I am so excited to bring you this Instant Pot Lemon Cake recipe. It is incredibly moist and fluffy and you’ll never know you didn’t bake it in the oven. Add my delicious homemade lemon glaze to it and you’ll be in lemon heaven.
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Perfect Lemony Goodness
I’ve been wanting to make a cake in the Instant Pot using a boxed cake mix. I knew cakes could be successful in the Instant Pot since my Turtle Lava Cakes are to die for! I love baking, and I really wanted to start using my Instant Pot for a few more “baked goods”.
This lemon cake had to be easy and require minimal ingredients. You know I love easy! In my opinion, using a boxed cake mix was a must to keep it as simple as possible. I have come to find out that even large bakeries use boxed cake mix so why not use something that’s already perfected?
This cake is absolutely perfect for spring and summer because of its fresh summery flavor. But don’t get me wrong, we enjoy it all year long! The moist and fluffy cake covered in my sweet and tangy lemon glaze is absolute perfection when you’re craving something sweet.
What Ingredients Do I Need for Making An Instant Pot Lemon Cake?
My family loves eating this Instant Pot Lemon Cake and I love how easy it is to make. It’s got just the right amount of tangy and sweet. It is moist and fluffy, and you can easily eat the whole cake if you get distracted! True story.
All you need is a boxed cake mix, I prefer Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix and it’s the only one I’ve tested this recipe with. It’s easy to find in any supermarket. My boxed cake mix requires a bit of oil, 3 eggs, and some water. For the glaze, you’ll need some powdered sugar, a bit of butter, and 2 large lemons.
Essential Items
Here are some essential prep tools, utensils, and appliances I used to make this recipe.
Prep Tools & Utensils
Here are the prep tools and utensils that you’ll need:
Featured Items
Here is a list of the products featured in this post or products similar to those featured in this post:
- Instant Pot
- Measuring Spoons
- Stackable Measuring Cups
- Lemon Squeezer
- Flexible Cutting Mats
- Chef’s Knife
- Lemon Zester
- Trivet with Handles
- Mini Mitts
- 6-Cup Bundt Pan
28 Must-Have Instant Pot Accessories
Make sure to check out my Ultimate List of Instant Pot Accessories! I’ve included everything you could ever need to help make your pressure cooking quicker, easier, and even more convenient.
What Pan Do I Need?
To make this Instant Pot Lemon Cake you’ll preferably need a bundt pan. I use a 6 cup pan that is about 8.5 inches across. This fits perfectly in my 8-quart and 6-quart pressure cookers. You can use another cake pan, but a 6-cup bundt pan ensures you get perfect results every time.
Now it’s your turn to give this Instant Pot Lemon Cake recipe a try!
If you are an Instant Pot beginner I have included a step-by-step below. There are also some tips and tricks in the recipe card at the bottom of this post to help you make this cake even more delicious.
How to Make Lemon Cake in the Instant Pot
This is a super simple recipe that results in a perfectly fluffy and moist lemon cake that’s topped with a wonderful lemony glaze. Just make a boxed lemon cake according to the instructions on the back of the box, use the Instant Pot to cook it perfectly, and then top it with a homemade glaze. Yum!
Step 1: Gather the Ingredients
For the cake, you will only need a box of your favorite lemon cake mix and just a few ingredients to make the lemon glaze. That’s it! Here’s exactly what I used to make this recipe:
- Boxed Lemon Cake Mix: I used Duncan Hines Signature Lemon Supreme Cake Mix, to make this recipe and I highly recommend it. This cake mix makes a moist and fluffy lemon cake that comes out perfect every time.
- Powdered Sugar: The confectioner’s sugar is the base for the glaze. Make sure to pack it tightly when measuring it to help ensure that the glaze turns out thick enough.
- Lemons: You’ll need 2 large lemons to yield enough lemon juice and lemon zest for this recipe.
- Salted Butter
Step 2: Prepare the Cake Batter
Prepare the lemon cake batter according to the instructions on the back of the cake mix box. For the Duncan Hines Signature Lemon Supreme Cake Mix, I added the cake mix, 1 cup of water, ⅓ cup of vegetable oil, and 3 eggs to a large mixing bowl. I then mixed the ingredients with a hand mixer according to the instructions on the back of the box.
Step 3: Add The Batter To The Cake Pan
Spray a 6 cup bundt cake pan with cooking oil and then pour the batter into the pan.
Step 4: Wrap the Cake Pan With Foil and Cook
Tightly wrap the cake pan with aluminum foil before placing it into the Instant Pot. Then add 1 ½ cups of water to the pot and place the cake pan on the trivet and lower into the pot.
I suggest that you always use a separate sealing ring when cooking cakes and desserts in your Instant Pot. You don’t want your sweet treats smelling and tasting like garlic or curry powder. I have a blue ring that I use specifically for my desserts.
Set the Cooking Time
Close the pot and move the pressure release valve to the ‘Sealing’ position. Then set the Instant Pot to cook on ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’, High Pressure for 35 minutes.
Release the Pressure and Remove the Cake
Once the cooking time has completed, perform a Quick Pressure Release by immediately moving the pressure release valve to ‘Venting’ to release all the pressure from the pot. Once all the pressure has been released from the pot and the pin has dropped, open the pot and remove the cake. Set the cake pan on a heat resistant surface, remove the foil and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to cool.
Step 5: Unmold the Cake
Once the cake has cooled for a few minutes, unmold it by placing a large plate over the top of the bundt pan and flipping it onto a large plate. Carefully lift the bundt pan away from the cake and let it sit to cool for another 10 minutes. If you notice that the cake is sitting lopsided, this is a good time to use a long serrated knife to cut away any bulges on the bottom of the cake to allow it to sit flat.
Step 6: Make the Glaze
For the glaze, add the two cups of tightly packed powdered sugar, five tablespoons of lemon juice, half a tablespoon of melted butter, and a teaspoon of lemon zest to a large measuring cup and mix until the sugar has completely dissolved and a smooth glaze has formed.
Step 7: Pour the Glaze Over the Cake
Once the cake is cool, slowly pour the glaze over it until it is fully covered.
Serve and Enjoy
This lemon cake is so delicious! My kids told me that it was their favorite. I hope that it becomes one of your family’s favorites too.
I know you will love this Easy Instant Pot Lemon Bundt Cake. Let me know in the comments when you try it!
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Instant Pot Lemon Cake
FLUFFY MOIST LEMON CAKE TOPPED WITH A SWEET LEMONY GLAZE
Essential Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box lemon cake mix prepared according to box, I prefer Duncan Hines Signature Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
for the Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners powdered sugar tightly packed
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice from 2 large lemons
- ½ tablespoon butter (salted) melted
- zest of one lemon about 1 teaspoon
Instructions
- Prepare Lemon Cake Batter: Make the lemon cake batter according to the instructions on the back of the box of lemon cake mix.
- Add Batter To Bundt Pan: Spray a 6-cup bundt cake pan with cooking spray and pour the cake batter into the pan. Tightly cover the bundt pan with aluminum foil.
- Cook for 35-Minutes: Add 1 ½ cups of water to the Instant Pot and lower the cake pan into the pot using the trivet. Close the Instant Pot, adjust the pressure release valve to ‘Sealing’ and set the pot to cook on ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’, ‘High Pressure’ for 35 minutes.
- QPR: Once the cooking time has finished, perform a QPR (quick pressure release) by immediately releasing the pressure from the pot. After the pressure has been fully released and the pin has dropped, open the pot. Carefully remove the hot bundt pan from the pot.
- Let Cake Cool: Set the cake pan on a heat resistant surface and remove the foil from the top of the pan. Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the cake onto a large plate and allow it to cool for another 10 minutes.
- Make Glaze: Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, butter, and lemon zest to a large measuring cup and mix until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Glaze Cake: After the cake has cooled, pour the glaze over the top of the cake to fully cover.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Tips & Tricks
Top with extra lemon zest. I don’t usually go this extra step because the cake is super delicious as it is but if I’m having a get-together with friends, I’ll pull out the lemon zester to dress the cake up a bit by topping it with some extra zest.
Replace the glaze with frosting. What’s better than a glaze? Cream cheese frosting!
Serving Suggestions
Add ice cream. This lemon cake goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or raspberry sorbet.
Serve with tea. Lemon cake is a great reason to invite some friends over for an afternoon tea.
Help! When I turned Lemon cake onto plate it separated in half and the cake was not done at all! Did hi pressure for 35 min and a QR. I did use Duncan Hines Lemon cake! What’s the problem?
Hi! Are you sure the pot came to pressure? The cake should’ve definitely been done after 35 minutes. Did you add water to the pot? Was your sealing ring on? Was it set to sealing?
Yes to all your questions. The cake after 57 minutes had a consistency of a bread pudding not a cake!
Definitely something went wrong, not sure what, but it should have been fully cooked in that time.
When you wrap the Bundt pan tightly with foil, do you wrap the entire pan or just the top?
Hi! Just the top. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi! I was wondering if you could tell me what model IP you have. I’ve been doing some research and the newer pots are taking a lot longer to cook pot in pot (like this cake). Thanks!
Can you use a silicon Bundt pan ?
Hi! Yes, as long as it fits. Thanks for stopping by!
PLEASE READ!! SINCE THE OLD LEMON CAKE RECIPE GAVE SOME PEOPLE TROUBLE AND IT WAS TOO DEPENDENT ON WHAT CURD THEY USED I COMPLETELY CHANGED IT. PLEASE DISREGARD BOTH THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE COMMENTS UNDER THIS ONE AS THEY ARE FOR THE OLD RECIPE. THE NEW RECIPE IS EASY AND DELICIOUS AND WILL WORK FOR ANYONE!
Is there anyway to get the old recipe? I loved it but forgot to print/save it.
Hi Alisa! I had to dig through my handwritten notes, but I believe I found the final version of the previous recipe. 1 cup of the lemon cake mix, 1 egg, 1 cup of lemon filling, and 1 tsp baking powder. 2 cups of water in the IP, cook on high for 40 min with a 15 min NPR. The glaze was 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tbs lemon juice. You may or may not have made it with the baking powder when you did, it was something I added a few months after the original publishing. Thanks for stopping by!
Made this today and it fell while cooling – still tastes good – will try again!
Hi Kelley! Awe, that sucks!! Glad it still tasted good! Thanks for stopping by.
When did you add the baking powder to the recipe? I made this last fall and it wasn’t very tall. So I doubled the recipe and it was better. But don’t remember using baking powder. I want to make tomorrow, trying to decide if I should double again or use baking powder instead. The taste is incredible, thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I added the baking powder in an effort to help the people that were having trouble with the cake rising. You probably made it before I edited it. It seemed to help the other people that had the issue. Let me know which way you decide to go! Thanks for stopping by!
We have a winner!! I LOVE lemon cakes, lemon anything, and this was fantastic! My first time making lemon curd and also first time ‘baking’ in my Instant Pot. That just sounds weird 🙂 I used a 6″ springform pan and it turned out beautifully. Now if I can just regulate my comfort food appetite! 🙂
Hi David! I’m so happy to hear this turned out great for you. This cake has proven a bit difficult for some people and it won’t turn out for them. I have a feeling it may have to do with the lemon curd they use, but I haven’t been able to figure it out. I had one lady demand I take the recipe down, but it has never failed for me, so I’m keeping it up and still trying to figure out why it won’t work for some people. And see, then someone like you tries it and loves it! It’s the only recipe on the blog that has given some people trouble so I’m not losing hope I’ll figure it out! I appreciate you stopping by and commenting with your results!
Oh, I was so proud, I got pics to prove it 🙂 The homemade curd was a little frightening but luckily it turned out great! But…. I have to make another now to use up the remaining cake mix! LOL
Haha!! It really does make me happy you loved it! I hope the second one turns out just as good! Keep me posted!!
As I was waiting for my cake to finish in the instant pot I realized that I had forgotten the baking powder. I was ready to throw in the towel, but I decided to wait it out and see what happened. Surprisingly it came out as cute as a button! Next time I will use the baking powder but I was not terribly disappointed in the results: it was about 2 1/2 “ tall and will be the perfect accompaniment to a scoop of vanilla ice cream for Mother’s Day dessert!
Hi Jo Lynne! I’m so glad the cake turned out for you! To be honest, I made it tons and tons of time without the baking powder and it was always perfect. So many had trouble with it, I decided to test out the baking powder, so I edited the recipe and it seemed to help those that had trouble. I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day! Enjoy your cake and ice cream!
I made this the other day and the cake was really flat. It did not rise at all. What may have caused it?
Hi Linda! I’m sorry the cake didn’t turn out for you. This particular recipe has proven a bit finicky. Sometimes if the lemon curd used it too acidic, or if the batter is overmixed, the cake won’t rise. I’m trying to find a solution to make sure the cake works for everyone. Thanks for stopping by!
This recipe is so easy! I just wish you would add nutrition information to this.
Hi Melanie! As a matter of fact we are in the process of changing recipe cards and the new ones will include nutrition facts. It’s not a super quick process though but hopefully very soon it’ll be ready. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Valerie,
I made this little cake today and it came out great. I used (Comstock) Duncan Hines Creme Lemon Pie Filling. I see that some others have had problems with it, but I made it exactly by the recipe with no problems. I did notice that when it first came out of the IP it did not feel solid, but as it cooled it firmed up. Love the icing!
Hi Cheryl! I’m so happy to hear it came out great! I love this little cake so much, for the life of me, I don’t know why people have had trouble. Wish everyone could enjoy how yummy it is!! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!