lemon poppy seed cake

A soft lemon poppy seed cake layered with delightfully tart lemon curd and cream cheese buttercream will leave you speechless. Flavored with both lemon zest and lemon juice then speckled with poppyseeds, this cake is light, tender, and tangy!

Let’s break down this cake layer by layer, shall we? The cake itself is a soft, light and lemony cake flecked with crunchy poppy seeds. We add a layer of tart lemon curd on top. And then, we top it all off with a thick layer of poppy seed-flecked lemony cream cheese frosting! No summer is complete without it!

Every bite is soft and fluffy with creaminess from the frosting, tangy tartness from the lemon curd, and a delicate crunch from the poppy seeds. I might love it even more than lemon poppyseed muffins, lemon cookies, or gluten free lemon bars! Bold statements for a bold cake!

Professional Tips for Lemon Cake Recipes:

• Room temperature ingredients will make the best cake. This might not always be possible, but having all the ingredients at room temperature really helps the batter emulsify, especially with the addition of lemon juice.
• Use fresh lemon juice. Just like in lemon bundt cake and lemon blondies, and lemon poppy seed biscuits , freshly squeezed lemon juice is essential. Bottled lemon juice has salt and other additives. It tastes flat and dull, while fresh lemon juice is bright and almost floral. 
• Allow the lemon zest to sit with the sugar. Zest the lemon into the sugar and then massage it in to begin releasing the oils. The longer ahead you do this, the more flavor will be added to the cakes.

Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: I use all-purpose flour because it is what most people have on hand. You could use cake flour if you wanted.   
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: A combination of baking soda and baking powder allow for a tall, consistent rise both when reacting with the lemon juice and also in the oven.
• Kosher Salt
• Granulated Sugar
• Unsalted Butter
• Vegetable Oil: Canola oil makes the most moist cake! Substitute with coconut oil if desired but not butter.
• Vanilla Extract
• Large Eggs: Using whole eggs adds both fat, moisture and contributes to the leavening of this cake.
• Whole Milk: I use whole milk in this recipe because of its added fat content. It makes the most tender, soft lemon poppy seed cake that will stay moist for a week!
• Lemons (zest & juice): Fresh lemons are best in this recipe not only because you will have the added flavor of the zest but because fresh lemon juice is brighter and has a slight floral note that bottled lemon juice lacks. 
• Cream Cheese: Use full-fat brick-style cream cheese. I do prefer the texture and taste of Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
• Powdered Sugar
• Poppy Seeds: I love the little crunch the poppy seeds give to the cake and glaze textures. What is a substitute for poppy seeds in lemon cake? Chia seeds! Chia seeds add fiber and texture to lemon cakes. They also have an array of other nutrients like Omega-3’s, iron and calcium! Read more about chia seed benefits here!
• Lemon Curd: Not to get combative, but since my lemon curd recipe is truly the easiest and the very best in my expert opinion, I always make it from scratch. If you’re short on time, America’s Test Kitchen says that Wilkin & Sons curd is the best pre-made variety.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Change out the citrus. Use orange zest and juice instead of the lemon. It also is refreshing with lime or bergamot, and you know grapefruit would be delicious from my glazed grapefruit poppy seed muffins. Or, commit even harder to the lemon flavor and use meyer lemons or add a bit of lemon extract with the final egg!
• Use a different filling. Try a fruit filling like mixed berry jam or rhubarb strawberry curd! If you’re still feeling custard, you could make the vanilla custard from my strawberry custard tart recipe or a homemade pastry cream.
• Up your frosting game. This versatile cake pairs so nicely with most buttercream and frosting recipes! Try it with Italian meringue buttercream, this American buttercream recipe, or a caramel Swiss meringue buttercream. If you have a flair for the dramatic, try piling on this marshmallow frosting and giving a quick toast like I do for my lemon meringue cheesecake! This easy lemon buttercream frosting would also be complementary and refreshing. But, no judgment if you go with a naked cake look, like my naked salted caramel layer cake. Extra points for positively covering it in sprinkles like this vanilla bean birthday cake!
• Swap out your baking pan. Make irresistible cupcakes like my vanilla cupcakes, or pour all the batter into a 10-cup bundt pan if you have a fun mold like my lemon bundt cake! You could also dump it into a 9×13” baking pan like this apple cider donut cake. Note: Be sure to check for doneness, these adjustments will shift your bake time for sure!

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Make & bake the cake:

Step 1: Spray and line three 8 or 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Be sure to spray the sides of the pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F conventional.

You can purchase cake rounds or make your own by tracing the bottom of the pan on parchment paper. Cut inside the circles for a perfect fit.

Step 2: Zest just the bright yellow parts of the lemon and mix with the granulated sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers to help the sugar begin to pull out the oils.

Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. 

Step 4: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a separate large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter, vegetable oil, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Step 5: Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Step 6: In a measuring cup, combine milk with the lemon juice. This will ease incorporating the wet and dry ingredients. Alternate adding flour mixture with the milk mixture. I like to begin and end with dry ingredients. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. Stir in poppy seeds.

I often finish my cakes by hand with a silicone spatula to avoid over mixing. Over mixing will make cakes less tender and can make them gummy or cause tunneling.

Step 7: Divide batter evenly among 3 prepared pans. Bake on the center rack until a cake tester toothpick or bamboo comes out with only a few clinging crumbs but no wet batter streaks, approximately 25-30 minutes.

You can divide by eye-balling the quantities or use a kitchen scale.

Step 8: Cool 10 minutes in the pans. Then, turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely upside down.

Make the frosting:

Step 9: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream ¾ cup softened butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth.

Step 10: Add the lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat well.

If the frosting gets too warm during mixing or waiting for your cakes to cool, just pop the whole thing along with the attachment in the refrigerator for 30 – 60 minutes. Beat until smooth.

Step 11: Stir in poppy seeds until just combined.

If you want a cleaner, whiter look, add 1 tablespoon. If you want a highly speckled look, add 2 tablespoons.

Assemble the cake:

Step 12: On your favorite cake stand, cake plate or platter, place the first layer of cake. Top with half a container of lemon curd (about 5 ounces); spread in an even layer to within a 1/2-inch of edges. Add about 1 cup of the frosting on top, and spread out in an even layer with an offset spatula.

If the tops of your cakes are domed, use a sharp serrated knife to cut off the domes before stacking in layers. OR, use bake-even strips.

Step 13: Place the second layer on top and add the remaining curd along with another cup of frosting. 

Step 14: Top with the third cake layer. Frost the top of the cake and spread it out with a large offset spatula, allowing it to fold over the edges.

If you want to use homemade lemon curd rather than store-bought, I recommend either combining 2 cups of the frosting with the lemon curd and using that as the filling or use the frosting to make a dam to hold the curd in between the layers. To make a dam, pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cake layer. Fill with curd, then top with the next cake layer. Refrigerate 30 minutes before stacking the next layer on top.

Step 15: Smooth a thin layer of buttercream over the sides of the cake. It will be wiggly-jiggly, so this will be a little challenging. You could end here with a naked cake or you can pop the whole cake in the refrigerator for an hour or two until the frosting has set.

This is called a “crumb-coat” because it catches all the crumbs so none of those unsightly pieces end up in the final layer of buttercream!

Step 16: Spread the remaining buttercream over the sides and top. I swirl the top using my cake stand like a turn-table and the tip of my large offset spatula. Then I smoothed the edges using a bench scraper. Refrigerate covered, until ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cake recipes, like this classic yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting!