Like clockwork, every spring, I start to crave lemons.  It’s the strangest thing but for me, lemons=spring.  This last week, the lemon cravings started and of course, I had to give in. I made a big batch of these yummy lemon blossom mini bundt cakes to satisfy my craving and to give a few to friends.  Lemon blossom anything is my favorite cake and I have shared a lot of variations of this recipe, over the years.
I thought I would share this mini bundt variation today, which could also be used for a regular standard size larger bundt cake. Â This recipe is so yummy and lemon-y and it just sends me over the top. Â If you too have a thing for lemons, trust me, you’ll love this! Also, this is a great baked goodie to make and give to friends and neighbors, if you’re looking for a sweet spring treat to bake and give. After I share the recipe, I’m sharing a fun way to wrap them up and give them as gifts.
Before I jump into the recipe, I have to tell you that it’s not the easiest thing to find mini-bundt pans. Â After searching Walmart, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and having no luck, I finally found stacks of them at Home Goods. Â So skip those places I mentioned above and check places like Home Goods, TJ Maxx and Ross, if you don’t have mini bundt pans.
Here is the recipe:
Lemon Blossom Mini Bundt Cakes
{Makes 8 mini bundt cakes using a 6-bundt pan}
{Makes 1 large bundt cake using standard size bundt pan}
Ingredients
cakes:
16 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix (I use Duncans but any brand will work)
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Glaze:
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray bundt pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, water and lemon juice and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each bundt tin half way. Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Allow to cool 5-10 minutes and then turn over onto a cooling rack. If you’re making a large standard size bundt cake, you’ll need to bake for 25-30 minutes.
To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth. You can add a tad more water if it’s still too thick to drizzle.
Drizzle glaze into the center of the bundts all the way up and then over the cakes. Â You can completely cover with glaze or just drizzle. Â Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 2 hours, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids. You can also add a little lemon zest to the tops of the cakes if you desire.
For giving as gifts, I like to pick up packs of small appetizer plates at Ross (they come in packs of 8-10 for $4.99) and place a bundt on the plate and wrap with cellophane:
If you want to give more than one, you can use long narrow decorative plates like these I found at World Market that are the perfect size for two cakes:
These little cakes more than satisfy my annual spring lemon craving and if you get the chance, I hope you’ll try them because they are so incredible!
Happy spring friends and thanks so much for stopping by!
Cheers!
Cyndy
Diane Anderson-Edwards says
I like the idea, but was disappointed that the recipe used pre-packaged products like cake and pudding mixes. I prefer baking from scratch without artificial ingredients.
Jody says
Yes !
Lemons definitely say ` Spring ` to me as well.
Pat says
I agree ~ Spring = lemon! 🙂 I have a recipe similar to this but I like yours too. I’ve not seen vegetable oil in a glaze before. What are your thoughts on adding it?
LOVE the way you share these ~ I’d love to be a receiver! Don’t you love World Market? So many unique items. Just an fyi ~ if you’re not in a hurry, Amazon, Williams-Sonoma and Sur Le Table have fabulous baking pans. I seem to have an “addiction” to bundt pans. 🙂 I love the mini’s.
Have a wonderful St. Patty’s Day! Thanks so much for sharing ~
xo
Pat
Cyndy says
Thank you Pat! Hope you’re having a great St. Pat’s Day as well!
Yes, I LOVE World Market and I will have to check out the sources you mention because I was so surprised how hard it was to find. I will add your suggestion to the post as well! Thanks a bunch for the tip!
I checked online and there are a lot of sugar glaze recipes with a small amount of vegetable oil. Ha, I guess I never thought about it and not sure what it does but I did notice that all the donut sugar glaze recipes have it. It may work out to test and reduce the oil maybe down to one tablespoon and increase water? Now that I think about it, I’m wondering if the oil helps to keep the glaze a little softer after it cools because it’s very close to a frosting and to keep it from getting too hard. Maybe butter would do the same thing?
If you do tweak in any way, I would love for you to come back and tell me if it worked 🙂 Thanks Pat!