Spring is on it’s way! I’m celebrating with these lovely little lemon soaked poppy cakes. Lemon and poppy seeds are a match made in springtime heaven.
These lemon poppy seed cakes are so dense and soft. I don’t think you’ll ever find a cake recipe on this site that isn’t dense. It’s just how I like my cake. I’ve never liked fluffy cake for some reason. Does that make me totally weird? I feel like it does.
These cakes can be baked as cupcakes, in mason jars, or as a full sized round cake. I had a little too much fun when baking them and did ALL of those options. Once cooled, the cakes are drizzled with a lemon simple syrup(and it is super simple, so don’t be intimidated by all the components in this recipe!). The syrup gives it an extra POP! of lemon flavor.
Finished off with a dollop of cream cheese frosting and topped with a sprig of fresh mint, these cakes are elegant without having to do a lot of decorating. If you make a full sized cake it will look rustically beautiful with just a bit of frosting in between layers, on top, and of course, a mint sprig.
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 1¾ C. Flour
- 2 t. Baking powder
- ⅔ C. Whole milk
- 1 t. Vanilla
- 2 T. Lemon Juice
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- 6 T. Butter, softened
- ½ C. Sugar
- ¼ C. Sour cream
- 15 drops Lemon Oil or 2 t. Lemon Extract
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 1 T. Poppy Seeds
- a few drops of yellow food color(optional)
- FOR THE LEMON SIMPLE SYRUP:
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 T. Water
- ½ C. Sugar
- FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- 6 oz. Butter, softened
- 6 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
- 3 C. Powdered Sugar
- 1-3 T. Heavy Cream
- Mint leaves, for garnish(optional)
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
- Place 12 paper liners in wells of a muffin tin. You can also use small mason jars or 2 round 6" cake pans(pans or jars must be greased and floured).
- Whisk flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.
- Combine milk, lemon juice, and vanilla in another small bowl.
- In a medium bowl, beat egg whites on high speed of electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- In another bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy; beat in sour cream until smooth.
- Add the lemon Oil or extract, lemon zest, poppy seeds, and yellow color, if using, to the butter mixture.
- On medium speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture in two additions, mixing until smooth.
- Whisk in one-third of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining egg whites using a rubber spatula. Using a large scoop, divide batter evenly among liners, jars, or cake pans.
- Bake 17-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Add 10 minutes if baking in cake pans. Remove from oven to a wire rack to cool(remove cakes from jars or pans after they've cooled for about 10 minutes)
- When cakes are cooled, drizzle a few teaspoons of lemon syrup over each cake.
- Top cakes with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Garnish cakes with mint leaves. Serve.
- FOR THE LEMON SIMPLE SYRUP:
- Place the lemon juice, water, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- Place the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat together on medium speed until light and smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally.
- Add the powdered sugar to the butter and cream cheese, 1 C. at a time, mixing in well after each addition.
- Add the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add less for thicker frosting, more for lighter frosting. Turn the speed up to medium/high and beat the frosting for 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy.
Kayley, I just found your blog and I love it!! It is so beautiful and your styling is GORGEOUS. I’ve never tried baking anything in a mason jar but after seeing these, I think I have to start! And I totally understand your love of dense cake–I mean, I love my fluffy cake too, but it’s so satisfying to feel your fork slice through a really dense piece of cake. Yum. Ugh, I’m totally craving lemon poppyseed muffins right now.
Since you’re a trained chef, do you develop all your own recipes? Like can you just whip up delicious cakes like these off the top of your head? I can’t wait to check out more of your recipes!!
Thank you so much, Erika! I looked at your blog and it looks like it’s full of fantastic photography and stying…I’m glad you found me so I could find you!
I do develop almost all of my recipes…with the exception of the occasional adaption 😉
Hi Kayley, intrigued by your blog! Love this recipe! I have recently gone dairy free. Any suggestions on how to make this recipe with dairy free ingredients. I use almond and coconut milk frequently. Any substitute for the sour cream and cream cheese?
I’ll be opening a noodle cafe soon that is gluten free and organic. I would love to swap some recipes with you!
Thank you Linh! Tofutti makes vegan sour cream and cream cheese but you could also look up recipes to make your own dairy free cream cheese or sour cream using silken tofu. Good luck with your noodle cafe, that sounds exciting! =)
This recipe for lemon soaked poppy cakes and the accompanying photos were too much! I was so hungry that I had to pull myself away from my computer. I settled for a veggie mix in the freezer. Definitely not as good! I will have to try this!
Oh, Man! I hate it when I want something but it will take so long to make that I have to settle for something quicker. You did good! I usually just go straight to the nutella jar.
Absolutely stunning cakes. My taste buds where tingling just looking at them. Love the photography as well
Thank you so much, Chichi! =)
Hi thee, this recipe looks fab. I love a dense cake. Years and years ago I had an amazing recipe for an incredibly dense lemon poppyseed cake that had a simple syrup on top (drizzled over while still hot). It was so so full of poppy seeds it had an amazing crunch. The recipe was from a Vogue magazine but unfortunately pre the www. Have you tried upping the amount of poppy seeds in your recipe to give it that crunch?
Thank you! I haven’t ever tried putting a really large amount of poppy seeds in them, but now it sounds like I need to! I’m intrigued!