Very Lemony Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Today I am happy and satisfied. Why? Because after two months—yes, two months—of waiting our oven is finally fixed! Finally! I almost cried.

The second the work day was over, I was in my kitchen. I had dreamed of this day. What would be the first thing I’d bake? I had been dreaming of gooey chocolate chip cookies for a while, but managed to stem my cravings with Tate’s Bake Shop Cookies (they are very crispy, but taste homemade). Maybe the focaccia bread I froze months ago? Maybe a quick pan of brownies?

And then I thought of a practical, tasty bake. Something that could serve as dessert, breakfast and a snack: a lemon poppy seed loaf cake.

I love poppy seeds. I love lemon. I love eating cake for breakfast. Now let’s get baking.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

To make this cake you’ll need:

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest from 2 large lemons
Juice from those 2 lemons
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ salt baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¾ cups flour
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (sour cream would also work—but I was out)
¼ cup milk (or half and half or cream)

As you can see from the recipe, you can play this one a bit fast and loose. If you don’t have yogurt, sour cream is totally fine (I actually prefer it). If you don’t have milk, use another dairy product—it’s NBD. No vanilla extract? Almond would also taste good. Almond and poppy seed is another favorite combo of mine.

Step 1: Cream Ingredients

This bread is simple to put together. I just used my hand mixer. I was too eager to start baking to drag out the stand mixer.

Start by creaming together the butter, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Then add in the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. This will help incorporate some air into the batter for a light, fluffy cake.

As for vanilla extract, I’m fairly particular—even in recipes that have other dominant flavors. My preferred vanilla is Nielsen-Massey Mexican vanilla extract, but their Madagascar-Bourbon vanilla paste is also good.

Step 2: Bring in the Lemons

My big complaint with a lot of lemon breads and cakes is that they are not lemony enough. That’s why I really amped up the lemon in this cake.

Add in the zest of two large lemons and then the juice of those lemons. And when I say large, I mean it. Also, I had some orange zest in the freezer, so I added about a teaspoon of that for kicks.

Step 3: Alternate Wet and Dry Ingredients

Next, quickly mix together your flour, poppy seeds, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl. Add it alternatively to the batter with the milk and yogurt.

Like I said before, if you don’t have Greek yogurt, sour cream works just as well. Yogurt lends moisture and acid to the batter, too, so it’s a good substitute. As for the milk, use milk, cream, half and half—it all works.

Stir together until just combined

Step 4: Bake

Pour the mixture into a greased 8″x4″ loaf pan and bake at 350ºF for 60 minutes (start checking on it around the 50-minute mark).

When it’s done, pull it out of the oven, let it cool on a wire rack and remove from the pan when it’s near room temp.

If you wanted, you could top this cake with a simple glaze of confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla extract, but I truly don’t think it needs it. We’re still in quarantine—no need for frills.