So Easter is happening. On Sunday. If you haven’t figured out what sweet treat you’re serving with Easter dinner (besides, you know, the Starburst jellybeans and the Cadbury chocolate eggs and the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs…need I go on? Easter pretty much has the corner on the best holiday candy), I’m here to help you out.
This Lemon-Lime Soda Bundt Cake is kind of crazy. It has 2 ½ sticks of butter. 20 tablespoons. It’s leavened with eggs and lemon-lime soda, but no baking soda or baking powder. You bake it for over an hour. The batter tastes like cheesecake and the finished product melts in your mouth and tastes like a giant cake doughnut. There’s nothing ordinary about this cake, but I swear to you all, it’s so easy and so delicious that you’ll make it again and again.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Cake
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Lemon-lime soda – Like 7-Up, Sprite, Sierra Mist, etc. Use regular soda, not diet. I’ve found diet soda changes the texture of the finished cake.
- Lemon zest and juice – Freshly juiced and zested.
- Lime zest and juice – Freshly juiced and zested.
- Salted butter – Use real butter, not margarine.
- Cake flour – Cake flour has lower protein than all-purpose flour, which results in less gluten development in for finished cake. This means it will bake up with a light, fluffy texture and a small, delicate crumb. While cake flour is going to give the best texture, you can substitute all purpose flour and corn starch in a pinch. Normally you measure out 1 cup of flour, remove two tablespoons of the flour, and replace them with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. For this recipe, that would mean combining 3 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour with 6 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch. Be sure to spoon the flour lightly into your measuring cup when measuring!
Glaze
You can double the glaze if you’d like!
- Powdered sugar
- Fresh lemon juice
- Fresh lime juice
How to Make a Lemon-Lime Soda Bundt Cake
- Position the oven rack in the lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup tube or Bundt pan.
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. (Can we talk about the melting of butter and how the whole process is one of the most beautiful, amazing processes in the world? Just me?)
- Anywho, add the sugar, eggs, lemon-lime soda, lime zest, lime juice, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the jar of your blender. Run on lowest speed until combined. With the blender running, slowly add the butter in a steady stream and mix until fully incorporated. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add 1/3 of the flour and whisk until combined. Repeat twice until all the flour has been used.
- Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Bake for 1 ¼-1 ½ hours or until a pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (be sure not to over-bake it—it will take on an eggy flavor. Mine was actually done around 1 hour and 7 minutes, but I live at a very low altitude and have a gas oven that is wildly irregular). Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely (about 2 hours, although I’ll be honest and say I didn’t wait the full 2 hours to glaze the cake.)
- To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon and lime juice until smooth. Place the cake, craggy side up, on a serving plate and drizzle with glaze. Let the glaze set for at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 servings.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished cake at room temperature, covered with a cake dome or in an airtight container, and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- The glaze on this cake is super yummy. I won’t tell anyone if you decide to double it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Yes. While not exactly the same, for every cup of flour, remove two tablespoons and replace them with two tablespoons of cornstarch. See the Notes section of the recipe card for exact measurements for this particular recipe.
Can I use diet/sugar-free soda instead of regular in this cake recipe?
I don’t recommend it. It definitely changes the texture of the cake.
Can I freeze this cake?
Yep. Wrap the completely cooled cake in plastic, then foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature overnight, and glaze before serving.
Lemon-Lime Soda Bundt Cake
This light, fluffy cake boasts bright lemon and lime flavors, making it a particularly tasty addition to springtime spreads!
Servings slices
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup lemon-lime soda like 7-Up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist
- 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1¼ cups salted butter 2 ½ sticks
- 3 ¼ cups 13 ounces cake flour
Glaze – Can be doubled
- 1 cup (4 ounces) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice.
Instructions
- Position the oven rack in the lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 300℉. Grease and flour a 12-cup tube or Bundt pan.
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
- Add the sugar, eggs, lemon-lime soda, lime zest, lime juice, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the jar of your blender. Run on lowest speed until combined. With the blender running, slowly add the butter in a steady stream and mix until fully incorporated. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add ⅓ of the flour and whisk until combined. Repeat twice until all the flour has been used.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 ¼-1 ½ hours or until a pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (be sure not to over-bake it—it will take on an eggy flavor. Mine was actually done around 1 hour and 7 minutes, but I live at a very low altitude and have a gas oven that is wildly irregular).
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely (about 2 hours, although I’ll be honest and say I didn’t wait the full 2 hours to glaze the cake).
- To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon and lime juice until smooth. Place the cake, craggy side up, on a serving plate and drizzle with glaze. Let the glaze set for at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 servings.
Notes
- In a pinch, you can replace the 3 1/2 cups of cake flour with 3 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 6 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch. Be sure to spoon the flour lightly into your measuring cup when measuring!
- Store finished, cool cake under a cake dome or in an airtight container and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (1/12th cake with glaze), Calories: 521kcal, Carbohydrates: 77g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 119mg, Sodium: 180mg, Potassium: 76mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 52g, Vitamin A: 693IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 521kcal
Cost: $10
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
I’m with Sara! “Tastes like a giant doughnut?” Count me in!! :))
You gals make me crazy! Every darn day, I look at your feed and I’m like “I’m not sure I would love that, sounds a little strange” but then I open it anyway and you suck me in with your pictures and your “it tastes like a giant donut” statements. And then I make everything you tell me to and it’s awesome. #firstworldproblems
But really, thanks. You are so great.
OK, this is a dumb question, but you say to place the cake “craggy side up” on the serving plate, and the picture has it with the molded side up; I can’t imagine trying to flip it after the glaze has soaked in, sooo, the “craggy” side is the side that has been in the pan, then?
Not dumb, I was the dumb one, haha! I took pictures of the non-craggy side because it was pretty, but the glaze is so much yummier on the craggy side. So just put it craggy side up and drizzle it with the glaze and leave that way and you will know that the pretty side is on the bottom, hahaha.
Got it. Thanks so much! Yum! I never met a lemon-glazed cake I didn’t like!
I know this might sound silly, but do you melt the butter in the microwave…or over the stovetop! Thanks! So excited to make this for an Easter dinner!
Microwave. For sure. 🙂
This sounds like a perfect Easter dessert — with some sliced strawberries. How does it taste the next day? Some bundt cakes get more moist and taste better the next day so they work well if you make them the day before. Is this like that or would it dry out too much if I make it on Saturday?
I think it’s better the second day, so definitely go for it! 🙂
Is this real lemony or limy (if those are real words?) – my husband loves buttery creamy cakes (really who doesn’t?!) but not a huge lemon/lime fan. Cake doughnut would be awesome but lemon cake not so much. I figure I could adjust the citrus in the glaze but wonder if the cake would be too much. Thanks. Looks great!
It’s not super lemony or limey. I mean, definitely citrusy, but it’s not overwhelming, you know?
My birthday is coming up at the end of this month. I told my hubby I wanted a doughnut cake. But…. since this apparently tastes like a doughnut I think I will be changing my mind. This looks incredibly delicious! I also just barely got my first bundt pan and have been trying to figure out what to break that baby in with. Whew! Thanks for helping me solve that problem! 🙂
I was just telling someone the other day how it’s strange I don’t think we have a single bundt cake on our site! This one had me at “tastes like a giant doughnut.”
I’ve been inexplicably making bundt cakes lately, and this looks awesome!
I broke from the bundt cake and made the Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Cake from your 2nd cookbook! Sooooo delicious!
Such a yummy looking bundt!! Love this!