Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
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This lemon poppy seed cake is laced with fresh lemon zest, filled to the brim with nutty, crackly poppy seeds, and drizzled with a bright lemon glaze. It’s the perfect “company cake.”
A variation of my lemon pound cake, this lemon poppy seed cake is laced with fresh lemon zest, filled to the brim with nutty, crackly poppy seeds, and drizzled with a bright lemon glaze. The texture is just what you hope for in a homemade cake — moist and melt-in-your-mouth tender — and the cake keeps well for days. My grandmother would have called it a “company cake” since it’s the perfect treat to have on hand when friends and family come over.
The cake can be made in a Bundt pan or two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans. Before deciding which pans to use, please see the important notes at the bottom of the recipe. The cake keeps well for days on the countertop and freezes well, too. If you love the lemon and poppy seed combo, don’t miss my lemon poppy seed muffins!
What you’ll need to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
How to make lemon poppy seed cake
To begin: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds.
Whisk well and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Whisk and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), combine the butter and sugar.
Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
Beat well after each addition.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, beat in one-quarter of the flour mixture.
Add one-third of the buttermilk mixture.
Beat in another quarter of the flour mixture, then another third of the milk mixture. Repeat with another quarter of the flour mixture and the remaining milk mixture. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and give a quick mix to make sure all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
Spray the Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and coat with sugar. Make sure the entire pan is covered.
Spoon the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. 
Cool the cake in the pan for ten minutes on a rack. While the cake cools, make the syrup. Combine the water and granulated sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
Invert the warm cake onto the rack. Slip a large piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil under the rack to catch all the drips from the syrup. Gradually brush the hot syrup over the cake, letting it soak in (a little syrup will drip off, but try not to rush so that most of it is absorbed). Allow the cake to cool completely, about one hour.
When the cake is cool, make the glaze. Stir the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl, mixing until completely smooth. Add more confectioners’ sugar if necessary to make a thick, opaque glaze (it should be thicker than you’d think — you want it the consistency of honey or molasses).
Carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
How to Store and Freeze Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Let the glaze harden before slicing. The cake will keep nicely for 3 days if kept covered on the countertop. It can also be frozen (without the glaze) for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Add the glaze after the cake is thawed.)
You may also like
- Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
- Fresh Strawberry Cake
- Easy Lemon Meringue Pie
- French Apple Cake
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
This lemon poppy seed cake is laced with fresh lemon zest, filled to the brim with nutty, crackly poppy seeds, and drizzled with a bright lemon glaze. It’s the perfect “company cake.”
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup poppy seeds
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk (see note)
- Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 gently packed tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar, plus more for the pan
- 3 large eggs
For the Syrup
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For the Glaze
- About 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 10-inch Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray and dust with sugar. Be sure the entire pan is coated (see note below).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, beat in one-quarter of the flour mixture, then one-third of the buttermilk mixture. Beat in another quarter of the flour mixture, then another third of the milk mixture. Repeat with another quarter of the flour mixture and the remaining milk mixture. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and give a quick mix with a rubber spatula to make sure all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Spoon the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for ten minutes on a rack.
- While the cake cools, make the syrup. Combine the water and granulated sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Invert the warm cake onto the rack. Slip a large piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil under the rack to catch all the drips from the syrup. Gradually brush the hot syrup over the cake, letting it soak in (a little syrup will drip off, but try not to rush so that most of it is absorbed). Allow the cake to cool completely, about one hour. When the cake is cool, carefully transfer it to a serving platter.
- To make the glaze: stir the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl, mixing until completely smooth. Add more confectioners' sugar if necessary to make a thick, opaque glaze (it should be thicker than you'd think -- you want it the consistency of honey or molasses). Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let the glaze harden before slicing and serving the cake, about 15 minutes. The cake will keep nicely for 3 days if kept covered on the countertop.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
- Note: You'll need 3 large lemons for this recipe
- Note: As the recipe indicates, I grease the Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and then dust it with sugar. It has always worked beautifully for me, but a number of readers have mentioned problems with the cake sticking. If you’d prefer to use a different method, treat the pan by generously coating it with butter and then dusting it with flour, or use a nonstick baking spray with flour like Pam with Flour or Baker’s Joy. (Also, it's best not to use a Bundt pan with an intricate design for this cake, as they are more prone to sticking.) Another option (that is foolproof) is to use two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans instead of a Bundt pan. Loaf pans are much less prone to sticking, and you can line them with parchment paper for extra insurance. To prepare the loaf pans, spray them with nonstick baking spray, line the bottoms with parchment, and then spray them again. The bake time will be 50 to 60 minutes, and you will only need half of the soaking syrup.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen (without the glaze) for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Add the glaze after the cake is thawed.)
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Calories: 369
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 59 g
- Sugar: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 158 mg
- Cholesterol: 66 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Delicious. I would only recommend to others to maybe thickly butter your bundt pan instead of cooking spray. The whole top half of my bundt cake didn’t come out of the mold…
Made this for Easter and it was fantastic! Followed the recipe exactly as written and it was fabulous. The cake popped straight out of the pan-I’ve never used the sugar dusting technique before so I was a little hesitant, but it was perfect! Such a delicious, lemon flavored ending to our meal!
OMG! This cake is die for. My husband loved it and we shared with all our tenants and they couldn’t stop raving about it. Didn’t change anything followed the recipe and it turned out great. Printing the recipe as I write. Will be making it again and share with my friend and family. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
This is a spectacular recipe! Even more delicious than it looks, if that’s even possible. Just follow the recipe, follow the yellow brick road to Lemon Oz
LOL — glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Jenn,
Do you think this cake would ship well? I would cut and wrap each piece individually.
Thanks,
Barb
Sure, Barb, this should keep nicely for several days. Hope your recipient enjoys! 🙂
Good morning Jenn, I only have full fat buttermilk… will this affect the outcome of my cake. Thanks in advance.
That should work perfectly fine — enjoy!
Hi Jenn .
I have Pam baking spray with flour. Should I still sprinkle sugar on it or do without it? Or just greasing the pan with oil/butter and coating the sugar on it is a better option?
Tahera
Hi Tahera, I prefer to use butter and sugar with this cake (for me, it sticks with the baking spray).
Why don’t you make this change to your recipe, especially if you read reviews of the cake sticking in pan? Disappointing to read this in your reply to a review. My cake stuck and I was reading reviews to see if others had this problem.
Hi Paula, definitely a valid question – – I have found that with this cake as well as my lemon pound cake (which is basically the same recipe with the exception of poppy seeds), some people have great luck with the sugar coating and some people have better luck with the cooking spray with flour. Another option is to use two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans instead of a Bundt pan. Loaf pans are much less prone to sticking, and you can line them with parchment paper for extra insurance. To prepare the loaf pans, spray them with nonstick baking spray, line the bottoms with parchment, and then spray them again. The bake time will be 50 to 60 minutes, and you will only need half of the soaking syrup.
The method works beautifully and adds a caramelized crust to the cake. I have made this cake countless times and have never once had a problem with it sticking when following the directions.
If you don’t want to butter the pan, get a coconut oil spray and spray every surface of the inside of the Bundt with spray: bottom, sides, center post. Then sugar it generously. Don’t just sprinkle it. The sugar should be visible and shake off excess.
So after collecting your recipes for the better part of a year I finally made the Lemon Poppyseed Cake. I am SO sorry I waited so long – it was excellent! My family devoured it and it will now be top of the rotation. Thank-you for sharing your creations!! Can’t wait to try a new recipe.
Cheers!
Can I make mini loaves and if so how many minutes would I bake them?
Hi Carolyn, Yes you could definitely make mini loaves. The cook time really depends on the size of the loaf pans; if they are really small, I’d start checking around 30 minutes.
Dear jenn
Is it possible to make these into muffins?
If yes, how long would it take to bake them?
Thank you
Dagmar
Sure, Dagmar, you can use this recipe for muffins. I’d start checking them at about 25 minutes. Hope you enjoy!
Hello Dagmar,
Did you put the glaze on these muffins?
I was thinking of making them in paper muffin cups, would the glaze work on top?
Thanks,
Ashley
I made this cake over the weekend. It turned out awesome! My husband and I have practically eaten the whole cake!