Table|Spoon Baking Co.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

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My love letter to lemon continues with this recipe. Soft, bright cake with a little crunch from the poppy seeds, tart lemon curd filling, and smooth Italian buttercream come together for a pretty great cake – if I do say so myself.

This is the most time consuming, “advanced” recipe so far on Table|Spoon. So I would recommend this cake as a weekend afternoon project – be sure to set aside an hour or two.

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The first thing you should do is make the lemon curd filling, which you can find HERE. Making this in advance will save you some wait time later, as the curd needs to chill and set up in the fridge before you can use it.

For the cake, start by zesting and juicing your lemons. You’ll need the zest of 4 lemons and 1/2 cup of juice. (More zest will be required for the buttercream later.) Cream together the zest, butter, and sugar. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Cream this all together for 2 – minutes until it is super fluffy. Add your eggs one at a time, and be sure to scrape down your bowl. We don’t want to leave any butter unmixed at the bottom!

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder into a separate bowl. Add the poppy seeds. Pour half of this mixture into the creamed butter/sugar/zest/egg/oil/vanilla bowl. Give it a little mix and then add half of the buttermilk and lemon juice, followed by another little mix. Repeat the process with the remaining half of the dry ingredients and remaining milk/lemon juice. Mix everything together until it is just combined – being careful not to overmix. Split the batter evenly between 3 8-inch cake pans. Be sure to spray the pans really well with non-stick spray. I like to also line the sides and bottom of my pans with parchment paper as well. This helps to ensure that the cake will come out easily. [You’ll notice in the photos that I opted to just use 2 8-inch springform pans. You can absolutely do 2 pans instead of 3, you’ll just need to adjust the baking time a little. I love using springform pans for cakes; I find it so much easier to remove the cakes carefully from these pans.] Bake cakes in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Rotate the pans for even baking, and bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes or until the top of the cake bounces back when you gently press on it.

Allow the cake to cool completely before you frost it. Fill and decorate with the lemon curd and your favorite frosting! I decided to make an Italian Buttercream. It is a little fussy, but SO worth it. I will attach that recipe below as well.

Recipe

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Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Table|Spoon Baking
  • Prep Time: 20 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 Minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 1 8″ Layer Cake 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup Butter – room temp
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Eggs
  • 3/4 cup Buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup Lemon Juice
  • Zest of 4 Lemons
  • 2 Tbsp. Poppy Seeds

For the Italian Buttercream

  • 1 cup Sugar and 1/4 cup Sugar – separately
  • 1/4 cup Water
  • 5 Egg Whites – room temp.
  • 2 cups of Butter – room temp.
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • Zest of 2 Lemons
  • 3 heaping spoonfuls of Lemon Curd

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans and set aside for later.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Cream together the lemon zest, butter, and sugar. Add the oil and vanilla. Cream together for 3 minutes.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  5. Add half of the dry ingredients that you sifted together earlier and the poppy seeds. Mix until combined.
  6. Add the lemon juice and buttermilk. Mix until combined.
  7. Add the last of the dry ingredients, and mix until it just comes together. Be sure to scrape down the bowl well.
  8. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake at 350-degrees for 15 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (Or the top of the cake bounces back when you gently press on it.)
  9. Allow the cakes to cool completely before you frost them.

For the Lemon Italian Buttercream:

  1. Boil 1 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat until it reaches 245-degrees.
  2. Whip egg whites with a mixer on high until soft peaks form. (About 2 minutes) Be sure to use a large bowl.
  3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar into the egg whites and keep whisking.
  4. Once the sugar/water mixture has reached 245-degrees, slowly pour it into the whipped egg whites. Be very careful as it is hot, and try not to let it pour down the side of the bowl. Try to pour it close to the middle while still mixing the egg whites.
  5. Continue to whisk on high for 7 to 10 minutes.
  6. Because you are adding hot water/sugar to the egg whites, the bowl will become warm. We cannot add the butter until the mixture and the bowl have cooled to room temp. So keep the mixer going until the bowl no longer feels hot.
  7. Once the outside of the bowl is room temperature you can add the butter in large chunks.
  8. Keep mixing on high until combined.
  9. Scrape the bowl down, and then mix in the zest of 2 lemons, vanilla extract, and 3 heaping spoonfuls of lemon curd.
  10. Mix until well combined.
  11. Frost your cake and enjoy!

Keywords: Cake, Lemon, Poppy Seed, Dessert, Citrus, Buttercream

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Comments

  1. I tasted this cake at the School of Nursing (PHS Coop office) and I’ve been thinking about the perfect lemon buttercream frosting it ever since.

    ★★★★★