Grandma’s Lemon Bundt Pound Cake

My Grandma’s Lemon Bundt Pound Cake may hands down be my favorite recipe I have posted so far or will ever post on the blog! My Grandma Lehmann helped raise me and was such a huge influence in my life. She was “my person” from a different era and I miss her like crazy. I think she used to make this cake at least once a month if not more. She always made sure there was a dessert after every meal. But, let me make it known we had to be apart of the clean dinner plate club to eat that dessert.

I’ll tell you a quick funny story just because I love that food can attach us to memories. I used to always try and talk my grandma into dessert before dinner. But, it never worked growing up. When I became an adult though and moved out on my own, I made sure to make it happen. I moved into my first studio apartment at 22 (I think, somewhere around that age). My first night there on my own. I remember my grandma calling me just to check in on me and make sure I was doing ok. We chatted for a while and the question she never missed was “did you eat dinner? what did you have?” I proudly responded when she asked the question with a big “YES, I had dessert for dinner!” I was sure she was going to tell me I should have eaten dinner first. But, she didn’t and told me “good job sweetie, how was it?!” It was almost like it was my right of passage into adulthood and she was there to cheer me on through it any way she could! She was the best grandma ever and that is where this recipe comes from. The many memories it holds will forever live on with this recipe every time I make it!

First, I just want to be fully transparent and show some photos for reference. This cake was originally a recipe off of a Duncan Hines Cake Box. I wish I knew the date when she pulled that clipping from the box. It had to have been from the 70’s or 80’s is my guess. The one difference though between the recipe and her version is the icing/frosting or her words “the sauce”. She makes her own “sauce” using butter, confectioners sugar and lemon juice. Their recipe on the box clipping says to use Home-Style Frosting (favorite flavor). Trust me my grandma’s icing/frosting is the absolute only way to eat this cake! I put a picture of the box clipping and Grandma’s hand written icing/frosting recipe because why not? Can we just talk about that cursive though? It’s sad that it is a dying art now. Enough of my babbling, Let’s make Grandma’s Lemon Bundt Pound Cake!

How to Make

Preheat your oven to 350′. Get out your stand or hand mixer, either will work for this recipe. Take your box of Lemon Supreme Cake Mix and dump it into the mixer. Add your Lemon Instant Pudding and Pie Filling Mix, eggs, water and vegetable oil and mix until well combined. You will want to grease your bundt pan really good with butter, oil or a non-stick spray. Dump cake mixture into your bundt pan. Place the bundt pan with cake mix inside into oven for 50-60 minutes. Or until a toothpick comes out clean. Take out and put on top of the stove. Poke a few holes in the bottom with a knife. Mix your “sauce” ingredients together and divide into two equal parts. Pour half of the “sauce” over your cake while it is still in the bundt pan and warm. Let cool for 25 minutes and then invert onto a heat resistant surface. Let cool completely and once it has let loose from the pan you can pull off the pan. Pour the remainder of the “sauce” onto the top of the cooled cake. Optional: Dust with powdered sugar if you want to give it that extra pretty finished look. Serve and enjoy!!!

This cake seriously is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The way the cake soaks up the “sauce” and keeps it moist throughout is what makes this cake so yummy in my opinion! I got these decorative bundt pans from Williams Sonoma years ago. I just love how they can elevate any cake and make it look so fancy! But, I think a traditional bundt shape pan would also make this cake look just as good. I mean that’s what my grandma used for years and I never turned her cake down! I found a more traditional bundt pan like the one my grandma used to use if that’s more your style.

As always, I love hearing from you and your experience with making Grandma’s Lemon Bundt Pound Cake! If you bake a lot head over to my How to Make Vanilla Extract Blog. You will love knowing how easy it is to make and having it for your future baking recipes! Leave a comment below letting me know how your cake turned out! You can also head over to my social channels where you can find videos of me making all kinds of things for our home!