We’ll take any excuse to eat cake for breakfast—especially when it’s essentially an oversized lemon poppy seed muffin. This one gets an extra dose of brightness in the form of a citrusy glaze.
Get the recipe for Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cake:
Print
Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
Scale
For the cake
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, for sprinkling
- Optional decorations: dried flowers, sliced fruit, and/or chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease an 8-inch cake pan and line with parchment. Dust all sides with flour, then tap out any excess over the sink.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds in a large bowl.
- Zest the lemon into a small bowl with the sugar and work the zest into the sugar with your fingers .
- Add butter and lemon sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed using the paddle attachment until fluffy, 4 minutes.
- Turn speed to medium, then crack in one egg at a time, letting the first fully incorporate before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl and paddle.
- Beat in lemon juice and vanilla extract (it’s okay if it looks like it’s curdled a bit!).
- Remove the bowl from the stand. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold in half of the dry ingredients, then half of the buttermilk, and repeat until combined.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then loosen the sides with a butter knife. Tap the bottom of the pan to help the cake come out. Let cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. The glaze should be as thick as honey. Add more powdered sugar if it’s too thin and more lemon juice if too thick. Pour glaze over the cake, allowing excess to drip off. Decorate with poppy seeds, dried flowers, fruits, or nuts.