Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (Printable)
A light, moist cake bursting with fresh lemon flavor and poppy seed crunch, finished with tangy glaze.
# What You Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
03 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
→ Wet Ingredients
06 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
07 - 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
08 - 4 large eggs, at room temperature
09 - 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
10 - 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
11 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 - 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
→ Lemon Glaze
13 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
14 - 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
# Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
02 - Whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
03 - Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
05 - Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture in three additions, alternating with milk. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
06 - Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
07 - Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
08 - Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
09 - Whisk powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to achieve a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake before serving.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The texture is impossibly moist while still being light enough that you can happily eat two slices without feeling weighed down
- That perfect balance between tart lemon sweetness and the subtle nutty crunch of poppy seeds makes every bite interesting
02 -
- Room temperature ingredients are not a suggestion here, cold butter or eggs will make the batter curdle and your cake will not rise properly
- Overmixing when adding the dry ingredients develops gluten and makes the cake tough, so stop the moment you no longer see dry flour
03 -
- Zest your lemons before juicing them, it is so much harder to get the zest off a squeezed lemon and you will end up with bitter pith mixed in
- Pop a slice of bread in the storage container with the cake if it starts to get stale, the bread will dry out while the cake stays moist