Moist Lemon Poppy seed Pound Cake Recipe

Moist Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake is a soft, light and fluffy cake that is filled with fresh citrusy taste and flavor... something that will keep you reaching out for the next slice.

In my home the Meyer lemon trees are full of fruit, especially around this time - when it is pre Easter and Mother's Day is right around the corner.

I think the bright Lemon flavor gives it a look of bright sunshine - so it won't be wrong if I say -

- Biting into this Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf cake is like biting into a slice of golden-y Spring Sunshine which is buttery, moist, nutty, citrusy and sweet at the same time.

Did I do justice to the taste? Comment below and let me know!

I love Meyer Lemon trees because you can plant them indoors and they are a bit sweeter, less acidic - therefore they work well for Lemon desserts like Lemon Macaroons or Lemon cookies or Lemon Loaf cake.

I like how lemon poppyseed loafcake works out like a charm especially this time of the year.

Why you'll LOVE this Recipe

I personally love it for two main reasons -

a) the zesty citrusy taste of lemons. It is simply un-matachable.

b) the glaze. I think without the glaze - I wouldn't even have it on the first place.

To be honest with you, it is the sweet glaze that when mixes with the lemon juice as you take its first slice - you get the true taste of this zesty flavorful Lemon Poppyseed loafcake.

Ingredients that you'll need:

To Make this awesome, zesty and flavorful lemon loafcake here are the ingredients you'll need:

1. All Purpose flour - to make the base of the cake.
2. Baking Powder, Baking Soda - for leavening
3. Salt - just to balance the sweetness
4. Butter - for that creamy taste and texture
5. Sugar - for that rich taste.
6. Eggs - so that the loaf cake holds it shape while it bakes.
7. Greek Yogurt - makes it moist and balances out the sweetness
8. Lemon Juice, Lemon Zest - because Lemon is the star ingredient of this recipe.
9. Pure Vanilla extract - for that rich aroma.

How to Make Lemon Poppyseed loafcake

First Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Next you grease a 9x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. This will help you pull out the cake with ease. Make sure the parchment paper hangs over the side of the pan. You can simply pull it out from the sides and your loaf cake will be ready.

Combine Ingredients

In a small mixing bowl combing all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Set it aside.

In an another bowl use an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a stand mixer to beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy.

Add your eggs - make sure that you add only one egg at a time. Beat it lightly after you've added one egg.

Make sure you are scraping down the sides and mixing it in - because you don't want to lose out on the awesome flavors.

Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and pure vanilla extract. Mix well until combined.

Now combine your dry ingredients with the wet ingredients - meaning add some flour mixture to the butter and sugar mix and then in between add some greek yogurt and then repeat it by adding the flour mixture.

I like using some greek yogurt while I am combining the dry with wet - especially for this recipe because - greek yogurt adds moisture to the loaf cake.

Once done - remove it from the mixer and stir in poppyseeds using a wooden spoon.

Mix lightly until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake it in a preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.

To Check the doneness of the cake insert a toothpick at the center of the cake and ensure that it comes out clean.

Baking guidelines you shouldn't miss

If you live in a place that is very cold or at high altitude then you may find that your cake is not browned in the given time. Then you might have to increase the baking time depending on the doneness of the cake.

If you live in California or in a place where it is hot outside then you will see that your cake is browning too quickly. In those cases, you might want to cover the top of the cake with a piece of aluminum foil especially when it hits the 45-minute mark.

Allow the Cake to Cool Down Completely

Once the cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest on the countertop for another 10-15 minutes until it cools down completely.

Use your parchment paper hanging on the sides to pull out the cake - only when it has cooled down completely.

Make the Glaze

I love this part. Making the glaze for lemon poppyseed cake and pouring it over the cake is my favorite part about this recipe, but of course it comes after I've tasted the recipe.

So how to make the glaze?

In a bowl combine powdered sugar and whisk it with milk and a large dollop of greek yogurt.

Consider my tip - you'll thank me later - add some extra citrusy kick to your lemon loaf cake with a splash of lemon juice.

Give it a taste and I know for a fact that it'll be magical.

Now be generous and pour the glaze all over the top of the cake that has cooled down completely.

Mistakes to Avoid while Baking this Cake

I'm sure you've heard don't do these things while baking. But, I'm gonna tell you scientific reasons on why you shouldn't be over mixing your ingredients, or why you should be using room temperature ingredients and why you shouldn't over bake your lemon poppy seed cake.

1. Do not over mix the ingredients. Over mixing the ingredients will activate the gluten in your flour, as a result your cake will dense, rough and very tough. But how do you know if you've over worked on your batter? When you see air pockets or holes in your crumb, then you know that you've over worked on your loafcake.
2. Use Room Temp ingredients - And, trust me - This room temperature rule for baking isn't just a superstition of your Grandma, it has scientific evidences as well. When you use room temperature eggs and butter it reacts well with baking soda and baking powder giving you that ideal doneness that you are looking for. Secondly, when you have room temperature ingredients the ingredients mixes really - which means it traps in air nicely - which means - your cake will have a light, airy, and fluffy texture to it.
3. Do not over bake - it will just ruin all your hard work. Over baking your cake will evaporate too much moisture from your cake making it dry and crumbly. And the best way to prevent over baking is - keep a close eye on the cake and do a toothpick test.

What is lemon glaze made of?

Lemon Glaze is the star ingredient of this recipe. The three basic ingredients for lemon glaze is lemon juice, confectioners sugar, and milk.

Lemon glaze looks really good on Lemon Loaf cake. And making the Lemon glaze is super-duper easy.

Making lemon Loaf cake is just like adding the ingredients to a bowl, mixing it lightly and pouring it on the cake. So simple. So easy.

To Make your Lemon glaze you need these two ingredients (Must)

1. Powdered sugar - Powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar or icing sugar is what gives your glaze the sweet taste and helps your glaze firm up over your baked Lemon Poppyseed loaf cake.
2. Fresh Lemon Juice - Add fresh lemon juice to make your glaze runny and bring a bright lemony flavor to your loaf cake.

What Does Lemon Poppy seed Poundcake taste like?

The answer is in your question -

1. Lemon Poppy seed poundcake tastes like LEMON. Lemon the start ingredient of this recipe. It is the first reason we've made this cake - because we love the bright, citrusy, zesty, lemony flavor.
2. Buttery - Its that buttery base of the cake with a hint of greek yogurt cutting out the sweetness - that gives this cake a rich texture, making it dense and soft at the same time.
3. Tiny and Mighty Poppy Seeds - Poppy Seeds have a nutty, earthy taste to them, adding a hint of crunch every time you bite into your lemon poppyseed loaf cake.
4. The Glaze - The glaze is what makes this poundcake stands out. Sweet, citrusy and a bit creamy - this glaze moistens and softens the cake also adding a mild sweet taste to each loaf cake.

More Desserts you can try:-

1. Best Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies recipe
2. Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies Recipe that'll earn you Major brownie points