Easy Mini Lemon Cakes
This tea cake recipe is such a lovely choice if you’re looking for something a little special! These sweet lemon cakes are drizzled with plenty of tart lemon syrup to give you the perfect mini lemon cakes!
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This super simple recipe makes for some rather lovely cakes that are perfect for a tea party or just a little weekend treat. Instead of glazing these cakes with a thicker lemon glaze, I’ve opted for a citrusy syrup instead, which soaks into your mini bundt cakes and results in a deliciously lemony cake!
Why make this Recipe?
Flavor – These mini lemon cakes have a lovely bright lemon flavor!
Small batch – This recipe makes just 5 little bundt cakes (or about 7-8 cupcakes)
Simple ingredients – This recipe uses super simple ingredients, and you probably have most of them on hand already!
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
- Lemon, butter, flour, sugar, an egg, milk, and baking powder
- Mini Bundt Cake pans – I use these silicon ones, but you can use whatever you have on hand. A muffin pan will also work, but you’ll want to check the cakes for doneness after 18 minutes.
- A stand mixer or a hand mixer
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Cream together the butter and sugar
This recipe uses the creaming method, so you’ll want to start by beating together the softened butter and sugar on high speed for a few minutes until the mixture is very light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the dry and wet ingredients to the batter
Next, you’ll beat in your egg and then mix in the wet and dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating between the two. You’ll also add the lemon zest in with your final batch of dry ingredients.
Step 3: Bake the mini cakes
Spoon the batter into your bundt cake pans or cupcake pans, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. From there you just need to bake them for 20 – 22 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. For cupcakes, check them at 18 minutes.
Step 4: Soak the cakes in syrup
Let the hot cakes cool for 5 minutes before turning them carefully out onto a wire rack set over a baking tray. While the cakes cool slightly, mix together the lemon juice and sugar. Once the cakes are ready, generously brush the cakes with syrup, making sure to thoroughly soak them.
Any leftover syrup can be saved and brushed over the cakes before serving if you’d like.
Expert Tips
Don’t under bake these mini bundt cakes!
Because these cakes get soaked with lemon syrup, you want to make sure they’re fully baked, or else they’ll end up too soft.
Thoroughly cream together the butter and sugar
Make sure you beat the butter and sugar together for at least 2 minutes so that the mixture is light and fluffy! This will help ensure light cakes down the line.
Recipe FAQ
No! While the mini bundt cake pans give these cakes a really cute shape and are fun to use, you can absolutely use a cupcake pan instead. Just keep an eye on them while baking to make sure they aren’t over-baked.
You can definitely do that. Orange works well as well but because it tends to be sweeter I would recommend making the syrup with 2/3 orange juice and 1/3 lemon juice.
If you’re using metal pans, you should definitely grease your pans and dust them with flour. If you’re using silicon, you normally don’t need to, but it doesn’t hurt to grease them lightly just in case!
Other recipes you might like:
- CINNAMON AND HAZELNUT MINI BUNDT CAKES – Another great option if you’re looking for a mini bundt cake recipe!
- SMALL BATCH BROWNIES – FUDGY CRINKLE TOP – My absolute favorite small batch brownie recipe!
- LEMON SOUFFLÉS FOR TWO – If you’re in the mood for something lemony, these souffles are light and delicious!
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Mini Lemon Cakes
Equipment
- Mini bundt cake pan
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 85 g AP flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- large pinch of salt
- 55 g butter
- 80 g sugar
- 1 egg
- 60 g milk nondairy is fine
- zest from 1 lemon
Syrup:
- Juice of 1 lemon ~ 40 ml
- 45 g sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. If using metal pans, grease and lightly flour them. For silicon pans you can lightly grease them, but depending on your pans you might not need to! Set silicon pans on a baking tray to make moving them a little easier.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a standing mixer or using a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and beat on low to combine. Add in 1/2 the milk, followed by another 1/3 of the dry. Keep adding the dry and wet ingredients in batches, beating to combine between inclusions until you’ve incorporated all of the ingredients.
- Stir in the lemon zest.
- Spoon the mixture into your prepared pans, filling them 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20 – 22 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- While the cakes are baking, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to make the syrup.
- Let the cooked cakes cool for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack set over a baking tray. Brush the warm cakes with plenty of syrup and then let them cool slightly before eating!