Throughout our childhood, my brother and I celebrated nearly every one of our birthdays with a pool party since we were both born during the summer. Back then, we belonged to a small pool club in a quiet neighborhood, which was the perfect place for a children’s birthday party.
We kept those parties small, only inviting a handful of our closest friends, but we still loved every minute of the celebrations. For hours, we practiced cannonball jumps in the deep end and underwater somersaults in the shallow side, and we usually pulled out a set of neon plastic diving rings to play with, too.
Eventually, Mom called us all out of the water, and we eagerly obliged… Because that meant it was time for cake!
Two weeks earlier, Mom had taken us to the grocery store, and she let us slowly pore through the bakery’s big binder of birthday cake options. A beautiful color photograph of each confection filled every page, but after an eternity of flipping through the binder, I often picked out a chocolate cake with a Disney theme, while my brother generally chose a vanilla cake with race cars instead.
At our parties, Mom carefully opened the big bakery box to reveal the gorgeous cake we had ordered, which came with “Happy birthday!” scripted across in icing letters. After blowing out the candles, I always wanted the piece with my name on it… Or at least the slice with the most frosting!
Although I still love chocolate cake, my brother eventually gravitated towards lemon instead of vanilla, so I had him in mind when I baked this Healthy Lemon Bundt Cake! It’s really moist and full of bright citrus flavor, just the way my brother likes his lemon cakes, but unlike the bakery birthday cakes of our childhood… This one has no refined flour or sugar and only 122 calories!
I can’t wait to bake it again for his birthday in August! ♡
Let’s go over how to make this healthy lemon bundt cake—entirely from scratch!
You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!). Yes, such a thing actually exists… And it’s not just a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour!
Instead, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour the same health benefits (like extra fiber!) as regular whole wheat flour, but it also has a lighter taste and texture—which lets the moist texture and lemon flavor truly shine in this healthy bundt cake!
Hint: The difference between white whole wheat flour and regular whole wheat flour is similar to the difference between red and green grapes. They both have the same nutrition benefits—just a different color and slightly different flavor!
You’ll mix lots of freshly grated lemon zest into the flour. (The lemon juice comes later!) The zest actually has a much stronger citrus taste than the juice, so it provides the majority of the lemon flavor. I’ve tested this healthy lemon bundt cake multiple times, and you need 4 full tablespoons of zest to get the best and brightest flavor. Don’t skimp!
You also need both baking powder and baking soda for this healthy lemon bundt cake. Although some recipes just use baking powder, the baking soda helps this cake rise just as much—if not more! That’s because the baking soda is a strong base, so it reacts with the lemon juice (a strong acid!) to make your lemon cake rise… And it also helps with the tender texture.
I love nerdy baking science like that! ?
With just 1 tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil!), as compared to traditional bundt cake recipes with ½ to 1 full cup (yikes!)… This low-calorie lemon bundt cake gets the rest of its tender texture from one of my favorite healthy baking ingredients. Do you know what it is?
That’s right—it’s Greek yogurt! (You’re so smart!) Greek yogurt adds the same moisture to your lemon cake batter as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories. It also gives your cake a big protein boost!
You’ll skip the refined sugar and sweeten your healthy lemon cake with another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!). It’s also highly concentrated. You just need 5 ½ teaspoons to sweeten the entire cake… Instead of 2 ¼ cups of granulated sugar! (That definitely helps keep this lemon cake low calorie! ?)
This is the vanilla stevia that I use because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste like with some other stevia products. Although you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Now it’s time for the lemon juice! If at all possible, I highly recommend using Meyer lemons. They have a brighter, slightly sweeter flavor than regular ol’ lemons, which makes them perfect for baking. I actually want to plant a Meyer lemon tree in my backyard—I love them that much!
Before you spread your healthy lemon cake batter into your bundt pan, remember to generously coat your bundt cake pan with cooking spray. If you have cooking spray with flour, that’s even better! Bundt cake pans have lots more nooks and crannies than traditional round cake pans, so it’s much easier for the batter to get stuck… Which means your healthy bundt cake won’t want to slide out of the pan when you invert it. If you’re generous with the cooking spray, your bundt cake should pop right out of the pan!
One last thing! Once your healthy lemon cake has fully cooled, it’s time to drizzle a little glaze on top! It’s super simple to make: just stir together confectioners style erythritol (like this!) and lemon juice in a small bowl, transfer that to a zip-topped bag, and snip off a tiny piece of one corner to drizzle it all over your bundt cake.
Lemon bundt cake perfection! It’s truly the best lemon cake I’ve ever had! ?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy lemon bundt cake!
| Healthy Lemon Bundt Cake | | Print |
- for the cake
- 3 ¾ cups (450g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp (20g) lemon zest (about 3 extra-large)
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 ½ tsp vanilla stevia
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (210mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 extra-large)
- 1 ¼ cups (300mL) nonfat milk
- for the drizzle
- 3 tbsp (45g) confectioners’ style erythritol
- 2 ½ - 2 ¾ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and generously coat a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or nonstick cooking spray with flour.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Once thoroughly combined, whisk in the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the lemon juice and ¼ cup of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 55-65 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature and just before serving, prepare the drizzle. Stir together the erythritol and lemon juice in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped plastic bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle over the cooled cake.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.
It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will dry out your cake and give it a crumbly texture, instead of having it turn out moist and tender!
If you can find Meyer lemons, I highly recommend those! They have a brighter and slightly sweeter flavor, and they’re the best kind of lemons for baking (in my opinion!). Use lemons that are purely yellow without any green spots. Make sure to use the full amount of zest because that’s what provides the majority of the citrus flavor.
The cake requires 4 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 4 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.
I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found.
However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla stevia from the cake, substitute 2 ¼ cups (432g) granulated sugar and reduce the milk to 2 tablespoons (30mL), but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 2 ¼ cups (432g) coconut sugar and reduce the milk to 2 tablespoons (30mL) to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well. Do not substitute honey, maple syrup, or agave because the cake batter will be much too liquidy with any of those.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
Make sure you coat your bundt pan really well with cooking spray! (This is the bundt pan that I use!) With so many nooks and crannies, compared to traditional round or rectangular cake pans, the batter has more chances to stick to the sides, so a generous coating of cooking spray will ensure your bundt cake slides right out of the pan.
This is the confectioners' style erythritol that I use. Regular confectioners’ style (powdered) sugar may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol in the drizzle. Regular powdered sugar is much more absorbent, so start with just 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
For more drizzle (and a sweeter cake!), double the drizzle.
If you have a 6-cup bundt pan, you can make a half-recipe and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes instead.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, higher protein}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Orange Bundt Cake
♡ Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Simple Strawberry Lemon Cake
♡ Healthy Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting
♡ Healthy Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Simple Raspberry Lemon Cake
Hi,
I tried the recipe this weekend and it was a complete disaster. After going over the ingredients again and again, I believe I’ve spotted why: being European, I measure in grams, which is what I looked at here when making the cake (thanks for adding these). However, 3 3/4 cups of flour is NOT 330g, but 450g. My guess is that’s why the cake turned out a completely wet and clumpy mess – not enough flour 😉
Oh my goodness Carole — I’m SO sorry!! You’re absolutely correct about the grams. I just updated the recipe; thanks for catching that!! If you use a full 450g of flour, the cake should turn out much better! 😉 And thank you for being so sweet about pointing this out. I truly appreciate it! 🙂
Hi, I love this recipe and wait to try it. Can I use nut milk yogurt instead of Greek yougurt? I’m trying to avoid dairy.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Carmen! Yes, I believe nut milk based yogurt should work. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this bundt cake! 🙂
I am considering using Swerve in the cake rather than the stevia. How much would I need? I think I want to do this because of the super sweetness of stevia and its aftertaste. Your thoughts?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Julie! If you’d like to substitute that sweetener, then follow the substitution for granulated sugar in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions) and substitute your sweetener in place of granulated sugar. However, erythritol absorbs liquid differently than granulated sugar, so you may need to add more than 2 tablespoons of milk. I’d love to hear what you think if you try making this cake! 🙂
Hi Amy! Well, I tried the recipe as written, using liquid stevia. following directions exactly for measuring flour, made no changes to ingredients … and it was not good. I have to tell you I was really disappointed. Not much lemon flavor even though I used Meyer lemons, it was so dense and heavy, not moist at all, and the stevia aftertaste was too much for me. I’m so sorry to be such a downer, but I just didn’t like this at all. I was making it for a dinner party and had to do a last minute substitute with a mix from a box, just to have something to serve. My husband and my neighbor have said they can eat the cake (I actually made cupcakes) but I can not stomach them. 🙁
That sounds disappointing Julie! I’d love to help you sort through those issues because that doesn’t sound like how this cake should turn out at all. How did you measure the lemon zest, with measuring spoons or a kitchen scale? And the same thing for the flour — did you use measuring cups or a kitchen scale? What did you use to mix up the batter? Was it an electric or stand mixer, by any chance? Finally, did you use the same brand of vanilla stevia that I did? Once I know all of that information, we should have a better idea of what happened to cause those issues with the flavor and texture!
Hi Amy, Sorry to be so long answering … crazy stuff going on in my life! LOL I measured zest with spoons (don’t have a scale) and made sure to do the cups for flour as you suggested (not packing, not scooping, leveling with a knife, etc.) I did not use a mixer, I used a whisk until it got too thick and switched to a spoon. And, I did use the same brand of stevia. I used an “orange” flavored by Sweetleaf (did not have the vanilla, but thought the orange would give me even more citrus taste.) Let me know what you think. 🙂
Thanks for the information Julie! Based on all of that, the biggest issue with the texture is probably due to how you mixed up the batter. If you look at the Notes section, I actually say to use a whisk where instructed and a fork (not a spoon!) for everything else. If you use a whisk for too long (like when the batter starts to get thick), then you can overmix. The same thing happens with a spoon. The spoon is basically a flat object moving through the batter, whereas the tines of a fork allow the flour mixture and milk to be fully incorporated much faster than with a spoon, which therefore helps prevent overmixing. Overmixed batter leads to a dense, heavy, sometimes gummy texture. I know it can be easy to skip right past the Notes sections of my recipes, but I promise they’re worth reading! 🙂
Another potential texture issue could be due to not using Meyer lemons. When made with any other variety of lemons, this cake (or cupcakes!) end up sinking while cooling, turning incredibly dense and almost gummy, and look as if they’re underdone. I’m still not entirely sure of the science of why, but I do know that’s another cause of dense and heavy texture in my lemon recipes made with stevia!
If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour (and cocoa powder, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you should end up with a moist and tender cake. Does that make sense? 🙂
Finally… Just to confirm, you used a full 4 tablespoons of lemon zest (not 4 teaspoons), correct? That’s the equivalent of ¼ cup of lemon zest. Did you pack the zest into your tablespoon measuring spoon? Or just lightly drop it in? Were your Meyer lemons bright yellow, not green or pale yellow?
Hi Amy! Silly question, but does the half recipe turn out just as well or have you tried it? Also, are all the ingredients halved exactly or do any other modifications have to be made? I’m concerned on how exact it must be since I don’t have 1/8 cup measuring cups for example.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Adriana! I’ve actually covered the half-recipe alternative in the bottom of the Notes section (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss that bit! Also, 2 tablespoons is the same thing as 1/8 cup, so if you use tablespoons instead, you’ll have better luck being more precise! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this bundt cake if you try it!
Hi Amy, I love your website! I don’t eat eggs. Can I substitute ground flax meal for the egg whites? Also, I would like to use coconut flour. Should I just use 1 cup?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Tamara! I don’t recommend using just coconut flour, as it will have a negative impact on the taste and texture, even if you just use 1 cup. If using gluten-free flour is your main concern, I highly recommend using the option that I included in the Notes section instead!
As for the eggs, my brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. Ener-G is a shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white (and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk, although that doesn’t apply to this particular recipe!). I can’t wait to hear what you think of this bundt cake if you try it!
Hi Amy, thanks for your note and feedback. I appreciate it! I tried the recipe with the coconut flour and flax and you are right, it did not hold it’s shape with those substitutes! (I am new to baking – live and learn!) So I want to try again and I am committed to following your recipe more closely this time. But I have one question which is: I really don’t like Stevia. But I also would like a lower sugar option than two cups. Is there anything else I can replace the Stevia with besides so much sugar? Like, can I reduce the amount of sugar? Is coconut sugar healthier than regular sugar? Ideally I would like as little sugar as possible bc I am trying to eliminate refined sugar from my diet but I can’t stomach Stevia either. Grrrrrrrr. Help! 🙂
It’s my pleasure Tamara — I’m always happy to help! 🙂 That means a lot to me that you’d like to retry this recipe! If you reduce the amount of sugar, your bundt cake won’t turn out as sweet. It’ll have a sweetness level more like muffins, rather than a dessert cake! Do you have a preferred no-calorie sweetener? If you do, we may be able to modify this recipe so you can use the ingredient(s) you prefer!