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
- 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
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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) granulated 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
Make Cake Layers
- Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
- Combine the milk and lemon juice, then slowly add the mixture to the batter and mix until well combined.
- 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.
- Add the lemon zest and poppy seeds and gently stir to combine.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
Make Frosting
- To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until well combined and smooth.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. Add more or less powdered sugar, as desired for consistency purposes.
Finish Cake
- 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.
- Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
- Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly on top of the cake.
- Add the second layer of cake and another cup of frosting.
- 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.
- 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.
- Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best served cool, but not necessarily cold.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
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I have made the frosting as per quantities shown on cake recipe page and added 2 tbsps of cornstarch but still seems too soft to coat the cake ..any suggestions please ??
Thanks 😊
Did you use the full amount of powdered sugar? If so, it’s possible the cream cheese was a little too soft. I’d try refrigerating it for a bit and see if that helps.
Keen to try this – just confirming its 10 cups of sugar for the icing?
Yes, but the overall amount of frosting is also a lot. I tend to use a lot of buttercream, because of the way I frost my cakes. If you don’t want to do that, feel free to reduce the frosting by reducing everything by an equal ratio. I hope that helps!
Would i be able to use margarine instead of butter for the icing? Im out of butter and dont have the time or money to go get more.
Hope your day is going well!
Margarine should be fine, the buttercream just may be a little softer than using butter.
Hi Lindsay, can I bake this in a square pan or a Bundt pan? As I don’t need a layer cake….
You could bake it as a 9×13, but it’s too much batter for a square pan unless you reduce it. I haven’t tried a Bundt pan.
I supplemented a few things with this recipe. It was delicious other than the cake itself being rather dense. It could have to do with the beating time or the fact I used partially gluten free flour, but it was not fluffy. The frosting kept sticking to the mixer but turned out great taste wise. I only used half or less of the called for powdered sugar.
This is the best ever lemon poppyseed cake I have tasted. Light, airy crumb, bright lemon flavor, hard to resist!
This is by far my favourite lemon and poppy seed cake!!! 5 stars!! ive been making it for years!!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it!