Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
With a bright lemon flavor, this classic Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake is a tasty treat for warm spring and summer days!
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Every spring, I crave bright flavors. As the days get warmer (and longer), I’m all about fruit flavored desserts. This Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake made an appearance recently…and it didn’t last long! The bright, tangy lemon flavor combined with the buttery pound cake is a match made in heaven. Add in the subtle nutty flavor (and the crunch) from the poppy seeds, and you’ve got a winning dessert recipe!
Why Do We Use Poppy Seeds in Baking?
Poppy seeds have a very mild flavor. So why do we use ’em in recipes like this pound cake or in similar recipes like Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins? Poppy seeds add a slight nutty flavor and crunch, and they also add a nice visual appearance.
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
This cake is easy to make, and it’s always a favorite among both family and friends alike. In fact, I’d go so far as to describe this cake as addictive. One bite and you’ll know what I mean! The cake itself is simple, but it’s packed with lemon flavor. And the glaze on top? The glaze is a simple combination of confectioners’ sugar whisked with fresh lemon juice. It hardens into a delicious crunchy icing, and it tastes exactly like lemonade!
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover slices of this pound cake should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. (Tip: Microwave a leftover slice for ~10 seconds for a real treat!) This cake also freezes well. Just let it cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Place the cake in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature before serving. (Tip: Slice the cake and wrap each slice individually. That way you can pull out however many slices you want.)
The texture of this cake is absolutely amazing…and then you add the lemon glaze on top? I could dig straight into this cake while it’s still in the pan!
With that, I leave you with this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. It’s a tried and true recipe that’s been a family favorite for as long as I can remember! Happy baking, my friends, and feel free to share your baking tips and tricks in the comments below.
Did you make this Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
For the Glaze
- 1¼ cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ Tbsp poppyseeds
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour a standard bundt pan (or spray generously with nonstick cooking spray); set pan aside.
- Using a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds; stir until well combined. Set dry ingredients aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes on medium speed).
- Add sour cream, eggs, lemon juice, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and lemon zest; mix on low speed until well combined.
- Add flour mixture; mix on low speed until well combined. (Tip: Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.)
- Transfer batter into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out mostly clean.
- Let cake cool for 30 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. (Tip: Before flipping pound cakes out of the pan, I usually run a small rubber spatula around the outside and inside edges of the cake.)
For the Glaze
- Using a small bowl, whisk together confectioner's sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
- Drizzle glaze on top of cooled cake. While glaze is still wet, sprinkle poppy seeds on top.
Looking for more pound cake recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
I’m obsessed with lemon in the spring and I actually have all the ingredients for this cake right now–except lemons because I just used all of mine in a recipe. Do you think my neighbor would notice/care if I stole some lemons from her tree? Because I NEED a slice of this today! Have a great weekend!
Yes! We definitely share similar tastes, Kelsie…I can’t get enough lemon in the spring. From cocktails to desserts to even grilled lemons (try that one sometime!). I don’t think your neighbor would mind if you borrowed a couple of her lemons…especially if you repaid her with a slice or two of Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake! 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend, my friend!
Hahaha – I’m 200% sure I would blow a whole bunch of things up if I ever switched roles with Laura too!
As an adult it’s not easy making friends – I found that to be the case more so than ever when I moved to Athens away from a very small group of friends back in Atlanta, and only did the food blogging thing! Don’t get me wrong – I love my blogging online friends but I missed in-person communication so much. I joined a photo club and then got a job at UGA to try to make some friends but left UGA recently as I transition to another one… so glad you have your curling buddies and Robbie’s friends parents too – oh, and does that mean you will be sharing more Indian inspired dishes on here?
Btw – LOVE the oven to proof and did not know that about kosher salt so thank you! Also – good golly – this pound cake is epic! I so love lemon these days and lemon + poppy seeds in pound cake form is simply bliss! Hoping y’all have a wonderful weekend, my upstate NYC friend!
A new job, eh? I need to get the scoop, Shashi! I’ve managed to deal with the lack of personal interaction at work (minus online buddies, of course), but I find myself needing to get out of the house later in the day. The curling club is perfect for cold, dark winter nights. In the summer, I’ll even settle for a trip to the grocery store just to see people. Haha! And, yes, I’d say there is a good chance I’ll be sharing some of those Indian-inspired recipes. Stay tuned…we shall see!
Hi David! I’ve been thinking of making a bundt cake for a while now, I just couldn’t decide of what kind. Thank you for your assistance! I’m headed to town to do some errands this afternoon so I will pick up a bag of lemons and some poppy seeds. Can’t wait to make (and eat) this lovely cake! Perfect for Sprng I might add! It is hard to make new friends, especially when you move to a very rural area like we did, but we have a small closeknit group of friends here and I stay in regular phone contact with friends back in MI. Enjoy your weekend!
Haha! I’m glad I could help with the great bundt cake dilemma! 🙂 I hope you were able to find the ingredients and make this cake. (I actually had to go to 3 stores to restock my poppy seeds. They should be pretty common, so I dunno. Maybe there’s just been a run on poppy seeds lately!)
That’s awesome that you stay in contact with your friends back in MI. I’ve never been great with phones and staying in touch with friends. Texting helps a little bit, but it’s not the same. Either way, I hope you had a great weekend, Dorothy!
I loved reading this one – you’re quite entertaining. You’re wife’s work has me intrigued. 🙂 I think cake making for Indian recipes is a delicious and brilliant trade! We have made many good friends as a result of our kids — cool the way that works, isn’t it? Well, if you like both the kids and the parents, that is. 😉 It usually works out. And THIS CAKE – I’m so in. Lemon + poppy seeds is always such a lovely blend. I could use a slice right now. 🙂
Haha! Laura is a materials engineer, so she works on creating new alloys. I like to say she does magical things like turn charcoal into diamonds, though. I mean that’s way more fun, right? 🙂 Thanks so much, Valentina!
Laura’s job does indeed sound complicated (Yet fascinating). I’m afraid that with my experience of blowing a can of condensed milk up (Which, as we should fairly remember, happened 30 years ago), I won’t be able to handle this kind of job either haha. Also interesting that lemon baked things, as well as other citrus fruit flavours, have always been associated with the winter season to me while many people enjoy it in spring and summer. I guess there’s just an abundance of juicy fruits and berries in summer, so lemons don’t get enough of my attention (But on a side note, I like lemony pasta…and lemonade…and lemon sorbet in summer. It turns to be a great summer fruit after all.) This lemon poppy seeds cake looks beautiful, so light and refreshing – perfect for this time of year (or just any time of year!)
Haha! I do remember your story about blowing up that can of condensed milk. I think you should probably stay clear of science research labs and fire. (To be fair, I should stay clear of them, too.)
I agree that lemons don’t get enough attention. I’m guilty of that, too. I love lemon flavored everything in the early spring, but as soon as berries roll in, I switch my focus over to those. I blame my tastebuds! Thanks, Ben!
David, your lemon poppy seed cake looks moist and tasty. Lemon poppy seed is my favorite muffin, so why not a cake.
Friend making is difficult and I think made even more difficult since the advent of smartphones. Everybody is piddling on their phone instead of socializing.
Hope all goes well with your curling club fundraiser. No ice, no curling.
Have you ever played Kubb? It’s a great summer game for young and old.
Exactly! If it works as a muffin, then it should totally work as a bundt cake, too!
You’re totally right that smartphones have changed the way we communicate. In some sense, they help us stay in touch with folks (Facebook), but in other ways we already have our heads buried in a phone rather than just talking with people.
The ice fundraising is going well. It looks like we’ll likely be able to give the project a green light for this summer, but we’ll need to take some loans to do it. Ice is kindof a critical part for curling, though, so it’s a necessary expense! And no, I haven’t tried Kubb yet. I’m going to google that right now!
Lemon is one of my most favourite things in baking in cheesecakes and in just about anything! This lemon poppy seed pound cake looks like an amazing. A recipe perfect for winter, perfect for summer, in fact perfect for any time of the yeat! I’ve bookmarked this one. Nice one thanks David! Hope you guys are having a great weekend. Is it sunny there yet? 🙂
Yes! Lemon is totally undervalued when it comes to desserts. Chocolate, berries and other flavors usually take top billing, but lemon is quite tasty in its own right! We’re just starting to turn warm here (we spend the day outside yesterday…without a coat…for the first time). I’m ready for spring to finally arrive! What about you? Getting warm yet?
Those are some great baking tips! I love lemon and poppy seed! They are a perfect pairing. Add them to a cake and you have a perfect dessert! Thanks for sharing this great recipe – I’ll need to bake one up for some of my friends!
Thanks, Kathy! Those baking tips are pretty random, but I realized there are a lot of things that I do in a kitchen that never make their way into the actual recipe. I figured someone else might benefit from some those tips! 🙂 Hope you and the family had a great weekend!
Wow, some amazing tips for baking here – I am definitely going to give the cheesecake one a try 🙂
And this recipe – YUM! I love the combination of lemon and poppyseed. Delicious.
Thanks, Alexandra! I know some of those baking tips are pretty random, but they are helpful little tricks that I’ve picked up over time. The cheesecake one is one of my favorites. Sure, you have to plan ahead a bit more since the cheesecake gets baked at least one day before serving. But it’s so much better than making a mess getting the cheesecake out of the pan! Plus, if you slice the cheesecake while it’s still mostly frozen, you can get those perfect looking slices like you see in restaurants! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
It really is tough making friends after college, but it makes so much sense to meet people over an activity that you both enjoy. Awesome that you and Laura have your curling club.
The texture of your pound cake is absolute perfection, David! And you can never go wrong with lemon and poppy seeds!
Yeah, it really is crazy how difficult it is to meet folks as adults. As they say, find a hobby! Laura and I did that, and it literally changed our entire outlook about upstate New York. 🙂 Thanks so much, Marissa!
David, thanks for the baking tips, the one about the cheesecake is brilliant! Going to have to give that one a try! I love lemon and poppyseed cake, muffins , bread, whatever I just love it! Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration!
Thanks, Laura! So the cheesecake tip is one I picked up back when I was taking some baking classes. It’s super handy, but it does require some forethought as you need to bake the cake the day before. (In most cases, that’s actually better since it means less to do on the day of the event!) Plus, slicing the cheesecake while mostly frozen lets you get those perfect slices like they have in bakeries. 🙂
this reminds me off my childhood i always used to eat this cake with tea in evening but i buy it from mart now i can make it at home thanks to you 🙂
Yes! Give this cake a shot at home, Mary. It’s a delicious one, and it’s always one of my favorite spring desserts! 🙂
Laura’s work sounds so fascinating! That’s some pretty awesome stuff!
David, this cake looks so moist and delicious. Such a lovely cake to have at tea time! Your curling club is so lucky to get your extra desserts!
Yeah, I agree! Laura does do some pretty cool stuff at work…even if I don’t entirely understand it. 🙂 What I do understand is cake. And I love this lemon poppy seed pound cake! Haha. Thanks, Kelly!
Right?! It ain’t easy!! Unless you have friends that introduce you to new people. Oh well….I guess less friends means more cake for me. Ha! Just kidding. Kinda 😉 LOVE lemon in baked good and this pound cake is just calling my name right now. Where’s the coffee??
You make an excellent point here, Dawn. Meeting new friends is definitely a challenge, but it’s faster once you meet a couple of friends. I say just walk around with pound cake all the time. I think you’ll make a lot of new friends! 🙂 Lemon + poppy seed is a classic combo, and I always think of these in the spring for some reason. Either way, pour me a cup of that coffee, and I’ll bring the cake!
Hi it looks so delicious, can’t wait to try it.. question can i substitute the sour cream with something else?
Many thanks
Hey Talar! Thanks so much for the kind words. If you don’t have (or can’t use) sour cream, then you can use plain Greek yogurt instead. Another option is to use a cup of whole milk or heavy whipping cream mixed with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice. I hope these ideas help…this is a favorite cake for sure! 🙂
Hi just wondering if a regular cake pan would work instead of a bundt cake pan
Hey Christina! You absolutely could use a traditional cake pan if you don’t have a bundt pan. However, the baking time will be a bit different. As a guess, I’d say start checking the cake at about 30ish minutes. (Just insert a toothpick into the middle…if it comes out with only a crumb or two, then it’s done.) Good luck and happy baking!
Lemon Poppyseed muffins are one of my favorites, but this poundcake definitely takes those to a whole new level. I love the density and richness of a poundcake and you have several on your site that looks fantastic. BTW, I enjoy the storytelling on your posts. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for wandering back to some of these older posts, Kristy! That’s the thing about recipe blogs like ours – the posts might be older, but the recipes don’t go out of style. 🙂 As you can tell, I do love pound cakes! This one is quite fun for the springtime…that’s when I always crave lemon-flavored desserts.