Get the Recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
This homemade lemon poppy seed cake features a moist and fluffy lemon cake, lemon glaze, and lemon cream cheese frosting! It is bursting with bright and fresh flavors. This one-layer cake is quick, easy, and perfectly sweet!
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 cups flour, gluten free or all purpose
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp lemon zest, from about 2 lemons
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease and flour a 9-inch (23cm) round cake pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Then, mix well.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the lemon glaze by whisking together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- To make the lemon cream cheese frosting, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest, beating until well combined and fluffy.
- Once the cake has cooled, place it on a serving plate. Drizzle the lemon glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
- Spread the lemon cream cheese frosting over the cooled cake, covering the top and sides.
- Optionally, garnish the cake with additional lemon zest or poppy seeds for decoration.
- Finally, slice and serve this delicious lemon poppy seed cake!
Notes
- Both regular all purpose flour and gluten free 1 to 1 flour can be used. I am gluten free, so I used King Arthur Flour gluten free flour for these photos.
- Use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to mix the cake batter and frosting. This will not work by hand.
- Do not overmix the cake batter.
- The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to fully cool before adding the glaze and frosting.
- If the frosting is too thin, add slightly more powdered sugar.
- If the frosting is too thick, add slightly more lemon juice.
Calories: 593kcal, Carbohydrates: 89g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 136mg, Sodium: 243mg, Potassium: 114mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 71g, Vitamin A: 1060IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 102mg, Iron: 2mg