Lemon Poppy Seed Recipe (2024)

Why you’ll love this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

There are thousands of Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipes out there – but my recipe is different.Here is what makes this lemony cake AMAZING:

• GREASED WITH SUGAR:Have you ever buttered and “floured” your pan with sugar? It creates a delightful sugar crust like a doughnut and provides an extra layer of nonstick protection.
• VELVETY CAKE: This recipe begins with my favorite butter cake recipe that contains more butter and one more egg than most lemon pound cakes, creating a richer, more velvety cake.
• PERFECTLY BALANCED:The cake has a perfect balance of fresh, tangy sweetness that makes you want to lick the plate.
• FOOLPROOF TECHNIQUES:This recipe uses room temperature ingredients, creams the butter and sugar for at least 4 minutes, and alternates adding the wet and dry ingredients so the emulsion doesn’t break.
• THICKER GLAZE: Adding cream cheese creates a thicker glaze that doesn’t immediately slide off of the cake!

Lemon Poppy Seed Ingredients

Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need to make this poppy seed cake (measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

• Poppy Seeds: These are tiny, round seeds with a mild nutty flavor and a slight crunch that provide a pleasant contrast to the soft cake crumb. Their delicate size ensures they distribute evenly throughout the batter.
• Lemon: Use fresh lemons because we also need the zest! Microwave the lemons for 10 seconds and you’ll be amazed at how much easier they are to juice!
• Lemon Zest: This adds the concentrated lemon flavor. Whenever using lemon zest, make sure to avoid the white pith, which adds bitterness.
• All-Purpose Flour: This gives the cake more structure than cake flour. Always fluff the flour before spooning it into the measuring cup.
• Butter:Unsalted is typically best for baked goods so you can add the precise amount of salt. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe.
• Buttermilk:This is more acidic than milk which helps tenderize the gluten, giving the cake a softer texture and more body. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can create a sour milk substitute with milk and vinegar (see the recipe notes).
• Sugar:Use granulated sugar to let the lemon shine.
• Eggs: In baking, eggs traditionally should be at room temperature. If you forgot to put them on the counter to come to room temperature, submerge them in a bowl of warm tap water for about 20 minutes before mixing into the batter.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda:These leavening agents help to tenderize the cake and make it rise in the oven. Make sure they are fresh so they work!
• Vanilla extract:All desserts need a little oomph of vanilla. The better the quality, the better it tastes, so go as quality as you can.

• Cream cheese: Use full-fat brick-style cream cheese for the best results. The cream cheese thickens the glaze so it doesn’t slip off and adds that pop of tanginess to complement the bright citrus and sugar.
• Powdered sugar:This provides the balancing sweetness to the tart lemon juice.
• Lemon juice: For a zesty and citrusy flavor, it’s best to use freshly squeezed lemon juice.

How to make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Let’s take a closer look with step-by-step photos (full recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

• Step 1: Grease and flour the pan: You can use shortening or butter with flour OR add a little sugar. I like to butter, sugar and flour my pan because it creates a divine sugar crust like on a doughnut!

• Step 2: Combine Dry Ingredients. Whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set the mixture aside.

• Step 3: Combine Wet Ingredients. Whisk the buttermilk with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 tablespoons lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.

• Step 4: Cream the Butter and Sugar. Add butter and sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for at least 4 minutes (no less!), until light and fluffy, scraping down sides occasionally.

• Step 5: Add the Eggs. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg.

• Step 6: Combine. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in thirds, alternately with the buttermilk mixture between each third. Beat just until combined, giving the batter a final stir by hand to get any flour at the bottom.

• Step 7: Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared Bundt pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake at 325 degrees F until a wooden pick inserted near the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs, 45- 65 minutes.

• Step 8: Cool. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

• Step 9: Make Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, lemon juice, and powdered sugar until smooth.

• Step 10: Drizzle the Glaze over the Cake. Use a spoon, or transfer the glaze to a piping bag or plastic bag and snip the corner, then drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Tips for making this Lemon Poppy Seed Recipe

• How to pick the best lemons: Look for lemons that are bright yellow without soft spots, have a clean sharp citrussy fragrance, are heavy for their size, yield slightly when gently squeezed, and are smaller, which means they have thinner skins and are best for juicing.
• To juice a lemon for maximum yield: Microwave the lemon for 15-30 seconds warm in a bowl of warm water. Vigorously roll the lemon on the countertop for a few seconds then use alemon squeezer or reamer to extract more juice.
• Don’t pack the flour: Whenever you measure flour, don’t scoop it into the flour bag/container, or else the flour will compress, and packed flour yields denser, drier cakes. Rather, scoop flour into a measuring cup and then level.
• Use room temperature ingredients: Room temperature ingredients help the emulsion be more successful between the butter, sugar, and eggs, or in other words, they will mix much easier together (so it’s harder to overmix and over-activate the gluten) and whisk to a higher volume which results in a softer cake with maximum volume.
• Don’t microwave your butter: The butter must be softened atroom temperatureand not microwaved because we want soft but not warm butter.
• Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy: I suggest setting a timer because 4 minutes will seem extra long. This step is important because it aerates the batter and allows the bubbles to expand as the cake bakes, resulting in a lighter cake. If you don’t cream long enough, your cake will be denser, not as tender, or rise as high.
• Beat the eggs low and slow: Once you’re done creaming the butter and sugar, add the eggs one at a time and beat slowly to give the batter time to thicken and emulsify because eggs and butter don’t mix naturally. This results in a creamy batter that holds in the air bubbles, previously created through creaming.
• Release air bubbles from the batter: You don’t want the air bubbles caused by adding the batter to the pan because too much air can create holes and cracks in the baked cake. To help remove air bubbles, tap the pan on the counter a few times and wiggle it back and forth. This will make the air bubbles rise to the top of the cake.
• Don’t peek: I know it is difficult to not to peek at your beautiful poppy seed cake, but please don’t open the door! Opening the doors can cause your cake to cook unevenly and to fall. Only check on your cake at 45 minutes.
• Don’t overbake: One of the main reasons people complain of dry cakes is because they overbake them. Remove the cake when just a few crumbs are clinging to a toothpick. Check the poppy seed cake at 45 minutes then continue to cook as needed, setting a timer so you don’t overbake it.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake variations

• Skip the cream cheese in the glaze: Whisk together 3 cups of powdered sugar, ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and 3 tablespoons melted butter, then drizzle it over the cooled cake.
• Skip the glaze: Dust the cake with powdered sugar and top with raspberries.
• Make it into a layer cake: Bake the batter in cake pans and assemble with lemon curd and/or frosting in between each layer. Refer to this layered lemon cake for reference.
• Add blueberries: Gently fold 2 cups of fresh blueberries into the prepared poppy seed cake batter before baking.
• Add almonds: Gently fold ½ cup slivered almonds into the batter before baking. You can also add 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the glaze.
• Make it gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour like Bob’s Red Mill. You may need to adjust the baking time.
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Divide the batter between lightly greased muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.

How to serve Poppy Seed Cake

Tools Used in This Recipe

See Favorite Tools

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @CarlsbadCravings and Use #CarlsbadCravngs

Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You!