Mini Lemon Rosemary Bundt Cakes
It’s citrus season! That means it’s time to bake all of the lemon-y treats! These teeny little bundt cakes are so full of lemon flavor, the vanilla lemon glaze adds an extra oomph of lemon, and the cakes themselves are made with rosemary infused milk, which adds just a hint of a warm rosemary aftertaste. A perfect and easy treat to make, that you should definitely have in your citrus season rotation!
I have to admit, though it’s citrus season now, I really have access to beautiful lemons all year round. We’re quite lucky – because we have a little lemon tree in the backyard that is just so confused, that it produces lemons all year! But don’t feel bad for it – we love it and treat it well. The only thing is, I really should bake with lemons more. I truly think lemon is an underrated flavor in the cake world. If you’re someone who loves a little bit of sour with your sweet, you need to bake more with lemons. There’s just such a great aroma when you’re zesting and squeezing lemons. And then that refreshing flavor when you bite into a lemon cake, mixed with the decadence of a vanilla based glaze – there just is nothing really like it! Let’s talk about the rosemary in this cake too. Luckily I have rosemary growing as well. I love using these organic, fresh ingredients in my baking! (You can totally get rosemary sprigs from the store though too – and that works perfectly for this recipe.) Lemon goes so well with rosemary in savory dishes, so why not in sweet too? The great thing is, is that because the rosemary is infused into the milk, which you would use in this recipe anyway – you can totally leave it out if you’re not a rosemary fan! However, give it a chance. It adds just a little hint of flavor while you’re chewing the yummy cakelet. You wonder, hmm, what is that interesting, familiar feeling aroma after the burst of lemon? It’s the rosemary! So, here it is! I promise you won’t be able to eat just one!
What You’ll Need. . .
unsalted butter
granulated sugar
eggs
milk
sprigs of rosemary
ricotta cheese
lemon juice
lemon zest
vanilla extract
flour
baking powder
salt
heavy cream
powdered sugar
Add three to four sprigs of rosemary to your milk in a saucepan. Cook on medium a few minutes until you start to just see small bubbles. Then turn it off, remove from heat, and let the rosemary steep in the milk for 30-45 minutes. It must come to room temperature. If you’d like, you can make it the day before and let it sit overnight in your refrigerator after it’s come to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap if you keep it overnight in the fridge.
Cream together the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment in your stand mixer. Add in the eggs and keep mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next add in the rosemary infused milk, ricotta, lemon juice, and zest. Mix until well combined and smooth. Preheat your oven to 350F. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Add in three parts to the wet ingredients, while mixing on low. Butter and flour your mini bundt pan, and pour in the batter 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for about 17 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes before removing. I like to remove them one by one by hand very easily, or you can turn the pan upside down and let them fall onto a prepared surface. Let cool completely before glazing.
To make the glaze, mix together the softened butter, milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Next add in the powdered sugar. If the glaze is too liquid-y, add in a tablespoon of powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency. If it is too thick, you can add a teaspoon at a time of milk. Once glaze is ready, just lightly spoon it over the cakes. It sets pretty quickly, and you can enjoy right away!
Some notes. . .
- This is similar to the bundt pan I have. These are pretty tiny cakes. if your bundts are larger, that’s ok, you just have to adjust the time accordingly. If it’s bigger – you’ll need more time. For minis, start checking at 16 minutes with a toothpick. For a large bundt, check at about 30 minutes – but it could take up to an hour, depending on the exact size of your pan.
- If your bundts have a little more bump than you want, and you want a flat bottom, just slice them off. You can snack on the extras! Great for taste testing. I use this for leveling cakes.
- I like to use a cookie scoop to fill my cupcake liners and mini bundt pan. For these bundts, I used about a 2 inch cookie scoop to fill each bundt about 2/3 full. These kind work great!
If you liked this recipe, you might want to try. . .
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Mini Lemon Rosemary Bundt Cakes
Ingredients
Cakes
- ½ cup milk
- 3-4 sprigs of rosemary
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2¼ cup flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Glaze
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Cakes
- Add three to four sprigs of rosemary to your milk in a small saucepan. Push into the pan, so the sprigs are partially covered with milk. Cook on medium a few minutes until you start to just see small bubbles. Turn it off, remove from heat, and let the rosemary steep in the milk for 30-45 minutes. It must come to room temperature. If you'd like, you can make it the day before and let it sit overnight in plastic wrap in your refrigerator after it's come to room temperature.
- Cream together the butter and granulated sugar with the paddle attachment in your stand mixer. Add in the eggs and keep mixing. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the rosemary infused milk, ricotta, lemon juice, and zest. Mix until well combined and smooth. Preheat your oven to 350F. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Add in three parts to the wet ingredients, while mixing on low. Continue mixing until just combined and smooth.
- Butter and flour your mini bundt pans, and pour in the batter 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for about 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a few cakes comes out clean. Remove pan and let cakes cool for 10-15 minutes before removing. You can remove them one by one by hand very easily, or you can turn the pan upside down and let them fall onto a prepared surface. Let cool completely before glazing.
Glaze
- Mix together the softened butter, milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Next add in the powdered sugar. If the glaze is too liquid-y, add in a tablespoon of powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency. If it is too thick, you can add a teaspoon at a time of milk. Once glaze is ready, just lightly spoon it over the cakes. It sets pretty quickly, and you can enjoy right away!