Healthy Lemon Bundt Cake

Yields: 1 bundt cake, 16 slices

My brother’s favorite cake is a lemon bundt cake, and he gave this one three thumbs up! It’s really moist and tender with lots of bright citrus flavor, and he loves that it isn’t overly sweet like many store-bought lemon cakes. It’s the perfect birthday cake for him! Leftovers will keep for at least 3 days, if not longer, if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

4 from 8 votes

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Ingredients

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 — see Notes!)
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 liquid stevia (see Notes!)
¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
¾ cup (180mL) freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (about 3 extra-large — see Notes before beginning!)
1 ¼ cups (300mL) nonfat milk, divided

FOR THE DRIZZLE (OPTIONAL)

3 tbsp (45g) confectioners’ style erythritol
2 ½ - 2 ¾ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

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 or coconut oil, 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 remaining 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.

Notes

IMPORTANT LEMON NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: This recipe was specifically designed for Meyer Lemons, so I highly recommend using them, if you can! Meyer lemons are sweeter, less acidic, and have a higher pH compared to regular lemons. When made with Meyer lemons, this cake has a lovely moist and soft texture. When the batter is too acidic (aka if you use ½ cup of regular lemon juice instead of Meyer lemon juice!), then your cake will fail to rise properly, turn out denser, and almost look "raw" on the inside (even when it's 100% fully baked all the way through!).

So if you only have regular lemons, then use 2 ½ tablespoons of regular lemon juice AND ½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons of milk in place of the Meyer lemon juice. That ratio prevents the batter from being too acidic, so your cake will turn out with the same texture as when made with Meyer lemons. Because the zest provides the majority of the lemon flavor, rather than the juice, it'll taste almost exactly the same too! (See the "Lemon juice" header in the "Key Ingredients to Make a Healthy Lemon Bundt Cake" section in my blog post above for more info!)

For the best results, use lemons that are pure yellow, without any green spots. Lemon zest that's pure yellow provides the brightest citrus flavor.

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: 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. Too much flour can also make your cake taste bland.

IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to make the batter. This will result in a dense, tough, rubbery, or gummy cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

IMPORTANT BUNDT PAN NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: 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.

IMPORTANT DRIZZLE NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: I prefer a minimalistic drizzle, but it's easy to add more! For more drizzle (and a sweeter cake!), double the drizzle. You can even triple or quadruple it, if you'd like!

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: 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 subtle wheat-y flavor.

EGG WHITES NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: 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 denser.

If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 4 large eggs AND reduce the milk by 2 tablespoons to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.

STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they're not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best results, I recommend using the same one I do. I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!)

If you really prefer not to use liquid stevia, 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 slightly with either of those substitutions as well.

Do not substitute honey, pure maple syrup, or agave because the cake batter will be much too liquidy with any of those.

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

ERYTHRITOL NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: 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.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 2 cups (240g) millet flour, 1 cup (120g) tapioca flour, ¾ cup (90g) brown rice flour, and 3 teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.

HALF-BATCH OPTION: If you have a 6-cup bundt pan, you can make a half-recipe and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes instead.

HOW TO STORE: This cake is best if eaten the same day it’s drizzled, but leftover cake will keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

When refrigerating leftover slices of already drizzled bundt cake, the drizzle will turn brittle and crack if made with erythritol, or it will dissolve into the cake if made with powdered sugar. Neither will affect the flavor — only the appearance!

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, higher protein}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.