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The most delicious way to welcome citrus season is with a sparkling citrus champagne bundt cake. With a light and lovely golden crumb and the perfume of winter citrus (I used a blend of tangerine and Meyer lemon zest), this bundt is reminiscent of the best pound cake.
I love to top this simple citrus bundt cake with a dusting of snowy powdered sugar or serve slices with creamy scoops of homemade Meyer lemon ice cream (and a glass of bubbly, of course!).
Love baking with citrus? Try my citrus champagne layer cake next!
Bundt Cake Success
- Bring butter and eggs to room temperature before beginning.
- Use fresh citrus zest and juice in this cake – I love using a blend of winter citrus like Meyer lemons and tangerines.
- For maximum citrus flavor, combine sugar and citrus zest in a food processor and process for 1 minute, until finely ground and aromatic.
- Bake cake until golden and the top springs back to the touch. A tester inserted in the center should come out with a few crumbs attached. Your baking time may vary depending on the shape of your bundt pan, so start testing for doneness after 40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Cool completely, and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- This bundt cake can be made one day in advance. Let cool completely and store at room temperature overnight. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
Glaze Ideas
If you want to dress up this simple bundt cake with a glaze, here are some ideas:
- Lemon Butter Glaze – Whisk together 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest, 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice, and 3/4 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle lemon glaze over cake and and let set before serving.
- Orange Butter Glaze – Whisk together 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons orange zest, 2 tablespoons orange juice, and 3/4 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle orange glaze over cake and and let set before serving.
- Vanilla Butter Glaze – Whisk together 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cake and and let set before serving.
More sweet citrus recipes you’ll love:
- Citrus Champagne Layer Cake
- Citrus Vanilla Sheet Cake
- Vanilla Citrus Sandwich Cookies
- Citrus Curd Linzer Cookies
Did you try this Citrus Champagne Bundt Cake Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
Print
Citrus Champagne Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 44 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 4 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This light and lovely citrus champagne bundt cake is perfumed with winter citrus and the perfect celebratory bundt cake for citrus season!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 Tbsp fresh citrus zest
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup champagne or prosecco
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed citrus juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 10-cup bundt pan generously with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Combine sugar and citrus zest in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute; combine with butter in a large mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time. Mix in flour mixture on low speed until almost incorporated. Add champagne, citrus juice, and vanilla; mix on low speed just until combined.
- Spoon batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake for 40 to 44 minutes, until cake is golden, springs back to the touch, and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; carefully invert onto rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Baking pan: I used this 10-cup Heritage Bundt Pan
The cake smells delicious! Mine didn’t fill the 10 cup pan I used as hoped. Ingredients room temp. Fresh baking powder. May I ask how you measure flour? Or what the weight of flour is on a baking scale? I stirred flour, spooned in cup the leveled. Grateful!
Hi Cyd, I follow America’s Test Kitchen weight for all-purpose flour (1 cup = 140 grams), so for this cake I would use 350 grams of all-purpose flour. Hope that helps for the future!
I made the cake this morning! I used the Nordic Ware Crown bundt pan and have some questions….
First of all I accidently used only 8 TBS butter instead of 10, and cake was still extremely moist. Which brings me to the question, is the cake supposed to be a bit gooey on the inside? I inserted a pick several times that came out clean. The cake was PLENTY done on the outside edges, but the inside was very, very moist when I cut into it. Just wondering if the inside wasn’t done, as I’ve never used a pan like this before. Whatever the case, it’s a huge hit at work!
Hi Elaine, thanks for your feedback! It is a moist cake, though it sounds like it may have been a touch underdone. I’ve never baked in the crown bundt pan, so I can’t speak to how that specific pan conducts heat. From my experience with other Nordic Ware bundt pans, the edges tend to bake much more quickly than middle, which sounds like your experience as well.
Hi, I don’t have a hand mixer or mixer. Do you think I could still make this recipe?
Thanks,
Allison
Hi Allison! It can be done, though it will take more effort on your part. 🙂 This article from Food52 is a good resource that gives tips for creaming butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. The comment section there also has some helpful tips from readers who have used that technique. Once you’ve creamed the butter and sugar, you can add the eggs and then fold in the dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients. Hope that helps!
Made this last night and brought it to work. It was a BIG hit! I ended up topping it with a mixed berry glaze and fresh fruit. My husband begged me to keep the recipe in our dessert recipe collection! Thank you for a super easy and delicious recipe
I also used San pellegrino sparkling blood orange juice in place of the champagne since it’s all I had on hand.
So happy to hear that, thank you Amber! 🙂 The sparkling blood orange juice is such a good idea too – can’t wait to try that!
I have a family member with a milk allergy- any recs on subs for butter?
Hi Christina, I haven’t baked with any butter substitutes so I can’t speak to any impact on the texture of the cake. I would try something like Earth Balance or a similar dairy-free butter stick that can be used as a 1-to-1 replacement for butter.