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How To Make Moist & Delicious Lemon Bundt Cake with Claire Saffitz | Dessert Person



How To Make Moist & Delicious Lemon Bundt Cake with Claire Saffitz | Dessert Person

One of my favorite sources for dessert inspiration is the work of several renowned pastry chefs and cookbook authors from the 1980s and ’90s. One such author is Flo Braker, whose impeccable (and impeccably written) recipes are models of the craft. One of Flo’s famous recipes is her Crystal Almond Pound Cake, so-called because the sugary glaze crystallizes into a crunchy shell around the cake. Here I apply Flo’s glazing technique to my olive oil-based Meyer lemon Bundt cake. Because incorporating too much lemon juice into the batter can weaken the structure and throw off the leavening, I add it to the glaze for extra fresh lemon flavor. The olive
oil in the glaze helps to preserve the cake and keeps it moist and delicious for an entire week.

#dessert #clairesaffitz #lemoncake

Butter and flour for the pan
3 cups all-purpose flour (14.2 oz / 405g)
21⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1⁄2 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole milk (8.5 oz / 240g), at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3⁄4 cup Meyer lemon juice (6 oz / 170g), divided
1 tablespoon finely grated Meyer lemon zest, from about 2 lemons
1 3⁄4 cups plus 2⁄3 cup sugar (17 oz / 483g)
4 large eggs (7 oz / 200g), at room temperature

1 1⁄3 cups plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (11.5 oz / 327g)

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Video Series:
Producer/Director: Vincent Cross
Camera Operator: Calvin Robertson
Theme Song: Michael Guggino
Editor: Hal McFall
Assistant Editor: Asher Rogers

Animation Credits:
Character Designer/Animator: Jack Sherry
Character Rigger: Johara Dutton
Background/Prop Designer: M. Cody Wiley
Background Illustrator: Jagriti Khirwar

41 Comments

  2. koby1960

    Hi my Bundt pan is a bit smaller…is there a way to reduce the amounts of the ingredients to make up for that?

  3. alan-michael paris

    In the BEAT THE EGGS AND SUGAR THEN STREAM IN THE OIL: section it says to add 1 1/3 cup(10.5oz/99g). But it 10.5oz doesn’t equal 99g. Is this an error? I realized this because i still had a lot olive oil left over. Thank you!

  4. Sage

    I'm gonna make this for my mom's birthday. She absolutely loves lemons!

  6. freekarella3024

    I just finished baking and glazing this and my house smells incredible. I can’t wait to cut into this. It came out absolutely perfect. Her recipes are always so easy to follow.

  10. Nita Y

    Thank you so much Claire for sharing these recipes with us.

    For any metric bakers who want to do everything by weight:

    Cake:
    4 eggs
    2 tsp vanilla
    1 Tbsp zest
    2½ tsp baking powder
    ½ tsp bicarb
    ½ tsp salt
    240g milk
    2 Tbsp regular lemon juice or ¼ C Meyer lemon juice
    275g oil
    350g sugar
    405g flour

    Glaze:
    50g oil
    4 Tbsp lemon juice or ½C Meyer lemon juice
    135g sugar

    Bake at 175°C

  11. Its Moi

    Hello there, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It’s perfect for Spring. I just made it right now but I don’t know if my lemon juice, oil, and sugar amounts were correct. I noticed you put a measurement then ‘plus’ an amount after that. Although I have been baking for 50 years, I was somewhat stumped. Since there wasn’t a separate recipe for the glaze, I think the plus means that amount for the glaze? It’s confusing trying to watch you make the recipe and then follow your written ingredient list. Can anyone please help me out?
    Thank you! 😊☀️ 🍋

  12. That Dude

    You guys…. This cake y'all…. 😂
    I made it twice this weekend.
    The first go around I realized I was short one egg (no biggie) but I only greased and didn't flour or crumb my Bundt pan so the cake completely disintegrated because half of it was stuck to the pan. Delicious though.
    So the second time around everything worked out beautifully, the pan was prepared properly, the dough turned out beautifully, only what stared me in the face when the cake was in the oven and I was cleaning up my counter? The olive oil I had forgotten to put in the batter. 🙈🙈🙈
    Both versions turned out amazing, though. Turns out this recipe also makes a beautiful sponge when you just skip the fat all together (except for the yolks of course) 😂🙈😭💛🍋

  13. Chloe MaR

    I made that cake 3 time only ths month – everyone is CRAZY ABOUT IT!!! Love your book !!!!!!!!!

  14. Shonte Walker

    I made this cake and it was delicious. Very easy to make and remained moist for a week just wrapped in foil in the counter. Love all of your recipes/videos!!

  15. Yusuf P

    what if you steeped the cup of milk in black tea? Has anyone tried this? I feel like it could work with the lemon…

  18. Jess Matson

    Every time I make this cake the outside burns and the inside takes forever to cook. How should I adjust my baking temperature so that the cake cooks more evenly?

  20. Perceived Pal

    Ok, so I think you got distracted by giving a “shout out” to Flo B., that you didn’t mention NOR included it in the info box, the measurements of the glaze😤so now search for Flo B, because since you “borrowed” her technique she should have the measurements🙄

  21. hee12hee34

    if i was to make this in a large glass baking tray, what changes would i need to make?
    also, im just gonna say, Claire's videos genuinely are like my therapy, they calm me down and make me so content and happy

  23. Pau

    Does the baking time changes if I want to use individual size Bundt pans? 🙏🏻

  24. Kelly Evans

    Made this for a friend for her birthday. I topped with roasted strawberries from my local farmer’s market. It was well received. Thank you Claire for always making me look like I am a good dessert person.

  30. ecenbt

    Just reporting to say that i made this cake to have on the road during our summer vacation road trip, and as a strictly "cake must have chocolate" camp member, THIS is now one of my favorite cakes ever, EVER! It's soft and fluffy and tart and super lemony without getting bitter 😋 it's literally one of the best things I've ever had and I'll make it so many more times

  35. Nabila Ayu

    CLAIRE, THIS BUNDT CAKE IS SOOO GOOODDD!!! This is my first time making lemon cake and it's a winner! *though I did change the ratio for the syrup, and I put a lemon sugar glaze on it. But still it's supperr goodd. BIG THANKS TO YOU! 🫶🏻

  36. boofiswinna

    Made this today out of your cookbook and it turned out fantastic. Keep up the great work, Claire! Much love from Tasmania, Australia.

  37. Eve Lemay

    what kind of pan could i use other than this one ? a round 8inch, loaf pan.. any advice? thx

  40. littlemiss bekah

    I always grew up associating lemons with summertime. Then I moved to a house with a lemon tree and realized it's actually a fall/winter fruit. Still feels odd to be eating lemon desserts in cool weather but it's when they are actually ripe.

  41. mothmonarch

    This is what I love about Claire's recipes, the process is so well thought out and everything has a purpose and it's not just "use self raising flour so the cake rises". I used gluten free flour and wasn't expecting it to be that good, but it was so spongey and moist because of the method and other ingreduents! Slowly picking my way through Dessert Person and I'm yet to be disappointed. :] thank you Claire and team!

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