Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
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Moist, tender, and unapologetically lemony, this cake pairs plenty of citrus with a generous scattering of poppy seeds.
A variation of my popular lemon 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 melt-in-your-mouth texture is just what you’d hope for in a homemade loaf.
This lemon poppy seed cake recipe yields two loaves that stay fresh for days. My grandmother would have called it “company cake” since it’s the perfect treat to have on hand when friends and family come over. And if you love the lemon and poppy seed combo, don’t miss my lemon poppy seed muffins!
(Note: This recipe was originally a Bundt cake, but due to readers having issues with sticking, I updated it in January 2025 to loaf pans, which can be lined with parchment for easy removal.)
“The cake was moist and lightly lemony and the proportion of poppy seeds spot on…It’s a GEM.”
What you’ll need to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives the cake its structure while still allowing for a tender crumb. For accuracy, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
- Baking Soda: Works with the acidity in the buttermilk and lemon juice to help the cake rise.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the lemon.
- Poppy Seeds: Give the cake its signature look along with a subtle nutty taste and a little crunch.
- Low-Fat Buttermilk: Keeps the cake moist and tender while adding a slight tang that works especially well with the lemon. If you’d prefer not to buy it, check out some easy guidance on how to make buttermilk using milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- Lemon Zest & Fresh Lemon Juice: Zest gives the cake its strongest lemony punch, while the juice is used in the cake, syrup, and glaze. It adds brightness to the batter, gives the syrup a tart edge, and turns the confectioners’ sugar into a tangy glaze.
- Unsalted Butter: Makes the cake rich and tender; softening it first allows it to cream properly with the sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake and is also used to coat the pan and make the lemon syrup that soaks into the baked cake.
- Eggs: Give the cake structure and richness and help hold the batter together.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Whisked with lemon juice to make the simple glaze that goes over the cooled cake.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the dry ingredients together until evenly combined. Take a moment to make sure the poppy seeds are well distributed so they’re scattered evenly throughout the finished cakes.
Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients. Combine the buttermilk and lemon zest/juice. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks slightly curdled after the lemon juice goes in—that’s completely normal.
Step 3: Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Give this step a few minutes—the mixture should look noticeably lighter in both color and texture before you move on.
Step 4: Add the eggs and begin the batter. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then start incorporating the dry ingredients on low speed. Scrape down the bowl as needed so everything mixes evenly.
Step 5: Add some of the buttermilk mixture. Mix in the first portion of the buttermilk mixture. The batter may look a little uneven at this point, but it will come together as you continue adding the wet and dry ingredients.
Step 6: Finish the batter. Continue alternating the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry. Once the flour starts going in, keep the mixer on low and mix only until everything comes together; overmixing at this stage can make the cakes less tender.
Step 7: Fill the pans. Divide the thick batter between the prepared loaf pans and smooth the tops. Just eyeballing the amounts is fine, but if you happen to have a kitchen scale, you can use it to get the two loaves reasonably close.
Step 8: Bake and cool. Bake until the cakes are golden, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them rest briefly in the pans before lifting them out to finish cooling on a rack. The short rest gives the cakes a chance to firm up.
Step 9: Make the lemon syrup. While the cakes finish cooling, make the simple syrup and stir in the lemon juice off the heat. You want the syrup to stay warm so it absorbs readily into the cakes.
Step 10: Make the glaze. Whisk together the glaze until smooth, adjusting the consistency if needed. It should be thick but pourable—closer to honey than a thin icing—so it stays on top of the cakes while still dripping down the sides.
Step 11: Soak and glaze the cakes. Slowly brush the warm syrup over the cooled cakes, giving it time to soak in as you go, then spoon the glaze over the top. Let the glaze set before slicing. The cakes keep well for a few days and can also be frozen without the glaze for up to 3 months.
More Bright, Buttery Cakes you may like
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup poppy seeds
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk (see note)
- Finely grated zest of 3 lemons, about 3 (gently packed) tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (see note)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar, plus more for the pan
- 3 large eggs
For the Syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
For the Glaze
- About 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray two 8½ x 4½-in (22 x 11-cm) loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the long sides of the pans with parchment paper “slings” and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray again.
- 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 to 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 pans and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 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.
- Set the cakes on a cooling rack, and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife along the unlined sides of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan. Using the parchment slings, lift the cakes out of the pans and place onto the rack, leaving the parchment paper in place under the cakes. Let cool for about 1 hour.
- When the cakes are almost cool, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- When the cakes are cool, carefully transfer them to serving platters.
- Gradually brush the warm syrup all over the cakes, including the sides, letting it soak in as you go.
- To make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice. Add more confectioners' sugar or lemon juice as necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze (it should be a little thicker than you'd think, about the consistency of molasses or honey). Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let the cakes sit for about one hour to allow the glaze to set before serving.
Notes
- If you’d prefer not to buy it, check out some easy guidance on how to make buttermilk using milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- You'll need 3 large lemons for this recipe.
- Freezing 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.)
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is lemon poppy seed perfection. I used metric measurements and the crumb is pillowy, soft, moist cake nirvana. Now I’ll look up other recipes on this site. Thank you!
Hello there, my name is Mars
I love your recipes. i have made so many times your apple pies. wonderful can’t make enough.
For your lemon poppy seed cake, instead of using buttermilk, can i use regular milk 2% and instead of butter can i use vegetable oil.
Mars
Hi Mars, Regular milk won’t work here but you can make your own buttermilk if you have milk and either lemon juice or white vinegar. See how here. And vegetable oil won’t work here. If you have coconut oil, you can use that in place of the butter. Hope that helps!
The cake flavor was delicious. The sugary oiled pan did not work out for me.. it basically turned the sugar into a crust that glued itself to the pan. Pretty disappointed after I spent so long on this cake. Great recipe, but next time I will just oil, no sugar.
Made this cake today and it was delicious! The simple syrup adds a nice touch. Followed the recipe exactly and everything worked out perfectly
SOOOOO DELICIOUS! absolutely loved it! I did add a bit of almond extract. Otherwise, followed the recipe to a “T.” Thank you for sharing this recipe…it’s divine.
Hi Jenn,
If I wanted to half this recipe for just one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, should I use 1 egg or 2 eggs. Thanks!
Hi Alexandra, I’d actually use 1.5 eggs (beat one egg in a measuring cup and throw half away). Hope you enjoy the cake!
I made this cake a second time, using fine dry bread crumbs to dust the pan rather than sugar. Released easily! Yum!
I always hesitate to bake as I am not a great baker. This recipe was easy and absolutely delicious! Another winner! Thank you Jenn!
Cake is very flavorful and easy to make. However, coating with sugar most definitely did not work for me on release. Left majority of sides of cake stuck to the pan. Perhaps 10 minutes is insufficient wait time? Next time I will go back to Pam, Bakers Joy spray, or use fine dry bread crumbs
Good Afternoon Jenn. Is it possible to make this cake in a standard 9 inch round pan instead of a bundt pan? If so, should I halve the recipe, as a bundt cake usually holds a larger volume? Please advise, thank you!
Yes, Bethany, you could get away with making this in a 9-inch round pan if you halve the recipe. Bake time will be different so keep a close eye on it. Hope you enjoy!
I just took this cake out of the oven. I had read the reviews that some had a problem getting it out of the pan. I sprayed the pan with Pam baking spray, I also put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom & sprayed that, then added the sugar. Came out immediately & with no issues.
Only 1/2 teaspoon baking soda?? no baking powder??
Yep, that’s correct. Because the cake is made with buttermilk (which helps with the leavening), the baking powder isn’t needed here. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Can I substitute Saco Buttermilk Blend for commercially prepared buttermilk?
Hi Cindie, I’ve never used that product, but I just took a peek at it and I think it will work. Please LMK how it turns out!
After reading very good reviews I bought the powdered buttermilk. Planning on making this cake within the next few days. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Wish me luck!
Good luck – hope you enjoy!
Not gonna lie, this is the best baked item I’ve ever made. I actually ran out of buttermilk so I used 1 cup of Sour Cream and 3T 2% Milk. I was hesitant to make the substitute but it turned out so good I’m afraid to make this again with buttermilk. Coating the pan with sugar didn’t work for me either but I was a bit impatient after baking an hour, maybe I’ll use spray and flour next time. Thanks for the recipe, delicious!!!