Whitney was craving lemon poppyseed cake a few weeks back and she (with my assistance) finally had the chance to make the best one over Father’s Day weekend. In the past when I’ve made this, Blythe and Brighton would screw their faces up either because of the poppyseed element or the lemon flavour. This time, though, they both couldn’t wait to have it. Maturing taste buds perhaps?
Speaking of mature, I love a naked cake. Too much icing can be overwhelming and ruin the whole cake experience. So while not the prettiest looking cake below, it is the tastiest one we’ve had in a little while.
We modified this recipe slightly by cutting down on the lemon zest in the cake batter and completely omitting the zest in the icing. I also halved the icing recipe but still had plenty leftover.
We also used 9 inch cake pans, so our cake rounds were a little flatter in height.
LEMON POPPYSEED CAKE
Recipe from Life, Love and Sugar
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon zest
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
• 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 10 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat together until light in colour and fluffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
4. Add the eggs one at time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
6. Combine the milk and lemon juice, then slowly add the mixture to the batter and mix until well combined.
7. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporate. Do not over mix the batter.
8. Add the lemon zest and poppy seeds and gently stir to combine.
9. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
NOTE: I usually bake on convection, so I think I only baked them for 20 minutes tops. And remember they were 9 inch round pans.
10. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
11. To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to a large mixing bowl and beat until well combined and smooth.
12. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
13. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until well combined.
14. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. Add more or less powdered sugar, as desired for consistency purposes.
15. To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat, if needed.
16. Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
17. Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly on top of the cake.
18. Add the second layer of cake and another cup of frosting.
19. Top the cake with the remaining layer and frost the outside of the cake. Refer to the tutorial for frosting a smooth cake, if needed. To make the line patter in the side of the cake, use one of the decorative sides on this icing smoother.
NOTE: I skipped this step.
20. Finish off the cake as you like. You could add rosettes around the top outer edge and sprinkle on some poppy seeds. You could also add some lemon slices.
21. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best served cool, but not necessarily cold.
It is Wednesday and only the tiniest sliver of a piece is left.
UPDATE: Matt just polished it off as this was post was going live.
