Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
A variation of my lemon buttermilk 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.
For those who have issues with cakes sticking to Bundt pans, you’ll notice that I used a new technique here: dusting the pan with sugar instead of flour. It works beautifully and leaves no floury residue on the outside of the cake; just be sure to pop the cake out of the pan after ten minutes, as cooling too long in the pan will cause the cake to stick.
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.
Let the glaze harden before slicing. The cake will keep nicely for 3 days if kept covered on the countertop.
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Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 gently packed tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2-1/4 cups granulated sugar, plus more for the pan
- 3 large eggs
For the Syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 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.
- 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: You'll need 3 large lemons for this recipe
- 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.)
Reviews & Comments
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I made this for a group on New Year’s Eve. Everyone loved the lemon flavor and the crunchy poppy seeds. They said the cake was moist, tender, flavorful and deeply delicious. I served it with a homemade blueberry sauce which people seemed to enjoy as an accompaniment. Just lovely and another keeper of a recipe. Thanks, Jenn!
This looks like exactly what I was hoping for. I’d like to make personal-size mini Bundt cakes with it. Any recommendations on how much to reduce baking time? Thank you!
Hi Lulu, I’d start checking them at 25 to 30 minutes, but keep a close eye on them. Please LMK how they turn out!
Thank you for the advice! You were right on. I made six minis and two small cakes with this recipe, baking the minis for 28-30 min. and the larger ones for about 40. Four of the minis came out well, and the two larger cakes both stuck, though I was able to cobble one back together. I’d experimented with flour/sugar coating and found that spray and flour *right before filling* worked best for me, using the gold Nordic Ware six-mini “Anniversary” pan. Thanks for the great recipe. I’m not a fan of lemon-poppyseed cake myself, but I couldn’t stop eating the broken cake—oops! 🙂 Definitely will make these again.
Just finished making this lemon poppy seed cake. I don’t own a bundt pan so I used 2 8.5″ x 4.5″ bread pans. Baking time was 65 minutes. My bread pans are supposed to be non-stick and they usually are…with bread…but not today 😒. Next time I’ll try the cooking spray and sugar release technique. However, the flavor and texture of this cake is XLNT!!! Bright and not too sweet. The hits just keep on a coming…Many Thanks Chef 👍😉👍
I love anything lemon, especially desserts. This cake is moist, delicious and oh so lemony! Just perfect.
The cake turned out great and even came out of the pan 99.9% with the sugar tip. My only problem was the glaze. It has to be super thick. I may have added a little too much lemon juice, so it was thin. I sifted powdered sugar over the top. It looks festive and smells divine!
My first time using sugar to coat the pan… cake stuck badly.. what did I do wrong?
Hi Robbie, Did you let the cake cool longer for 10 minutes in the pan?
No I actually timed for removal- 10 mins
Hmmm, not sure why it would stick. I tested this cake with both a flour and sugar coating, and it released best with sugar. I suggest reading this article from King Arthur on how to prevent Bundt pans from sticking. Hope it helps and so sorry you had trouble!
Thanks so much for this article, I think we oiled and sugared too early as our cake making got interrupted…this article has lots of great info..
Can I make this without the glaze? Will I need to add more sugar?
Hi Rana, The glaze in this recipe adds a lot of the lemon flavor to the cake; without it, it may not taste lemony enough. But if you make it that way, there’s no need to add more sugar. Hope that helps!
Absolutely sensational, am throwing my other lemon poppy seed recipes away. Added 1/2 tsp of baking powder and baked in 2 9 x 5 in loaf pans for 50 minutes, Did not coat pans with sugar. Used almost all the syrup and all the glaze. Now I have one for me and one to give away. Love the tartness, so delicious.
Can I make this without the glaze?
Sure, Rana, but keep in mind that a lot of the lemon flavor comes from the tart glaze.
Can you substitute almond flour? Thanks
Hi Robbie, Unfortunately, I don’t think almond flour would work here. If gluten is the issue, I suggest using a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend. (I like King Arthur.)
My son loves poppyseeds so I made him this cake. He loved the crisp crust with the fluffy inside texture. Loving your family with delicious recipes is always a win win!
Love this recipe. I accidentally added 1/2 a cup instead of 1/4 of the poppyseeds but still turned out great (if a little crunchy lol). Five stars for me! (The system wouldn’t let me add the stars lol)
Hi Jen,
Love your recipes. I have made your lemon pound cake recipe many times. Can this recipe be made into muffins instead, or is it too dense?
Hi Lorrie, You can definitely use this recipe to make muffins. I don’t think they’ll be too dense but they will be cakey, meaning they’ll have a tight crumb.
Can the cake be made, frozen, and then glazed after it’s thawed?
Yep! (And you’ll find full instructions for doing that at the bottom of the recipe.) Enjoy!
I just made this cake as soon as I saw it. This is my daughter’s favorite. It so so lemony and moist. Absolutely delicious
Thank you again for a great recipe
I also made the old fashion ginger snap cookies. Just like I remember. Sooo good.
Hi Jenn, Would white poppy seeds make a difference? thanks
Hi Joyce, To be honest, I’ve never tried white poppy seeds but, from what I know, I think they’d be fine to use.
Hi Jen,
I was once gifted a mini loaf version of something similar to this and loved it. Do you think this recipe could be used as such? I assume a shorter cook time if so? (Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes with us!)
Sure, Lori. I think this would work nicely as mini loaves and, yes, you’d definitely reduce the cooking time.
I’ve been searching for a recipe that reminded me of my grandmothers beloved lemon poppy seed cake. Now my search is over! The delicious lemon flavor and mild poppyseed flavors are perfect together. Thanks for the idea of using sugar to dust a bundt pan.
Will it work as well to use bread flour or cake flour instead of all-purpose flour in this recipe?
Hi Judy, I don’t recommend bread or cake flour here — sorry!
My usual question: Can this beauty be made with GF flour? Thanks.
Hi Karen, I do think it’d work. 🙂
This is a fabulous recipe. The taste is the best with the poppy seeds adding a nice flavor. The hint about dusting the pan with sugar is so helpful, too. Will that work for other cakes as well?
Thanks for such great recipes!
Yes, Jeanne – it should work with all Bundt cake recipes. Glad you enjoyed it!
Should the eggs be cold, or at room temperature? Thanks
Hi Matt, Technically eggs should always be room temperature when baking, but I’ve used them straight out of the fridge for this cake without any issues. 🙂
Using sugar instead of flour to coat the pan ingenious.
Silly question – can I omit the poppy seeds and just have glazed lemon cake? I love poppy seeds, they are however restricted for my husband’s diet. Love all of your recipes by the way!
Sure, Kim – that’ll work fine. 🙂
Kim, Jenn has a recipe for Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake which is pretty much this recipe without the poppy seeds and it’s fantastic! 🙂
I love your cakes but need to make everything gluten free. How do you think this would work with a 1-1 GF flour?
Thanks!
I think it’d work well, Samantha. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
Hi Jenn,
Is this amount of batter too much for a rectangular bread pan?
Thank you!
Hi Patricia, I think it’s definitely too much — you’d need two.