It doesn't get more southern than this!
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Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- You don't need to be a pastry chef—this recipe is easy
- Everyone's favorite dessert at potlucks, tea parties, and showers
- Boxed cake and pudding mixes mean quick prep (but you can still call it homemade!)
This summery, sweet tea bundt cake is the perfect accompaniment to special-occasion meals and is simple enough to make on lazy weekends, too.
The sweet tea syrup is optional, but bless your heart if you skip it—it adds a perfect Southern flair to the lemony, tea-flavored, tender cake.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Few things are more Southern than lemons and sweet tea. However, you can swap the lemon cake mix for yellow or white, if you prefer.
- Peaches go well with both sweet tea and lemon flavors. If you enjoy cakes with a bit of fruit, dice two peaches and toss them into the batter.
- Instead of the vanilla extract, swap it for a splash of bourbon.
- Want more lemon flavor? Add a teaspoon of lemon zest.
- Prefer to only use herbal tea? Rooibos tea has a similar flavor profile to black tea, but minimal caffeine.
- You can make sweet tea loaf cakes by using two loaf pans instead of a 15-cup bundt pan.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, blend all of the cake ingredients together. Pour cake batter into a prepared bundt pan.
- Bake. Let cake cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing it.
- Brush sweet tea simple syrup over the cake.
- Spoon the lemon glaze over top and enjoy.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Sweet tea bundt cake goes fast, but if you happen to have leftovers, they'll keep just fine at room temperature for four or five days.
Be sure to seal cake leftovers in an airtight container. If you don't have one large enough, tightly cover the cake with plastic wrap.
Feel free to freeze leftovers for up to three months—also tightly wrapped in plastic. Place the wrapped cake in a plastic bag for extra protection from freezer burn.
Thaw a frozen bundt cake at room temperature for a few hours. I recommend unwrapping the cake before thawing (if possible) to make it easier to remove the plastic without ruining the glaze.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Using room temperature ingredients allows everything to blend together better. It'll make the cake texture more tender and soft.
- When mixing, start on low speed to avoid the ingredients splashing out of the bowl. Then, amp it up to medium to give the cake a proper rise.
- Let the cake cool on the wire rack in the pan for just about ten minutes. This is the sweet spot. Removing it too soon can cause the cake to tear, but letting it cool fully in the pan can cause it to stick.
- Discard the tea bags after ten minutes. Though you do want a strong flavor, letting it steep for too long can make it more bitter.
- Sift the powdered sugar before combining it with the juice for a smoother glaze.
👩🍳 FAQs
You'll want to grease and flour the cake pan really well... I mean, really well. Be sure to get the oil, butter, or shortening in every little nook and cranny. Bundt pans are tricky because they're so intricate.
Actually, you don't need either! Sweet tea bundt cake starts with a box mix for super easy prep. We doctor it up a little, and it's as good as homemade!
Stick a wooden pick or cake tester into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, with no wet batter, it's finished. You can also check the temperature with a thermometer—cake is done at 200 degrees F.
It's sort of like a classic lemon pound cake, but not quite as dense. The texture is super soft and moist, with the most pleasant lemony, sweet tea flavor.
📚 Related recipes
- If you love cherries, you'll crave this tender and sweet Dr Pepper Bundt Cake recipe—almost as addicting as the soda itself!
- Lemon Pudding Bundt cake is the most moist and tender cake you'll ever make. It's easy, simple, and looks stunning on a cake stand!
- With cherries, bourbon, and citrus flavors, Whiskey Sour Bundt Cake is another great beverage-themed dessert that everyone loves.
🍽️ Serve sweet tea bundt cake with...
I like to serve this easy bundt cake all summer long. Its simple flavors are bright and refreshing.
Try this as the sweet ending to bbq chicken breast, coleslaw, and some biscuits dripping with honey.
📞 The last word
Every time I serve this cake I feel like I should be wearing a flowery dress and have a string of pearls around my neck.
It's a unique recipe that always gets a lot of compliments and attention. Try it soon!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Sweet Tea Cake
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 15.25 ounces lemon cake mix
- 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup strongly brewed black tea, cooled
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- ¾ cup light vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
Sweet Tea Syrup - optional
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 4 family-size tea bags
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, may need more or less for the desired consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
- Combine cake mix, pudding mix, ¾ cup cooled tea, eggs, oil, vanilla and lemon extract in a large bowl
- Beat on low speed for 30 seconds.
- Beat on medium for 2 minutes.
- Spoon into prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. The interior will be 200F when an instant-read thermometer is stuck into the center.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Flip the pan over on a wire rack and remove the cake from the pan.
- Brush the sweet tea syrup (if using) all over the surface of the cake.
- Let cool completely.
Sweet Tea Syrup - Optional
- In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil.
- Boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add tea bags and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Discard tea bags.
- Let cool completely before brushing onto the cake.
Glaze
- Whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth.
- Spoon over cooled cake.
Notes
- Always use room temperature ingredients.
- When mixing, start on low speed to avoid the ingredients splashing out of the bowl. Then, amp it up to medium to give the cake a proper rise.
- Let the cake cool on the wire rack in the pan for just about ten minutes. This is the sweet spot. Removing it too soon can cause the cake to tear, but letting it cool fully in the pan can cause it to stick.
- Discard the tea bags after ten minutes. Though you do want a strong flavor, letting it steep for too long can make it more bitter.
- Sift the powdered sugar before combining it with the juice for a smoother glaze.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Ruthie Sellers says
4 FAMILY size tea bags to 1 cup of water! I don't want to be rude because you are the expert and I have made many a successful recipe from your site but, ARE YOU SURE?
Marye says
Yep. I'm sure.
Ruthie Sellers says
ok thank you for that clarification! 🙂