A sprinkle of lavender adds a wonderful botanical nuance to this delicious lemon poppyseed pound cake. This recipe makes enough batter for a nine by four inch loaf pan or three six inch cake pans. So if you wanted to get fancy you could make this as a layer cake paired with a lemon buttercream. I had to cut this loaf up right after photographing it and give most of it away because I had ZERO portion control around it! If you don’t have any culinary lavender hanging around then make this recipe without it and I guarantee you’ll still love it!
This pound cake is beyond addictive, which is really dangerous when a recipe is this easy to make! I think poppy seeds get a bad wrap because of sad, stale, and often oily store-bought muffins. In this cake they add a wonderful pop of texture and I love the way they look suspended in each slice, like nature’s sprinkles! I maxed out the lemon juice in this recipe, filling each bite with a wonderful zing.
The glaze is so simple but amazing, confectioners’ sugar whisked with fresh lemon juice. It hardens for a wonderful crunch and tastes like lemonade! I garnished my cake with some extra lemon zest but this is totally optional. Did I mention these would make amazing cupcakes? Just adjust the baking time to closer to 25 minutes.
Steps to Make This Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add parchment paper to a loaf pan. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.
2. Add poppy seeds.
3. Whisk together.
4. Zest and juice lemons. Microwave the milk so that it is warm to the touch. Sprinkle in lavender and lemon zest to infuse.
5. In another bowl, combine sour cream and butter.
6. Add lemon juice.
7. Pour in the infused milk mixture and eggs.
8. Whisk everything together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until combined.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared baking loaf pan. Bake for about 60- 90 minutes or until the center is set and the edges are slightly pulling away.
10. In a bowl, add confectioners sugar.
11. Add the juice from 1½ lemons. Mix until you reach a desired consistency. Make sure not to add too much liquid at the beginning.
12. Drizzle the glaze over the loaf.
If you’ve tried this recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake:
Zingy lemon with a touch of delicate lavender!
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
For the Loaf:
- 4-5 lemons medium
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp culinary lavender 1g
- ½ cup whole milk 120ml, warmed
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour 250g
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder 6g
- 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar 379g
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds 12g
- ⅓ cup lemon juice 80ml
- ½ cup sour cream 120ml, room temp
- ¾ cup unsalted butter 190g, almost melted
- 3 large eggs
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners sugar about 120g
- Juice from 1½ lemons
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Loaf:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add parchment paper to a loaf pan.
Zest a lemon. Microwave the milk so that it is warm to the touch. Sprinkle in lavender and lemon zest to infuse.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and poppy seeds.
- Juice lemons until you get about ⅓ cup lemon.
In another bowl, combine sour cream, butter, lemon juice, infused milk mixture and eggs. Whisk everything together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking loaf pan.
Bake for about 60- 90 minutes or until the center is set and the edges are slightly pulling away.
For the Glaze:
In a bowl, add confectioners sugar and the juice from 1½ lemons. Mix until you reach a desired consistency. Make sure not to add too much liquid at the beginning.
Drizzle the glaze over the loaf.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
If you don't have sour cream handy use plain yogurt instead.
The glaze is so simple but amazing, confectioners' sugar whisked with fresh lemon juice. It hardens for a wonderful crunch and tastes like lemonade!
I garnished my cake with some extra lemon zest but this is totally optional.
Did I mention these would make amazing cupcakes? Just adjust the baking time to closer to 25 minutes.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
How long do you recommend warming the milk in he microwave? Or could it be done over low heat on th stove?
Caitlin,
Heat the milk until it is warm to the touch! This can be done on the stove or microwave for about 30 seconds! Warming the milk will help to infuse the flavors with the added lavender and lemon zest! Hope you enjoy!
John
Hello! Can i change the sour cream for cream cheese? Or what can I use instead?
Thanks
Mayte,
I don’t know about the cream cheese, but if it works let me know! I would suggest substituting with plain yogurt!
John
This sounds delicious! Where can you find appropriate lavender to use in this recipe? And also, if you are infusing the milk with the lavender and lemon zest, do you strain out the lavender and lemon zest before mixing it with the other ingredients or leave them in the milk?
Karen,
Leave the lavender and lemon zest in after the milk has been infused! I hope you enjoy!
John
Hi is the lavender necessary. I’m from the Caribbean and it difficult to obtain
Maikea,
The lavender isn’t necessary! I understand that it can be hard to find culinary lavender! Hope you love this pound cake!!
John
Hi John, I’ve never used lavender in a recipe before, is this a strong flavor? Is the lavender an extract or an oil. I’m sorry for so many questions, but I have never used this before and I’m intrigued. Thanks so much.
Jerri
Jerri,
The culinary lavender used in this dish is not very strong. I used dried culinary grade buds and infused them in warm milk with lemon zest. It’s a nice, subtle taste! Hope you enjoy!
John
Thank you for your response and this recipe. Also, thank you for such a beautifully organized website. Everything is laid out perfectly with precise instructions and pictures. Well done!
Jerri,
Thank you so much! You are too sweet!
John
Hi John, could this be baked in a bundt pan? And if so, how long would it need to bake? Thanks!
Lindi,
You can absolutely bake this in a bundt pan! I hope you love it!
John
Thanks John! Can’t wait to try it!!!
I didn’t have lavender or poppy seeds, but I couldn’t wait to bake this loaf, so I made it without. It is sooo good. Moist, lemony, with a sweet-tart glaze, this recipe is a keeper!
3/4 cup of butter in grams pls
Sanviti,
Use 190g unsalted butter in this recipe! I know you’re going to love it!
John
Hi john,
Thanks for the recipes,and i love the fact that they are unique, it makes baking so much fun trying new recipes. FIY the cake was delicious
Just made this loaf for my daughter’s first birthday tomorrow! Hope it comes out great as yours! Made it with plain yogurt as no sour cream over here. No lavender either dk where to find it…
Big fan from Argentina!
Cheers!
Daniela,
I’m so happy! You can find culinary lavender online or sometimes in herbal stores! Hope you enjoy!
John
This recipe is becoming my spring season go to! Its incredibly moist!! The tart lemon makes it feel so light and refreshing. The first time I made it, I substituted sour cream for creme fraiche… delicious! Thanks for the delicious recipe! All the credit I get from fellow Moms goes back to you.
Latasha,
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you very much!
John
Hi John,
Can I use olive oil instead of butter? If it is a yes, will it be 3/4 cup oil or less?
Thanks a bunch.
Joy
Joy,
I think that will work! Let me know how it turns out!
John
I used oranges instead of lemons and made muffins with the extra cake batter
And it was absolutely beautiful and moist!!
Hi Victoria,
That is a great idea and sounds delicious! I may have to try that next time!
Best,
John!
Hi John,
Greetings from Merry Olde England!
Have just made your lemon poppy seed pound cake (infused with lavender from our back garden) and it was glorious.
I’d like to try one of your layer cakes next. I’m a novice baker and cake decorator, so what would you say is the easiest cake and most foolproof buttercream to attempt?
Love your YouTube channel as well as this fabulous site; everything is just SO well done!
Kind regards,
Rob
Hi Rob! THat’s one of my favorite cakes!! So happy you liked it. Trying to think of the easiest cake to try. Try my blueberry lemon cake but be careful not to make the filling running.
I gave this a try today. I don’t have a big enough loaf tin so I used the loaf tin I have and did a few cupcakes as well. Cupcakes were the giant ones and took about 20 minutes in a convection oven on 160c. Hope that helps someone else anyway. Delicious
It was a snow day in Winnipeg Canada today so I thought of trying this recipe. Best lemon pound cake ever! I baked it for 60 minutes and it’s perfect! I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Hey Anna,
It makes me happy to hear you enjoyed the pound cake! What recipe will you try next?
Stay warm up there!
Best,
John
I made this lemon loaf in a heart shaped pan today since it’s Valentine’s day. It was sooooo delicious and super moist. It smelled heavenly! I forgot to line my pan with parchment paper so the bottom and sizes were caramelized and hard. Overall we really enjoyed it.
can I sub chia for the poppy?
That should be fine if you like chia.