Homemade lemon poppy seed cake is a tasty spring dessert that's super moist and delicious! This easy bundt cake recipe is a holiday favorite that everyone will enjoy.
Whether you love lemon desserts or simply want a treat to brighten a spring or summer day, this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe is bound to become a favorite!
The combination of fresh citrus, sour cream, slight crunch from poppyseeds, and a tangy lemon glaze make for one irresistibly delicious bundt cake!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fuss-free recipe. Bundt cakes are much easier to make than a layer cake.
- Make ahead to save time. The holidays are always a busy time. This recipe can be made well ahead of time. A glazed lemon bundt cake freezes well for up to 4 months!
- Perfect dessert for any occasion. It's always a hit, whether it's for Easter, Mother's Day, a spring brunch, or a weeknight treat.
If you love bundt cake recipes, I have others besides this one! My recipe for sour cream cinnamon bundt cake is another favorite for Mother's Day. For the best chocolate cake you'll ever taste, make a chocolate bundt cake!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
- salted butter: If you can afford it, I recommend using European butter rather than American-made. The extra butterfat content adds more flavor.
- white granulated sugar
- large eggs
- sour cream: This is the secret ingredient for creating a super moist consistency.
- fresh lemon juice and zest: For the best flavor, always use freshly squeezed juice. The flavor of concentrated lemon juice pales in comparison.
- milk
- all-purpose flour: I like to use unbleached flour, because it isn't as processed as bleached flour.
- leaveners: You'll need both baking powder and baking soda. If you haven't used them in a while, it's best to test them for freshness. If your leaveners are too old, they won't produce the gas bubbles needed to cause cookies to rise in the oven.
- poppy seeds: Look for these in the spice aisle of the grocery store.
📖Important Note
Be sure to bring all of your ingredients to room temperature, including cold ingredients like milk, eggs, and sour cream. This will allow you to incorporate them more easily, which helps prevent over mixing the cake batter.
Equipment
You'll need either a 10-cup or 12-cup bundt pan to make this recipe. Here are some of my favorite bundt cake pans:
- nonstick bundt pan- highly recommend this one! It's affordable and works great.
- fancier bundt pan
- fleur de lis bundt pan
I don't recommend using a silicone bundt pan; they are too flimsy to work well.
Substitutions
- all-purpose flour: If you'd like to make a gluten-free lemon cake, swap the AP flour for any cup-for-cup variety of gluten-free all-purpose flour. Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour make good quality products.
- baking powder: If you happen to be out of baking powder, but you have baking soda and cream of tartar, you can make a baking powder replacement!
To use baking soda as a substitute for baking powder, mix ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda for every 1 teaspoon of baking powder the recipe calls for. - white granulated sugar: To reduce the calories, feel free to use any cup-for-cup variety of granulated sugar substitute. Monkfruit sugar is a good option.
- salted butter: If you need or want to use unsalted butter, just add ¼ teaspoon of coarse sea or kosher salt to the flour.
- egg: Egg yolks are important for creating moisture, so I don't recommend using egg substitutes with this recipe. If you want to do some testing on your own, feel free! For tips and suggestions, read my article, Egg Substitutions for Baking.
- sour cream: I recommend using full fat sour cream for the best results. Another good substitute for sour cream is full fat, unflavored Greek yogurt. Light and non-fat sour cream will work, but the bundt cake will be less moist.
- milk: Any type of milk or non-dairy milk can be used.
Recipe Variations
- Include fresh or frozen berries. Blueberries are delicious in lemon poppy seed cake! The combination of flavors works well together.
- Change the flavor by using a different citrus fruit. For a completely different flavor, swap out the lemon juice and zest for a different citrus fruit. You could use lime, orange, tangelo, or even grapefruit!
- Swap the glaze for buttercream or cream cheese frosting.
- Add more lemony flavor! Save some lemon zest to add to the top of the finished lemon cake
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Make the cake batter.
- Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.
- Cool cake for at least 1 hour.
- Pour lemon glaze over the top of lemon poppy seed cake.
Liz's Tips for the Best Cake
- For the best texture, be sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start baking. Room temperature eggs are much easier to incorporate with the other ingredients.
- Grease and flour the pan well. The easiest way is to melt some butter, then use a pastry brush to get into the little crevices of the bundt pan.
- Add wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. The mixing order is important for creating a moist and tender lemon poppyseed cake.
- Let the bundt cake cool before turning it out. If it's too warm, it will crumble as you remove it from the pan.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Store your dessert in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. At room temperature, it will stay fresh for up to 5 days, or up to 7 days in the fridge.
To freeze a plain or glazed lemon poppy seed cake, double wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil before placing it in the freezer.
*Note: If you plan to freeze a glazed cake, let it sit in the fridge until the icing sets up.
Thaw the frozen cake at room temperature for 6-8 hours before unwrapping.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake FAQ
No, they are ready to use right out of the container.
Really, any type of frosting, icing, or glaze that you like is fine to use. I prefer a light lemon glaze, as buttercream can sometimes feel too heavy for a lemon dessert
Wait for your bundt cake to cool before adding the glaze or it will likely slide right off or melt into the cake.
Other Popular Easter Desserts
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup salted butter melted and cooled
- 1½ cups granulated white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- ¼ cup milk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1½ tablespoons poppy seeds or more, if desired
Lemon Glaze Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 large lemon
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest from 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon salted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Prepare a 10-cup bundt pan by greasing with melted butter and flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda to combine. Set aside.
- To a medium mixing bowl, add melted butter and sugar; whisk well to combine.Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well to combine one before adding the next.
- Add the sour cream, milk, lemon extract and lemon zest. Whisk again to combine.
- Pour wet ingredients into the bowl of flour mixture, and stir just until there are no visible streaks or clumps of flour, but avoid overmixing the cake batter. Stir in poppy seeds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake is dry or has a few moist crumbs when removed.
- Allow the cake to cool in a pan on a wire rack for 1 hour before turning the cake out onto a serving platter. When cake is cool, make the lemon glaze.
- To a small bowl, add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and melted butter. Stir well to combine. If the glaze seems too thick, stir in milk, water, or lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons at a time, until consistency is to your liking. To thicken the cake glaze, stir in more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Drizzle glaze over the cool lemon poppyseed cake, then slice and serve.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- For a super moist and tender crumb, ensure that ingredients are at room temperature before you start making the cake.
- Storage - Keep the dessert an airtight container in a cool, dry place and use within 5 days. For longer storage, freeze for up to three months. Before freezing, remove any fresh citrus slices.
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