This Easter cake is for the birds!  Well sort of.  A subtle lemon bundt cake is covered in frosting, toasted coconut and filled with little candy eggs!

I was talking to a friend of mine about Easter.  She was telling me how she is in possession of the very cake mold her mother used as she was growing up.  She said that every Easter her mom would serve a bunny shaped cake.  

At that moment I felt a mixture of tenderness and jealousy.  I thought it was so sweet that her mother insisted on making a bunny cake every year regardless of the age of her children.  I was jealous because I always wanted a bunny cake when I was a kid.

Now that I am an adult and I make my own desserts, I find I a less about the shape and more about the flavor.  And this lemon bundt cake recipe has LOTS of flavor!

How To Make Lemon Bundt Cake From Scratch

This recipe starts with a basic flavored bundt cake.  I’m a huge fan of bundt cakes. Bundt cakes look deceptively impressive.  

This Mimosa Bundt Cake and this Frosted Sugar Cookie Bundt Cake are excellent examples.  The truth is they are rather simple to prepare.

This recipe starts like any other cake recipe, by creaming together butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.  You want your butter base to be pale yellow and ultra creamy.

Beat your eggs in one at a time.  Why one at a time? Eggs have quite a bit of moisture, adding them one at a time to the butter will allow them to emulsify into the fat ( in this case the butter).  This way, each egg will get a chance to become fully incorporated.

In a bowl combine flour and baking powder and add the flour mixture next along with buttermilk.  You will begin and end with the flour. You do not want to add all the flour at once as the batter will become very thick and that lends itself to overmixing.

Conversely, adding in all the liquid at once can lead to separation.  Adding the flour last will help the dough come together.

While I used buttermilk in this recipe (for texture and flavor), any fattier milk like whole milk or even half and half will do

I flavored my cake with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract although lemon extract would be fabulous!

Pour the batter into a greased 10- inch bundt pan and bake until golden brown (about 60 minutes-bake time may vary from oven to oven) and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a baking rack for 5 minutes, then grab the rack and flip the baked cake so that it falls out onto the wire rack.  

How To Make Lemon Bundt Cake Glaze

The glaze for this cake is a lemon simple syrup.   To make the syrup, boil together equal parts water and sugar along with lemon slice.  Boil the syrup for about 15 minutes or until thick. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool it completely.

When both the cake and the syrup of cooled, use a skewer to poke holes in the entire cake.  Brush the lemon glaze over the cooled cake for more lemon flavor and to give you a very moist cake.

How To Decorate Lemon Bundt Cake

I dressed this cake up with a homemade white chocolate buttercream made with butter, melted white chocolate, powdered sugar, and cream.  Spread the frosting over the entire cake.

I took handfuls of toasted coconut and gently pressed the coconut onto the frosting to create a “birds nest” look.  Egg shaped candies are placed in the center.

How To Store Lemon Bundt Cake

This cake is best when consumed within a day or two, as cakes can easily dry out once they are cut.

Store the cake covered in an airtight container for up to 5 days.  Once the cake is cut, however, cover the cut ends with plastic wrap and then keep the whole cake covered.  This will help with dryness. A cut cake can last 3-4 days when kept covered.

Can I Freeze Bundt Cakes?

Wrap an unfrosted (and cooled)  bundt cake in plastic wrap then cover the cake in foil.  Allow the cake to thaw before frosting.

This is such a great recipe for Easter, however, by removing or replacing the candies in the center, this cake can be used any time of year.  This recipe does take some time, but the method is simple. Everyone loves this cake for its look and its bright flavors!

Bird's Nest Easter Cake

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

A fun Easter cake that captures the essence of spring!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 buttermilk
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• For the Glaze:
• 1/4 cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 small lemon, sliced
• For the Frosting
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup shortening
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 oz white chocolate, melted
• 2 tablespoon heavy cream
• 2 cups toasted coconut
• Egg shaped candy

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. In the bowl of stand mixer beat butter and sugar and light and fluffy. Add salt. Slowly beat in eggs one at a time, taking care to incorporate each egg into the batter before adding the next. Mix in baking powder and flour in a small bowl. Add the flour, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat in lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
3. Pour batter into bundt pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Top pan with a cooking rack. Hold the bottom of the bundt pan with one hand while holding the cooling rack with the other, carefully invert cake to rest onto the cooling rack. Combine the water and the sugar together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir and cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture becomes thick and syrupy. Add lemon slices and cook an additional 1-2 minutes on low.
4. Poke holes into the bundt cake while the cake is still a bit warm. Brush glaze over the cake. Allow the cake to stand for 10 minutes to absorb the syrup before brushing syrup on the second time.
5. To prepare the frosting, cream butter and shortening together in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Carefully add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat in the white chocolate until the frosting is spreadable, adding in heavy cream as necessary.
6. Carefully spread the frosting over the top of the cake.
7. Press toasted coconut into the frosting taking care to cover the top and the sides. Arrange candy eggs in the center of the cake. 

 

Nutrition Information

Yield 12 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 905 Total Fat 44g Saturated Fat 26g Trans Fat 1g Unsaturated Fat 15g Cholesterol 150mg Sodium 563mg Carbohydrates 123g Fiber 3g Sugar 95g Protein 8g