This Lemon Poppyseed Cake is a tender, moist cake that’s full of lemon flavor and poppy seeds! It’s covered in a light lemon cream cheese frosting for a cake that’s perfect for lemon lovers!
It’s no secret around here that I love a tasty lemon dessert. I have quite a variety of lemon flavored cakes and this is my latest. Believe it or not – it might just be my favorite!
LEMON POPPYSEED CAKE RECIPE
What I love so much about this cake is the lemon flavor. It’s perfection. There’s a large variety when it comes to lemon cake flavor, but I really love a strong flavor in pretty much anything I eat. That can be tough with lemon, but this cake is just right.
To make this amazing cake, start with both butter and oil. The butter lends that wonderful flavor, while the oil helps with keeping the cake moist. Beat them with some sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until the mixture lightens in color and gets a fluffier texture, about two minutes.
Next, you’ll add the eggs, then alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk and fresh lemon juice. For our leavener, we’ve got both baking powder and baking soda in order to properly balance the acid in the lemon juice.
Finally, you’ll add some lemon zest and poppy seeds.
WHY ADD POPPY SEEDS?
Poppy seeds add both flavor and a little crunch. They also contain a good bit of fiber, calcium, copper, phosphorus and magnesium. All are good and healthy things. Clearly that means this cake is healthy too! 😉
That said, this cake could also be made without them.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This Lemon Poppyseed Cake is finished off with my favorite Cream Cheese Frosting, with a little bit of lemon juice and lemon zest added. It adds a subtle lemon flavor, which goes great with the cake.
The final cake is nothing short of delicious! The combination of the full flavored, moist lemon cake with the light flavor of the poppy seeds and cream cheese frosting is heavenly. It’s a wonderful combination of sweet and tangy and such a wonderful citrusy cake for spring and summer. I seriously wanted to sit down with a fork and just eat it one sitting. I hope you love it too!
MORE LEMON DESSERTS TO TRY
Lemon Cake with Lemon Bavarian Cream
Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Triple Lemon Cake
Lemon Poppyseed Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Lemon Poppyseed Cake is a tender, moist cake that’s full of lemon flavor and poppy seeds! It’s covered in a light lemon cream cheese frosting for a cake that’s perfect for lemon lovers!
Ingredients
Lemon Poppyseed Cake
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz (452g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (172g) butter, room temperature
- 10 cups (1150g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
Instructions
1. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
6. Combine the milk and lemon juice, then slowly add the mixture to the batter and mix until well combined.
7. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
8. Add the lemon zest and poppy seeds and gently stir to combine.
9. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
10. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
11. To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until well combined and smooth.
12. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
13. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until well combined.
14. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. Add more or less powdered sugar, as desired for consistency purposes.
15. To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat, if needed.
16. Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
17. Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly on top of the cake.
18. Add the second layer of cake and another cup of frosting.
19. Top the cake with the remaining layer and frost the outside of the cake. Refer to my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake, if needed. To make the line pattern in the side of the cake, I used one of the decorative sides on this icing smoother.
20. Finish off the cake as you like. I added rosettes around the top outer edge and sprinkled on some poppy seeds. I also added some lemon slices.
21. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best served cool, but not necessarily cold.
Keywords: lemon poppyseed cake, lemon poppyseed dessert, lemon cake recipe, lemon frosting recipe, best lemon cake, easy lemon cake
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Great recipe! I only used half the icing sugar called for in the icing recipe
★★★★
Does this cake have to be refrigerated?
Yes, because of the cream cheese frosting.
Hi, can this be frozen once it’s been baked and frosted?
★★★★★
I don’t typically recommend freezing full cakes, but you could try it.
I just finished baking this cake and making the frosting and can’t wait to try it. Silly question though….the cakes cool in the pan correct? And if its too late to let them cool tonight…can i put my frosting in the fridge and do it tomorrow after it warms up a little? Thank you for this awesome recipe!
No, typically the cakes would be turned out onto cooling racks to cool. If you cooled them in the pan, they should still be fine though. And yes, you can refrigerate the frosting overnight, let it come to room temperature the next day and then frost the cake. I hope you enjoy it!
I just made this recipe and loved it! I doubled the recipe to make two bundt cakes. They were light, fluffy, moist, almost like a sponge cake without all the work. It was easy to make and yummy! I did it dairy free using margarine instead of butter and it was great. Would definitely definitely make again!
★★★★★
Is that salted or unsalted butter in the frosting section of the recipe?
You could really use either.
What do you think about using buttermilk instead of regular milk?
I wouldn’t recommend it. The additional acidity of the buttermilk could throw off the results.
Thank you for the prompt response. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi – can’t wait to try this… would this recipe work in an angel food cake pan? I’m doing it for a birthday and want to decorate with tulips in the middle!
I honestly have not tried it, so I’m not sure. I would expect it to be more dense in that type of pain though.
Amazing this tastes soo good thanks
★★★★★
Hi, I want to make your Lemin Poppyseed Cake, can you please tell me how to find your tutorial on how you make the rosettes on the top with the icing? They are soo pretty! Otherwise, how else could I finish it off on top, maybe just iced flat and sprinkle some poppyseeds and lemon rind?
★★★★★
You can check out this cupcake tutorial, if you’d like. I show how to add rosettes to the top of cupcakes, but it’s the same for the cake. Otherwise, yes you decorate with poppyseeds and lemon rind or do something like on my Lemon Blueberry Cake without the blueberries.
My cake came out very lovely. I made it for my friends birthday❤️
★★★★★
Hi, the frosting was DIVINE, but have to share the comments of other reviewers regarding the lack of rise in the cake (and per your response, I was quite meticulous measuring the ingredients, particularly the leavening. What brand of baking powder do you use, and what type of lemons? My thinking is that the recipe is probably very sensitive to the ratio of acid to base. I’m definitely up for another try but would like some idea of how to tweak it.
★★★★
I use Argo baking powder and just regular lemons. No doubt that the acidity in lemon recipes can be sensitive, so it’s possible that’s having an affect.
I just took my cakes out of the oven and they have not risen. Is there a specific reason as to why?
It’s hard to say from a distance. Are you sure you measured the baking soda/powder correctly? Those can be easily swapped around by mistake.
Amazing!! Such a great delicious recipe! I’m a cake maker and always on the hunt for a good cake recipe and this is so good. Moist and flavoursome. I baked mine in 3 6 inch tins.
★★★★★
Can I bake cupcakes rather than a layered cake with this recipe?
Yes, you can. Bake for about 15-18 minutes.
10 cups of powdered sugar?
Yes. It adds volume and consistency. Cream cheese frosting especially doesn’t hold shape well without enough powdered sugar. That said, plenty of people reduce it and it works for them. If that’s your preference, feel free to reduce it.
Just made this cake but didn’t make the frosting, maybe i’ll make a lemon icing. i bake it a Bundt cake pan, so i let it bake longer than mentioned in the recipe. I haven’t tried it yet but it looks amazing… i wish i could upload a picture 🙁
★★★★★
I replaced the butter with margarine and the milk with soya milk btw.
Yep I deffo creamed for around 5 mins 🙂
My skewer came out clean when I checked the cakes. So odd right? 🙁
So one thing we’ve been realizing lately is that some issue might be coming from over-creaming. Five minutes may actually be a little too long. Try to aim for closer to 3 and look for fluffiness in the creamed mixture. If it starts to get slightly curdled looking, you may have over-creamed it.
Hi Lindsey!
I followed the recipe to a “T”. When I took the cakes out the oven, they were beuitifully risen etc. When i left them to cool, I came back to them 5 minutes later and they had shrivelled into themsevles and sunk 🙁 I can’t for the life of me figure why 🙁
I’m sorry that happened. Could they have been a little under baked? Are you sure you fully creamed the butter and sugar together?
This looks so yummy! I am wondering if you have advice for a fondant covered version… or rather, will this cream work well with fondant ?
★★★★★
I don’t have a lot of experience covering cakes with fondant, but I don’t think cream cheese frosting would work very well because it’s so soft.
I’m interested in trying this recipe but have a question. Can this be baked in a bundt pan instead of layered and if yes how would that affect the baking time and temperature?
I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure.
I made this cake yesterday for my mum’s birthday today. It was absolutely delicious and everyone that tried it raved about it. I only used half the quantity of buttercream, I’ve frozen the rest and I’ll make the cake again and use it up next time.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it!