Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Welcome to KimBakesMeHappy! I cannot deny, I just love some sourness in my sweets. The freshness & kick the lemon gives to this cake is unbelievable, and makes this the perfect dessert for all the lemon lovers out there.
I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I do. It’s so satisfying seeing it all come together as you are swirling the lemon curd into the cream cheese frosting, on top of a moist, soft and fluffy cake. Happy baking!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Course: Sweets12-15
pieces30
minutes35
minutes1
hour2
hours5
minutesThis three dimensional cake is soft, bright and packed with so much flavor. The lemon gives it that fresh twist that takes this sweet to another level. On top of that, this is so fun to make since it is like three little baking projects into one: a fluffy cake, soft cream cheese frosting, and a bright lemon curd. It’s like building a dessert masterpiece step by step. Each layer comes together beautifully in the end.
Ingredients
- Cake
350 g all-purpose flour
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
320 g granulated sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest (from 1-2 lemons)
220 g unsalted butter
120 g Greek yoghurt
4 large eggs (room temp.)
70 ml fresh lemon juice (from 2–3 lemons)
2 tsp vanilla extract
120 ml full milk
- Lemon curd
2 egg yolks
70 g granulated sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
40 ml fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
40 g unsalted butter (room temp.)
Pinch of salt
- Cream cheese frosting
200 g cream cheese (room temp.)
100 g unsalted butter (room temp.)
400 g powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cake
- Melt the butter and let it cool for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, poppy seeds, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
- In a big bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest and rub it together with your fingers, to release the flavor of the lemon.
- In the same bowl, whisk in the melted and cooled butter. Then add the Greek yoghurt, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Add half of the dry mixture and whisk, then add the milk, whisk again, and finally add the other half of the dry mixture. Mix until everything is smooth and combined.
- Pour the batter into a parchment lined 22×32 cm baking tray and bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Lemon curd
- Prepare the lemon curd while the cake is baking. In a bain-marie, boil some water in the bottom pan and add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice in the upper pan. Whisk until completely combined and keep occasionally stirring as the curd is boiling for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Slice the butter into pieces and add this to the mixture, as well as a pinch of salt. Whisk until the butter is incorporated.
- Pour the curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap on top so it directly touches the top of the curd, to prevent a skin from forming on top. Once the curd is cooled, the plastic wrap can be removed.
- Cream cheese frosting
- After getting the cake out of the oven, make the cream cheese frosting. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese with the butter with a mixer on high speed until creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Finally, add the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
- Assembling the cake
- Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly on top of the completely cooled cake.
- Scoop spoons of lemon curd all over the top (you most likely do not need all of the curd) and swirl into the frosting.
- Optionally sprinkle some poppy seeds on top, cut into pieces and enjoy!
Notes
- You can prepare the lemon curd up to a couple of days in advance already, just store it in the fridge!
- If you are not up to make the lemon curd yourself you can replace this by store bought lemon curd, but for the best flavor I recommend using the homemade version.
- If you do not have poppy seeds, feel free to make this recipe without. You will just end up with a delicious lemon cake!
