If you’ve been searching for the very best banana bundt cake, your hunt ends here. This banana cake is impossibly moist and tender. It’s the kind of dessert that tastes like it came straight from mom’s kitchen but looks bakery-worthy.
With a soft crumb, golden edges, and a sweet frosting, this banana bundt cake is my favorite way to use up ripe bananas, and it never lasts long!
When I was in high school, My Big Fat Greek Wedding came out, and there’s this hilarious scene where someone brings a Bundt cake to a family party and no one knows what it is. Every time I hear the word “bundt,” I think of that movie and can’t help but smile.
This banana Bundt cake is incredibly moist, rich with banana flavor, the perfect amount of sweetness, and honestly, one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. It will be love at first bite! You can add cream cheese frosting if you’d like, but it’s just as delicious served plain.
Ingredients for Banana Bundt Cake
This banana Bundt cake starts with a simple cake mix, and there’s absolutely no shame in that. Sometimes the easiest recipes turn out to be the best, and this one proves it! With just a few simple ingredients, you’ll have an ultra-moist, flavorful banana Bundt cake that no one will guess came from a mix. Here’s what you’ll need:
For The Cake
- Mashed Ripe Bananas: the key to that sweet, rich banana flavor and extra moisture
- Boxed Yellow Cake Mix: keeps things simple while giving the cake a soft, tender crumb
- Instant Banana Pudding Mix: enhances the banana flavor and adds even more moisture
- Eggs: help bind the ingredients and give the cake structure
- Water: keeps the batter smooth and light
- Sour Cream: adds tang and makes the cake super moist
- Vanilla Extract: a teaspoon or two adds warmth and depth to both the cake and frosting
- Canola Oil: ensures the cake stays soft and rich (You can swap for Butter, but note it will give the cake a slightly denser and richer crumb, while oil keeps it lighter and more moist for longer.)
For The Frosting
- Cream Cheese: the base for the luscious frosting
- Powdered Sugar: sweetens the frosting to perfection
- Vanilla Extract: gives flavor to the frosting
- Heavy Cream: makes the frosting extra smooth and creamy
A Few Notes on The Ingredients
Attention lemon lovers…we have got the best lemon dessert for you! This lemon pound cake is dense but moist, soaked in a simple syrup and topped with a lemon glaze.
There is lemon around every corner in this lemon pound cake recipe! That’s exactly how a lemon dessert recipe should be in my opinion. The more lemon, the better!
I’ve been testing pound cakes for seriously over 10 years and they are never soft enough or dense enough and so I gave up. Until now. I don’t know why it worked. I don’t know why sour cream nailed it. But it just really did! Haha!
Sink your teeth into a slice of this buttery tart lemon cake! It is the perfect treat for any occasion!
Ingredients for Making Lemon Pound Cake
Get ready for fresh lemon flavor in every step! I’m going to give you a list of all the ingredients to make the pound cake, syrup and glaze. Here is everything you will need:
Pound Cake
- Butter: unsalted and softened
- Sugar: regular white granulated sugar
- Eggs: gives structure to the cake
- Sour Cream: adds moisture and richness and the high fat content helps the cake stay tender
- PRO TIP: Full fat sour cream will result in better texture, but low fat or fat free can be used and the results are still delicious.
- Lemon Extract: boosts the lemon flavor
- Almond Extract: adds flavor
- Flour: just regular all purpose flour is all you need
- Baking Powder: give rise and fluffiness to the cake
- Salt: adds flavor and enhances all the other flavors
- Fresh Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice: adds more bold lemon flavor
Simple Syrup
- Water: combines with the sugar to make a simple syrup
- Sugar: adds sweetness to the syrup
- Fresh Lemon Juice: adds natural lemon flavor to the syrup
Glaze
- Powdered Sugar: adds sweetness and structure to the glaze
- Fresh Lemon Juice: adds fresh and bright lemon flavor
- Milk: adds creaminess to the glaze
The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Moist Lemon Pound Cake
This lemon pound cake recipe is as simple as making a loaf cake, soaking it with a homemade lemon syrup and then topping it with a tangy glaze. Here is a step-by-step guide for making this recipe:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a bread pan.
- Wet Ingredients: Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and then add the egg yolks one at a time. Add the sour cream and mix well and then add the flavo