A tangy and ultra soft cake: the Lemon poppy seed cake ! A lemon-flavoured cake with a crunchy touch thanks to poppy seeds. Served plain or with its lemon glaze, a real pleasure to enjoy for breakfast or as a snack.
What you will like with this recipe
flavors : this cake is tangy and fresh, a real pleasure to taste. Poppy seeds add a nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with lemon.
Texture : this lemon poppy seed cake is very moist, the poppy seeds add a pleasant light crunch to the taste. The icing added on top is creamy, it hardens as it cools.
Difficulty level : very easy to prepare! It can be done easily with a pastry robot or with a hand mixer.
Choose your ingredients wisely
- lemons : I recommend using freshly squeezed lemons for the lemon juice (especially not the bottled one). To harvest the zest, I recommend organic lemons instead.
- cream : this is what will add softness to this lemon poppy seed cake. I use 30% fat liquid cream (do not use light cream).
- butter : here we need soft softened butter. To soften it, leave it for about 1 hour at room temperature.
NB: the detailed quantities are given to you in the recipe at the bottom of the page.
How to make this lemon poppy seed cake?
- Sift the dry ingredients to ensure a uniform mixture.
- We cream the butter and the sugar: we want to have a very creamy mixture.
- Add the eggs and then the lemon (zest and juice).
- Then add the dry ingredients and the liquid cream.
- Finally we finish with the poppy seeds.
For the icing, simply mix the 3 ingredients together until you have the ideal consistency to spread on the lemon poppy seed cake.
My tips for a successful lemon cake
- place all your ingredients at room temperature 1 hour before to start your recipe: this allows you to have a very soft result.
- do not cook more than necessary lemon poppy seed cake: otherwise it will become dry, that would be a shame. The wooden pick test is always a good tip to check the cooking.
- wait for the cake to cool completely before frosting it : it will freeze quickly on the sides of the cake.
How to store your lemon poppy seed cake?
This lemon poppy seed cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature (this is best to keep it moist) or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
It can also be frozen (before icing): to do this, wrap it already sliced in film and then place it in an airtight container. You just need to reheat the slices as needed!
Other recipes to try
If you like lemon desserts, then take a look at these other recipes from the blog:
- Lemon Mousse
- Homemade lemonade
- No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake
- Lemon poppyseed madeleines
- Lemon meringue log
- Lemon raspberry whipped cream cake
If you make this lemon poppy seed cake, don't hesitate to rate the recipe and tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see your pretty cakes!
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 0,5 cc salt
- 0,25 cc baking soda
- 0,25 cc baking powder
- 130 g softened butter at room temperature
- 195 g granulated sugar
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 2 cs shaved lemon zest or about 2 lemons
- 2 cs squeezed lemon juice
- 150 g heavy whipping cream 30% at room temperature
- 1,75 cs poppy seeds
- 120 g icing sugar
- 1 cs squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cs heavy whipping cream 30%
- Preheat the oven to 175° traditional heat. Grease a 27x10cm cake tin. Line it with a sheet of baking paper to facilitate unmolding.
- Sift the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Put aside.
- In a food processor or hand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar until the mixture thickens and is very creamy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each and scraping the edges.
- Add the lemon zest and lemon juice then mix to homogenize.
- Add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid cream. Finish with the dry ingredients (mix just enough, without overdoing it).
- Add the poppy seeds last with a spatula without mixing too much.
- Pour the batter into the mold and bake for 1 hour. Test for doneness with a wooden pick that should come out clean or with a few crumbs. If necessary, add aluminum foil to prevent the top from browning too much.
- Leave to cool in the mold for 10 minutes, then unmold on a wire rack. Then let cool completely.
- Whisk the icing sugar and lemon juice. Add the cream little by little until you have the right consistency (neither too thick nor too runny).
- Spoon this frosting over the cooled cake. It will harden as it cools.
This cake is so beautiful!
Thank you Lady :)
Delicious this poppy lemon cake, I loved it!! And super easy to make, congratulations Aurélie
Thank you very much Mary! Goodbye :)
Hello
Excellent cake, thank you for this recipe :) next time I will add more candied lemon cubes
Thank you Mary! Very good idea the candied lemon cubes, see you soon :)
Hello, I want to try it but a little question that might be silly...
Why is there so little yeast? Will the cake rise well? Thank you.
Hi Sam, it's the baking soda that works the most here. You need to use much less than the yeast for it to work as well, I advise you to respect the dosages in the recipe. See you soon :)
Hello,
I just tried it after three other recipes blah blah .. a killer !!
Merci!
Thanks Sophie! Glad you like it, see you soon :)
Small variation, I prepared a lemon basil cake...to die for! Thank you for this very beautiful gourmet site, I love it
Thank you Sophie!
Hello,
Could I replace the cream with milk? to make it lighter? Thanks for the recipe
Hello Ruili, I advise you to keep the cream because it is partly thanks to it that the cake is soft. However, if you absolutely want milk, take whole milk. See you soon :)
Just tested and adopted!!! Well, didn't have time to make the icing, they liked it anyway
On the other hand, I reduced the sugar, I put 150g and I think that next time I will even put 130g.. 2nd recipe that I try on your site (I made the super raspberry charlotte) and I must say that it is to die for!!! Many thanks ❤️
Thank you Isis for your feedback! Glad that this cake enjoyed your loved ones, See you soon :)
Hello,
I don't have a cake mold of this size, would it be possible to bake it in a 20x10cm sme mold? It will have the shape of a cake but not awkward for me (the amount of icing will surely have to be adapted?)
If so, what would be the ideal cooking time?
Thank you in advance,
Alexa
Hello Alexa, there would be a mathematical calculation of volume to do... My cake is a rectangle and not a round, I still advise you to stay on a cake format, for cooking it is better (because it is calculated for), including the raising agents. See you soon :)
Best lemon cake of my life!
I chopped the zest with a knife, it adds a little texture, it's wonderful.
Thanks for the recipe !
Thanks Quentin for your feedback! See you soon :)
A treat, as always with your recipes! I made it without the poppy seed (to respect the tastes of some guests) so I can't judge the initial taste of the recipe but we loved it! A very soft and well-flavored cake, it didn't last long!
Thank you Astrid for your feedback! See you soon :)
It's the 2nd time I make this cake, it's a treat!
I actually mix lemon and lime (zest and juice) :)
Gonna try other recipes on your blog, it's very inspiring, thank you.
Thank you Mathilde for your comment!
Hello, would it be possible to know what weight corresponds to 0,25cc for yeast and bicarbonate.
Do we also have to add bicarbonate?
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Patrice
Hello Patrice, 0,25 cc = that's 1/4 teaspoon. You absolutely need bicarbonate because it's the most important raising agent in my recipe. Don't do without it. See you soon :)
A delight! Just perfect! Thank you for sharing your recipe
Thank you very much Hoang-Mai! See you soon :)
Can you replace baking soda with yeast?
Hello Josiane, no, I don't recommend it, here the baking soda reacts with the lemon juice to make the cake rise properly. See you soon :)
Excellent recipe. The whole family enjoyed this sweet tangy mixture with the light crunch of poppy seeds. It keeps very well and above all remains very very soft. Thank you
My pleasure ! Thank you Corinne, see you soon :)
Hello,
Really want to try your recipe.
I don't have any baking soda, what can I replace it with? :)
Thank you
Hello Alexia, I really recommend baking soda in this recipe (don't replace it with yeast because they don't have the same leavening power at all). You can find it in all supermarkets in the salt section. See you soon :)
Thank you for this recipe, the cake was perfect: soft and tangy as it should :)
Thank you Edwige for your feedback! I'm glad you like this cake :) See you soon
Hello,
Thank you very much for the recipe (and all the others, I'm really a fan)! I made it recently and I found it very good, but a little dense. I must admit that I didn't have any more bicarbonate on hand.. Is that enough to explain why it was dense? Because in that case, I'll put it back in after buying more bicarbonate!
Hello Laurie, the bicarbonate here is even a key ingredient: it was absolutely not necessary to remove it! It reacts chemically with the acidity of the lemon to create the soft texture and also allows the cake to rise. As a general rule, you should not remove anything in a pastry recipe because each element plays a role in the final result, it is chemistry. I am sure that your cake would have been perfect with bicarbonate :) See you soon for other recipes!
Hello,
Are we talking about 175°C or 175°F?
Hello Karine, it's always Celsius for all my recipes, it's the French system. See you soon :)
Sorry for this perhaps stupid question but what does 025 cc mean???
But so tempted by this recipe, I love lemon!!!
Thank you for your reply!
Hello Genevieve, 0,25cc = 1/4 teaspoon. I hope you like the cake! See you soon :)
Hello,
I'm about to make the recipe!
Before I continue, I have a question about measuring the yeast... 0.25Cc is equivalent to what exactly? Thanks in advance!
Hello Lola, this is equivalent to 1/4 teaspoon. See you soon :)
Cake made today, it is super good, recipe to keep carefully :)
Thank you for sharing these recipes, I have tried a few and have never been disappointed!
Thank you very much Sarah! Glad you like this lemon cake and thank you for your loyalty to the blog :) See you soon
Hello Lilie,
Can we replace the crème fraîche with vegetable cream? Thanks in advance!
Hello Valentine, to answer you, here it is liquid cream 30% mg in a carton (not fresh cream in a pot). It brings fat to accentuate the softness of the cake. If you take vegetable cream I can not assure you of the result ... See you soon :)
Tested on Sunday, and oh la la this texture it is soft, fluffy, melting, light, I have no words. Made without icing for my part, because it's not really my thing, and I find it perfect as is.
Thank you for this recipe which goes directly into the list of my favorite recipes
Thank you very much Aurélie! Delighted that this cake is now in your favorite recipes :) See you soon
This cake is incredibly good and moist, undoubtedly number one in my favorite cakes.
Thank you very much Caroline! Super happy that he is your number 1 :) See you soon!
I've added the juice of a whole lemon and 2 generous tbsp of poppy seeds, just delicious!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe :)
Thank you Leah! So glad you like this loaf cake :)
Hello excellent I took gluten-free flour and it's perfect very good recipe
Thank you Elodie for your feedback! See you soon :)
The cream changes everything for the softness compared to other recipes. 150g of sugar for me. It's a treat I will make the recipe again. The icing is very good and very white with the cream. Top top top. Nickel cooking for my oven (temperature and duration) I put in multi-level position so it was not overcooked on top. Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you very much Sabine! See you soon :)
Excellent cake! Recipe adopted ... even if I broke it because it was unmolded too early. The whole family loved it. Just a question for the Icing: should we heat the mixture? Because mine was good but not as white as in your photo. Thank you
Hello Sisi, thanks for your feedback! No, no need to heat, you do as indicated in the recipe. It is the cream and the icing sugar that bring this white side, so if it is not white enough for you, add a little icing sugar (not too much otherwise it will lack fluidity). See you soon :)
This cake is delicious and easy to make. It is very balanced in terms of textures and flavors. All my friends wanted the recipe!
Thank you very much Isabelle! It's a very good sign when we are asked for the recipe! See you soon :)
Like others, I added 150g of sugar and no icing... it's really good!!!! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!
Thanks Laurie! Glad you like it! See you soon :)
Hello,
I followed the recipe to the letter, however my cake collapsed after cooking. It was still edible, but could you tell me why it collapsed?
My yeast was not expired, my ingredients were at room temperature, my butter was well softened, my oven was hot enough...
Thank you for your comeback !
Hello Camille, it's hard to know, not being in your kitchen at that moment :) A cake can fall if you mixed the dough too much, if you measured out the raising agent or other ingredients incorrectly, if you opened the oven door before the end, etc.
A real treat, thank you. My whole family loved this cake.
Thank you Linda! See you soon :)
Excellent! Super soft, super balanced… a delight, I’ll make it again soon
Thank you Cristina! See you soon :)
I've tested the recipe twice, and it was a real success each time. I simply replaced the poppy seeds with chia seeds.
Thank you Lilie for all these recipes.
Mousse
Thank you! See you soon :)
This cake is just extraordinary, my favorite by far.
This is my favorite cake, it is adored by the whole family, especially my 10-year-old son who often asks me for it.
We like it very lemony, I usually add an extra zest.
Thank you very much Julie! I'm glad you like this lemon cake so much! See you soon :)
Hello Lili, I am sending you this message to thank you for all your wonderful cake recipes. Every weekend my wife and I make one and she loves it.
Thank you! See you soon :)
Hello,
I am a fan of your recipe which I often make with my son who will soon be 4 years old.
Just for his birthday I would like to make this cake with a chocolate "insert" with a shape cut out of a previously baked chocolate cake (I don't know if you know what I mean). The idea is to make this lemon cake with the chocolate insert inside.
My question is: is it possible to adapt your lemon recipe base by removing the lemon and replacing it with chocolate?
Hello Camille, no, these are completely different recipes, especially for the raising agents, you will need to find a separate recipe. See you soon :)
Moist and delicious. I made the frosting without the cream, but I need to try it with it.
Thanks Rebecca! See you soon :)
This is the first time I've ever left a comment!! That says it all about how excellent the result is! Slightly crispy on the outside, airy on the inside, tangy and just the right amount of sweet, and so moist!!! Absolutely perfect! Thank you so much for this recipe, I'm keeping it safe! I can't wait to try another one! A true talent, well done!
Thank you very much Marine! See you soon :)