Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray then line the long sides with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Spill into a sieve sitting over a larger bowl. Sift to combine then set aside.
Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest and sour cream. Once fully incorporated, add dry mix little by little. Using a spatula, gently stir in poppy seeds.
Transfer to greased and lined loaf pan, smoothing the batter out evenly.
Transfer to oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Lift from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare glaze: Place icing sugar in a small bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Then add milk one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
Drizzle glaze over loaf and leave to set. Cut into ½-inch slices to serve.
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf
Ingredients
¾ cup butter (12 tablespoons)
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
½ cup sour cream
1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup poppy seeds
For the glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-3 teaspoons whole milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray then line the long sides with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Spill into a sieve sitting over a larger bowl. Sift to combine then set aside.
Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest and sour cream. Once fully incorporated, add dry mix little by little. Using a spatula, gently stir in poppy seeds.
Transfer to greased and lined loaf pan, smoothing the batter out evenly.
Transfer to oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Lift from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare glaze: Place icing sugar in a small bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Then add milk one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
Drizzle glaze over loaf and leave to set. Cut into ½-inch slices to serve.
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf
5 / 5. 1
A flavourful lemon loaf cake dotted with poppy seeds and topped with a lemony, icing sugar glaze…
What to do when life hands you lemons? Make this divine LEMON POPPY SEED LOAF.
When it comes to pulling out the loaf pans to make a scrumptious treat, we’re all in. In fact, this fabulous recipe for a dreamy LEMON POPPYSEED LOAF isn’t our first trip to the loaf rodeo, no siree. Frequent visitors to WATC love our “use-up-those-darkening-bananas” BANANA BREAD and marvellous MARASCHINO CHERRY POUND CAKE. Others think our SPICED ZUCCHINI LOAF or decadent CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE is the best ever – we think so too. But then we used this ORANGE POPPY SEED CAKE as our springboard to make this lemony loaf, and the results are quite perfect. The only way you’ll find out is to try it!
Here’s why this LEMON POPPY SEED LOAF needs to be made, tout suite:
INGREDIENTS
This poppy seed loaf cake recipe calls for standard cake ingredients, most of which we expect you already have in your pantry or baking ingredient cupboard. There are three other essential ingredients: poppy seeds, lemons and pure lemon extract. Look for the lemon extract at a speciality baking supply store or health store if your local grocery store doesn’t have it on hand. One tip: bring both the eggs and butter to room temperature before you begin this recipe. Doing so will help them blend into the batter better and help the loaf rise easier.
LEMON FLAVOUR
As mentioned at the top, the prominent flavours in this loaf cake recipe are lemon and poppy seeds. You’ll only need ¼ cup of poppyseeds to flavour the recipe. If you’d like less poppy seed, try adding 1 or 2 tablespoons to taste. For the signature lemon notes in this recipe, we’re calling for three components; let’s hear it for lemon juice, lemon zest and pure lemon extract.
To begin, give your lemon a quick rinse and dry. Then zest the lemon before cutting it. The fresh lemon juice gives the loaf lots of lemon flavour, plus some pleasing aromas. Then adding in those poppy seeds, together with those lemon notes, is the perfect combination. We know you’re going to love it.
CAKE BATTER
If cakes are your thing, this recipe does not disappoint and making it is a breeze. To start, whisk and sift the dry ingredients. Although this may seem like an unnecessary step, it is in fact essential. Sifting the unbleached all-purpose flour, kosher salt and baking powder together into a bowl ensures the baking powder is distributed properly, giving the loaf its lift as it bakes.
After the sift, the next step is to blend the butter together with the granulated sugar and eggs in a large bowl. You can make this recipe in the bowl of a stand mixer and use a stand mixer to make it, but we found using a hand mixer was way easier and less cumbersome.
After that, add the lemon zest and vanilla extract, the poppy seeds and the other wet ingredients and stir to combine. Final step is adding in the flour mixture, little by little. So easy! We figured go big or go home with this cake batter, so we used sour cream instead of yoghurt or the denser Greek yoghurt. We also used butter instead of olive oil or vegetable oil. This use of dairy makes for a richer cake.
LOAF PAN
Prepping the loaf pan is easy. Make sure to watch the VIDEO attached to this recipe where we show you our nifty trick of running a piece of parchment paper as a liner to the pan. Even though you might have a Teflon or non-stick metal pan, and even though we suggest greasing the pan, this little trick makes removing the loaf super easy. For those wondering if a glass loaf pan works too, you bet.
For the overachievers out there wondering if you can use the batter to make muffins or a lemon poppy seed cake, you betcha. Simply spray your muffin pan or cake pan with cooking spray, and you’re good to go. Adjust bake times accordingly.
One additional recommendation: smooth out the cake batter after you pour it into the prepared loaf pan. The batter itself is quite dense, so no plop-and-bake for this one. Unlike our BEST BROWNIE RECIPE where the batter levels out on its own, this lemony batter requires some finessing with a rubber spatula or flat spoon.
BAKING
Our LEMON POPPY SEED LOAF requires 50 minutes of bake time in a 350°F oven. We know not all ovens are the same, just ask my vintage 1970s avocado green clunker, LOL! As always, we suggest testing your cake for doneness by inserting a cake tester, brochette or toothpick. When the tester comes away clean from the centre of the cake, your loaf is done. Remove it from the oven, letting it rest for 5 minutes before moving it onto a wire rack. Then remove the pan leaving the cake to cool completely.
LEMON GLAZE
You know us, always pushing the envelope in building a flavour profile. When icing this cake, we could have used the cream cheese frosting from our CARROT CAKE – watch this VIDEO to learn how to make it. Instead, we went with a simple icing sugar glaze made with lemon juice and icing sugar, AKA confectioners sugar. Remember to add the juice in tiny increments to achieve the consistency you desire.
For best results, place the loaf onto a wire rack with either a baking tray or piece of parchment paper resting beneath. This allows for a quick clean up and less mess.
PIN IT!
This delicious homemade lemon loaf recipe is so fantastic, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite dessert, snack or sweet loaf baking board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious treats you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
ENJOY
Love that heading, because that’s exactly what you’re going to do. One guarantee: it won’t be difficult. With such a lovely texture and enticing lemony aroma, serve it as is for dessert, either lunch or dinner. Enjoy it as an afternoon snack whenever guests are in your midst. Finally, feel free to enjoy it as they do in those fancy coffee shops. On the side with your hot breakfast beverage? You bet!
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Ingredients
¾ cup butter (12 tablespoons)
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
½ cup sour cream
1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup poppy seeds
For the glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-3 teaspoons whole milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray then line the long sides with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Spill into a sieve sitting over a larger bowl. Sift to combine then set aside.
Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest and sour cream. Once fully incorporated, add dry mix little by little. Using a spatula, gently stir in poppy seeds.
Transfer to greased and lined loaf pan, smoothing the batter out evenly.
Transfer to oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Lift from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare glaze: Place icing sugar in a small bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Then add milk one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
Drizzle glaze over loaf and leave to set. Cut into ½-inch slices to serve.
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