Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake Recipe

Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake Recipe

Moist Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake with bright lemon, crunchy poppy seeds, and a floral lavender twist. All topped with sweet lemon glaze. Easy to stir together in minutes, no mixer needed.

Course cake, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 2 10

Servings servings

Calories 451kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

For the Loaf:

½ cup whole milk (120ml)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
½ teaspoon culinary lavender (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
1¾ cups granulated sugar (350g)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (80ml)
½ cup sour cream room temperature (120g)
¾ cup unsalted butter melted (170g)
3 large eggs room temperature

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar (120g)
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

Instructions

For the Loaf:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan with butter or baking spray and line it with a parchment paper sling.
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, warm the milk in the microwave for 20 to 40 seconds until it feels warm to the touch. Stir in the lemon zest and lavender, and set aside to infuse for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar baking powder, poppy seeds, and salt.
In another bowl, combine the sour cream, melted butter, lemon juice, eggs, and infused milk. Whisk everything together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix together with a spatula just until the dry streaks of flour have all disappeared.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. You can loosely cover the top with foil after 50 minutes if the top is getting dark brown before the cake is done. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then use the parchment paper to help you remove the cake. Let it finish cooling on a wire rack.

For the Glaze:

In a bowl, add confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Whisk together until smooth and thick but it can drizzle off of the whisk. Add more lemon juice if needed.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. You can serve it immediately or let the glaze set for about an hour before slicing.

Video

Notes

Tent the loaf if the top is browning too fast. Loaves bake longer than layer cakes, so the top can darken before the center is done (especially if your oven runs a bit hot). After 50 minutes, check the top for color. If it’s already deeply golden, lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top to help insulate it. Don’t tent it any earlier, or you risk the center underbaking.
Let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze. If you glaze the cake while it’s still warm, the mixture will simply soak into the cake instead of setting on top. Let the loaf cool for at least an hour before drizzling it on top.

Nutrition