, you will be amazed by the fantastic result you get with so little effort and basic ingredients only. Here’s what you need to bake it:

  • Lemon (juice + zest): Use them fresh for an exquisite and refreshing flavor.
  • Ricotta cheese: With its creamy, though slightly grainy texture, the ricotta cheese is amazing paired with lemon and will make your cake extremely moist.
  • Eggs. They bring moisture to the cake together with the ricotta.
  • Sugar. I recommend granulated sugar. Don’t try any other substitute that will impact the final outcome in terms of texture.
  • All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, use a ready-to use gluten-free all-purpose baking flour mix (garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour…) for best result.
  • Baking powder + baking soda. After many recipe testings, I found out that the 2/3 – 1/3 ratio of respectively baking powder and baking soda worked best.
  • And butter. Because butter makes everything better!

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

Useful tips for success

I highly recommend you follow the recipe steps carefully, and in particular the beating parts are very important. Take the time to beat softened butter with sugar until creamy, beat for another 5 minutes once you added the ricotta cheese until you get a light and fluffy texture, then add the other ingredients as indicated in the recipe. By following these steps carefully, you ensure yourself to get the exact texture – firm and extremely moist at the same time – which will at the same time enhance the lemon flavor.

The baking time is also important to ensure you end up with a perfect texture in and out. There is nothing worse than finding yourself with a Bundt cake that is slightly under-baked inside. Based on my own experience I found it best when baked for minimum 50 minutes. But keep in mind that depending on the oven you use, the baking time can vary a little. In any case, be sure a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean. 

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

How to get your cake out of the Bundt pan?

  1. Grease the sides and bottom of the Bundt pan generously with butter, then dust lightly with flour.
  2. Once baked, let the cake stand in the pan for about 15 minutes.
  3. Then invert the Bundt cake pan onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. If the cake doesn’t come out easily from the pan, give it a bang! 😉

The choice of a Bundt pan plays an important role in the success of this cake. It enables the batter to be spread evenly in the pan when baking, which results in a firm (but not too dense) and extremely soft texture inside. A loaf pan could do too but make sure it’s big enough so the batter don’t go higher to the 2/3 limit in height before baking. If the pan is too small, the cake may end up too dense and slightly under-baked at the bottom.

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

How to glaze this Lemon Bundt Cake?

You can enjoy this lemon ricotta Bundt cake plain, or drizzle with a subtle lemon icing. I like this recipe that is light and doesn’t overtake the fresh lemony flavors from the cake itself. Then, serve with fresh berries of your choice (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries…), a fresh touch of mint and you have it all. Enjoy!

More lemon desserts you’ll love:

To go further, make sure you check my Best Lemon Dessert Recipes.

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

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Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake

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Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake
  • Author: Delphine Fortin
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 50 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
  • Yield: 10 servings 1x
  • Category: Cakes and Pies

Perfect lemon ricotta Bundt cake, deliciously flavored with lemon and made with an extremely moist texture. Quick and easy to prepare, this foolproof recipe is a keeper.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) sugar
  • 15 ounces (425g) whole milk ricotta
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large lemon (zest + juice)*
  • 1 ½ cup (180g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt cake pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar using an electric mixer until well combined. Add the ricotta and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each increment. Add the vanilla extract, fresh lemon juice and zest, and mix until fully combined.
  4. In a separate bow, sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
  5. Add the dry ingredients in 2 increments to the batter, mixing until just combined (do not overmix).
  6. Pour into the prepared bundt cake pan, and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  7. Let cool in the pan about 15 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Drizzle with a homemade lemon icing (optional), and/or serve with fresh blueberries and mint leaves.

Notes

* 1 large lemon should be about 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (or 40 ml).

Did you make this recipe?

Lastly, if you make this Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!

Perfect Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake