Lemon Poppyseed Cake

Cake is one of the hardest recipes to truly perfect, so if you see a cake recipe on the blog it’s because I’ve tested it and perfected it to give you the best. Some of my favorites include my best ever carrot cake, classic birthday cake (which is a yellow cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting), and now this incredible lemon poppyseed cake. I bake it in a bundt pan because I think it holds a glaze beautifully and is perfect for topping with fresh berries like I show here. Lemon and poppyseed is a classic combination, and to make sure this lemon cake is full of lemony flavor, I use lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract. To give you the perfect texture and moistness, we’re using butter, oil, and sour cream. There are a lot of ingredients like there are in most cakes, but it’s easier to make than you think!

First, you need to make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature. Some of them, such as your flour and sugar, will already be at room temperature. You also need to make sure that your butter is at room temperature, which also allows it to soften, as well as your eggs, lemon juice, and sour cream. While you can substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream in many baked goods, I highly recommend using sour cream here because it adds just a little more richness. It’s important to make sure your ingredients are at room temperature because it allows them to combine better. If you add cold eggs to butter that has been softened and creamed with sugar, the butter will begin to solidify in pieces and not properly incorporate into your cake.

Like all good cakes, we are starting with butter and sugar. After creaming those together, add your eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. I love using my stand mixer here, but you can also use a large bowl with a hand mixer. After the eggs, add your lemon and vanilla extracts. Then add lemon juice, lemon zest, and oil. Then add your sour cream. I know this is a lot of steps but it’s important to make sure everything mixes together well! Take a break from the wet ingredients and whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and poppyseeds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Finally, add your lemon juice and mix until just combined. I like adding the lemon juice at the end to ensure that the dairy added in the beginning don’t curdle.

Grease AND flour a bundt pan before pouring in the batter. Bundt pans can be tricky and greasing and flouring the pan helps the cake remove more easily. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Once it’s completely cool, drizzle with lemon glaze and top with fresh berries and you’re ready to dive into the perfect dessert!

Like what you see? Pin it here!