A delicious cake that is bursting with summer flavor this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake takes your favorite bread and turns it into cake form. The most tasty and yummy dessert!
I love anything with lemon, I think I’ve said that a time or two but it holds true. Lemon recipes are my weakness and we just can’t get enough of them around here.
This Lemon Poppy Seed Cake has been one of my favorite cake recipes for quite a while. I love Lemon Poppy Seed Bread so I wanted to turn it into cake form because I also love frosting.
This cake has the most perfect balance of flavors and is not overwhelming in any way but you can absolutely tell that it is lemon for sure. The frosting really compliments this nicely.
If I could eat this cake all day long I probably would, that is no joke, this is one of my most requested cake recipes I get when we have parties or gatherings.
Obviously, since I love it so much I have no issue when someone asks me to make it or bring it because I know it’s going to get eaten, sometimes I get disappointed when I don’t have any leftovers!
Some of our other favorite lemon recipes we have on our site include Lemon Layer Cake, Meltaway Lemon Cookies and Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- All the flavors blend nicely together
- This is moist which w absolutely love in every cake.
- You can add more or less lemon based on your flavor preference.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Fine sea salt
Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Whole milk
Lemon juice
Lemon zest
Vanilla extract
Poppy seeds
Powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE A LEMON POPPY SEED CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar and until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
- Add the eggs in one at a time, allowing them to fully combine into the mixture.
- Scrape down the sides and add the flour mixture. Gently stir it in until just combined.
- Add the milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, stir in until combined, scrape down the sides.
- Last, add the poppyseeds and stir them in until evenly distributed, do not over mix.
- Add the cake batter to the baking dish and bake for 35-42 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. A few crumbs left on the toothpick are okay, but any wet batter and it needs to bake longer.
- Place the dish on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake cools, make the frosting by placing the butter into a large bowl with an electric hand mixer. Mix until smooth, 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla, mix until combined. Turn the mixer on medium and whip the frosting until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
- Once the cake is cooled, frost with lemon buttercream. Slice and serve.
Don’t believe in the nonsense that cakes are intimidating, this is super easy and everything is pretty much made in your stand mixer! Also, no odd ingredients are needed for this bad boy!
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A STAND MIXER?
No worries! If you don’t have a stand mixer you can make this with a hand mixer as well we do it all the time when I don’t want to bring out the stand mixer.
You can also make it by hand, you will just want to make sure that everything is combined really well and no flour lumps are left behind!
DO I HAVE TO USE REAL LEMON JUICE?
It is highly recommended that you use real lemon juice for this since it does call for lemon zest. But if you don’t have lemons you can omit the lemon zest and use bottled, it just won’t give the same flavor as fresh.
DO I HAVE TO FROST THIS?
Absolutely not! If you would rather have a glaze you can quickly make a powdered sugar glaze and pour that over the top, or if you wish you can enjoy this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake as is.
HOW TO STORE:
This cake can be stored covered with plastic wrap or foil on the counter for up to 3-4 days.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- We love fresh-squeezed lemon juice for this recipe and highly suggest it, but in a pinch, you can use bottled.
- If you don’t want to frost this cake you can also use a glaze or eat it as is.
- Use as much or as little lemon juice as you’d like for flavor.
- You can add more or less poppy seeds to your liking.
- This cake needs to cool completely before frosting.
If you want that perfectly fun, tasty summertime cake recipe that everyone loves then you need to make my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this LEMON POPPY SEED CAKE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh squeezed
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar and until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
- Add the eggs in one at a time, allowing them to fully combine into the mixture.
- Scrape down the sides and add the flour mixture. Gently stir it in until just combined.
- Add the milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, stir in until combined, scrape down the sides.
- Last, add the poppyseeds and stir them in until evenly distributed, do not over mix.
- Add the cake batter to the baking dish and bake for 35-42 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. A few crumbs left on the toothpick are okay, but any wet batter and it needs to bake longer.
- Place the dish on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake cools, make the frosting by placing the butter into a large bowl with an electric hand mixer. Mix until smooth, 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla, mix until combined. Turn the mixer on medium and whip the frosting until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
- Once the cake is cooled, frost with lemon buttercream. Slice and serve.
Notes
- We love fresh squeezed lemon juice for this recipe and highly suggest it, but in a pinch you can use bottled.
- If you don't want to frost this cake you can also use a glaze or eat it as is.
- Use as much or as little lemon juice as you'd like for flavor.
- You can add more or less poppy seeds to your liking.
- This cake needs to cool completely before frosting.
Nutrition
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