Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

Who doesn’t like a good lemon cake? Or at least any bake using lemon. If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you know my love for all things lemony. My favorite lemon treat is and will always be a lemon meringue pie but of course, I am open to trying new lemon bakes! That’s why I tried to give a go to a lemon poppy seed cake! I am not gonna lie, every single recipe I tried out there seemed to use buttermilk… which I did not have at home. I did not feel like stepping outside just for buttermilk.

RELATED – Lemon meringue pie recipe

So I had to find another way! Turns out you can substitue buttermilk with milk and lemon. Even more lemon, isn’t that great?! Most of the lemon poppy seed cake recipes out there also were either naked or sported a very thin glaze. I felt creative and bold, thus I decided to make it a lemon glaze and add some candied lemons for decoration. Turns out, candied lemons are super easy to make!

A lemon poppy seed cake with glaze and candied lemons

I felt bold but also a bit afraid, not gonna lie. Why? Because the last three bakes I attempted did not turned out quite well… They are Harry Potter themed recipes and the results were not what I expected. I straight failed one of the recipes and did not like the taste of the other two. That’s why they are not on the blog. I’ll have to work around those later on and come up with better ideas! Because those Harry Potter themed bakes will 100% end up on this blog!

RELATED – Harry Potter inspired butterbeer cupcakes

But for now, I am giving you a lemon poppy seed cake recipe covered with a lemon glaze and decorating with candied lemons. That one, I nailed and I am so happy of the results. Plus, I don’t use poppy seeds that often when baking and it was my first time making candied lemon! If you are looking for a very simple lemon cake, I’ve got that too far you!

Ingredients for the lemon cake

Method for the lemon cake

The lemon poppy seed cake

1. Pre-heat over at 350°C or 180°C. Line a baking pan with baking sheet and set aside.

2. In a bowl, stir together one cup sugar and two lemon zests until you get a sand-like texture. Set the zests-less lemons aside.

3. In a liquid measuring cup, mix together 1/2 cup milk and 3 tbsp and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Set aside.

4. In a bigger bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt.

5. Incorporate both wet and dry ingredients, alternating between the two and whip until all lumps are gone.

6. Melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the butter and 1 tbsp poppy seeds to the batter.

7. Pour the batter into the tin and place in the oven for 65 minutes. Remove from the oven once baked. Insert a knife into the cake. If it’s clean once out, it is cooked.

8. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the baking tin. Then, remove from the tin and let cool completely on a rack.

The candied lemons

1. In a large sauce pan, pour 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Bring to a boil.

2. Cut one lemon into  small slices. Remove all pits.

3. Bring the sugar syrup to a simmer and add in the lemon slices. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

4. After 7 minutes, flip the slices gently for their other side to caramelize.

5. Remove from the heat. Place the slices on a wire cooling rack.

The lemon glaze

1. In a bowl, stir together 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp lemon.

2. Add in milk, one tbsp at a time. The icing should be think, not too runny but still able to spread evenly. Add milk accordingly.

3. Place the cake on a wire rack over a plate or baking tray. Apply lemon glaze with a spoon, covering the top of the cake.

4. Let harden completely then put on top the lemon candied. Let harden and cool further. Serve the lemon poppy seed cake with a cup of tea.

 What do you think of this lemon poppy seed cake recipe? Will you give it a go? Have you ever tried to make candied lemons? Do you like lemon cakes? What is your favorite bake to do?

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Thanks a lot for stopping by. I hope you liked this recipe.

See you soon,
Love,
Corinne.