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This lemon poppy seed cake recipe features a buttery, moist cake, bursting with lemon flavor! It’s speckled with poppy seeds for a nice crunch and topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting for the perfect dessert!
For more lemon desserts, make my glazed lemon bundt cake, lemon meringue cake, and lemon cream cheese pound cake!
Lemon lovers, this one’s for you!
This Lemon poppy seed cake is tender and moist, with just the right amount of sweetness.
Every bite is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy – and those little poppy seeds add the perfect little crunch!
The cake is brushed with an easy lemon syrup that soaks into the cake, making it extra lemony and moist. And don’t even get me started on the glaze! A simple lemon cream cheese drizzle ties everything together.
It’s one of those cakes that tastes even better the next day (if it lasts that long of course). At first bite, this will be your new favorite homemade cake recipe!
Table of Contents
Ingredients to make Lemon Poppyseed Cake
(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)
- Cake flour has a lower protein content than all purpose flour, which means less gluten forms—giving your cake a softer, more tender crumb. It also absorbs more liquid and sugar, resulting in a finer texture and moister bite. You can use all purpose flour but cake flour will give you the best results!
- Poppy seeds add a nice crunch, or “pop”, to the texture of the cake! They also add a subtle nutty flavor. Make my lemon poppy seed muffins with any leftovers!
- I like to use a high quality olive oil for it’s aromatic notes. Plus, I think that the flavors pair well with the nutty poppy seeds! Olive oil also adds a great deal of moisture to the cake, keeping it nice and soft for days. Alternatively, you can use vegetable oil if you don’t have any olive oil!
- We’ll need fresh lemons for their zest and juice for that true fresh lemon flavor. Please use fresh lemons, the bottled lemon juice pales in comparison to the fresh stuff. Zest the lemon first before juicing for the most lemony punch.
- Sour cream is what gives this moist lemon cake its soft texture and subtle tangy flavor. You can also use Greek yogurt as a substitute.
- For extracts, we’re using a combination of lemon extract, vanilla extract, and almond extract. The lemon and almond extracts play up the citrus and slightly nutty flavors while vanilla extract smooths everything out. I do this in my lemon cake with lemon curd to add tons of flavor.
How to make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12 or 15 cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine cake flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk together and set aside.
Prepare the Cake Batter
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add room temperature butter, olive oil, lemon zest, and sugar. Cream together on medium speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer to low speed, Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and begin adding eggs, one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated prior to adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and add the lemon extract, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
Step 3: Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, about 10 seconds. Then add the sour cream and the remainder of the flour mixture and mix until combined and smooth, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and continue to mix until smooth.
Bake the Cake and Make the Glaze
Step 4: Bake for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Step 5: Prepare the lemon simple syrup. combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is just dissolved, then remove from the heat and add in lemon juice and extract. Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for 10 minutes, then turn over onto a wire rack. Use a pastry brush to brush the cake with the lemon simple syrup, then allow the cake to cool completely.
Step 6: Now make the lemon cream cheese glaze. Add cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for 20-30 seconds, until smooth, then add the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, lemon juice, poppy seeds, and milk. Mix until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
Step 7: Pour the glaze on top of the cooled cake just before serving.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients! This allows for the batter to comes together smoothly, leading to a more even tender crumb.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. Once you add the flour, mix just until combined to keep the cake tender.
- Let the cake cool before glazing. This prevents the glaze from melting off of the cake.
- Don’t skip the lemon syrup! While the cake’s still warm, brush on with lemon simple syrup for extra flavor and moisture. This takes the cake to the next level!
- Be careful not to overbake the cake. This will lead to a dry cake. Use a wooden skewer to check for doneness – if it comes out with just a few moist crumbs, it’s done!
Recipe FAQs
Once cooled and glazed, store the cake in the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving for best texture. Because the glaze has cream cheese, it’s best to store leftover cake in the fridge. If you’d like to freeze the cake, wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
Absolutely! If you just want a traditional lemon cake, you can just omit the poppy seeds.
Yes! Or you can make your own – For every cup of cake flour, use 1 cup of all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch—sift them together to lighten the texture.
More Lemon Cakes Recipes
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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Equipment
- 12 or 15-cup bundt pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) Cake Flour
- 3 tbsp Poppy Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 3 cups (600 g) Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Zest
- 1 cup (227 g) Salted Butter, (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup (112 ml) Olive Oil
- 5 large Eggs, (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Extract
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 cup (240 g) Sour Cream, (room temperature)
Lemon Simple Syrup (cake soak)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) Water
- 1/2 cup (100 g) Sugar
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Extract
Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 oz (113 g) Cream Cheese, (room temperature)
- 2 tbsp Salted Butter, (melted)
- 2 cups (240 g) Powdered Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2-3 tbsp (2 tbsp) Whole Milk, (room temperature)
- 1 tsp Poppy Seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12 or 15 cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cake flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add room temperature butter, olive oil, lemon zest, and sugar. Cream together on medium speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Reduce mixer to low speed, Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and begin adding eggs, one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated prior to adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and add the lemon extract, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, about 10 seconds. Then add the sour cream and mix until just combined, about 10 seconds. Finally, add the remainder of the flour mixture and mix until combined and smooth, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and continue to mix for an additional 5-10 seconds, ensuring that the batter is smooth.
- Bake for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon simple syrup. combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is just dissolved, about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and add in lemon juice and lemon extract. Set aside to cool.
- Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for 10 minutes, then turn over onto a wire rack. Use a pastry brush to brush the cake with the lemon simple syrup, then allow the cake to cool completely.
- Now make the lemon cream cheese glaze. Add cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for 20-30 seconds, until smooth, then add the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, lemon juice, poppy seeds, and milk. Mix until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the glaze on top of the cooled cake just before serving.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients! This allows for the batter to comes together smoothly, leading to a more even tender crumb.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. Once you add the flour, mix just until combined to keep the cake tender.
- Let the cake cool before glazing. This prevents the glaze from melting off of the cake.
- Don’t skip the lemon syrup! While the cake’s still warm, brush on with lemon simple syrup for extra flavor and moisture. This takes the cake to the next level!
- Be careful not to overbake the cake. This will lead to a dry cake. Use a wooden skewer to check for doneness – if it comes out with just a few moist crumbs, it’s done!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
