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This small batch lemon poppy seed cake is a tender and moist cake full of poppy seeds, topped with an amazing lemon curd buttercream and serves 2-4 people.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
This cake is my version of my favorite bakery cake. Each year on my birthday my husband would buy me a lemon poppy seed cake from Beaverton Bakery. It was a sad year when the bakery closed down and I had to figure out how to make it at home.
Not only can I still enjoy my favorite cake, but this recipe is the perfect size.
The star of the show though with this recipe is the lemon curd buttercream, it is so good!!!
Ingredients Needed
- All Purposed Flour
- Sugar, granulated sugar and powdered sugar
- Lemons, juice and zest
- Milk
- Greek Yogurt, plain
- Egg
- Butter
- Oil
- Baking Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
How to Make Small Batch Lemon Curd
- In a medium size saucepan combine 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest and 2 Tbsp lemon juice.
- Cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken and comes to a low boil.
- Remove from heat.
- Place 2 Tbsp butter in a bowl. Put a wire mess strainer over the bowl and pour lemon mixture through the strainer.
- Stir until butter melts.
- Cover the surface of the lemon curd with plastic wrap so a skin doesn’t form. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
How to Make Lemon Poppyseed Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a bowl combine butter and beat until creamy.
- Add in oil, egg, sugar, vanilla, sour cream and mix to combine.
- Pour in flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Add in milk.
- Pour in poppyseeds.
- Pour batter into a 6 inch cake pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Combine softened butter, cooled lemon curd and vanilla extract.
- Beat until smooth.
- Add in powdered sugar and enough milk or cream to make a good spreading consistency.
- Frost cake. Sprinkle edges of cake with additional poppyseeds if desired and garnish with a slice of lemon.
Tips
- Make the lemon curd first so it can cool before adding it to the frosting. To speed up the process put it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so.
- Mix the frosting while the cake is baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I double the recipe to make a bigger cake?
This recipe can be easily doubled to make a two layer 6 inch cake. There should be enough frosting to frost a two layer cake.
Can I freeze leftover cake
Cake freezes really well. Just wrap in plastic wrap and then in foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
This small batch lemon poppy seed cake is a tender and moist cake full of poppy seeds, topped with an amazing lemon curd buttercream and serves 2-4 people.
Prep:30 minutes
Cook:30 minutes
1 hour
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
Poppyseed Cake
- 6 Tbs butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp oil canola or vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 Tbsp milk whole milk or 2 percent.
Lemon Curd Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup lemon curd
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- Combine egg, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small sauce pan.
- Place butter in a bowl with a mesh strainer over it.
- Stir constantly over medium heat until it comes to a low boil and thickens up.
- Remove from heat and pour through mesh trainer over butter.
- Stir until butter melts.
- Cover with plastic wrap, let wrap touch the surface of the lemon curd. This will prevent a skin from forming on the lemon curd.
Poppy seed Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 6 inch cake pan. Line the bottom with wax paper or parchment paper
- In a bowl combine butter and beat until creamy.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Combine softened butter, cooled lemon curd and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
- Add in powdered sugar and enough milk or cream to make a good spreading consistency.
- Frost cooled cake.
Tips & Notes:
Tips from Leigh Anne
- First, make the lemon curd first so it can cool before adding it to the frosting. To speed up the process put it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so.
- Second, make the cake and while it is baking mix up the frosting.
- Third, assemble the frosting and frost the cake.
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Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 731kcal (37%) Carbohydrates: 113g (38%) Protein: 5g (10%) Fat: 30g (46%) Saturated Fat: 17g (106%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 9g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 99mg (33%) Sodium: 328mg (14%) Potassium: 141mg (4%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 96g (107%) Vitamin A: 871IU (17%) Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) Calcium: 65mg (7%) Iron: 1mg (6%)
Lisa says
I’m hoping to re-rate this cake because the recipe clearly has potential to be great. Currently, the milk and poppyseeds are missing from the list above even though you include them in the video. I added them to my batter as such.
I also commented under your YouTube video about the size of the baking pan. A 6″ pan (standard Wilton) proved to be far too small. There was spillage all over my oven. Next time I’ll try an 8″ baking pan. I suspected one cup of flour would make too much for the smaller sized pan but I was trying to trust the process. Oh well.
Lisa says
I’m back to report the results. Despite the mishaps, the cake turned out great. My husband absolutely loves it. And I am pleased to open my eyes to the fact that desserts using poppyseeds don’t necessarily require lemon. The seeds on their own offer a delicious nuance to the cake.
As I stated previously, I will use a slightly larger baking pan in the future. Also, the frosting was a bit too much for my taste. I added citrus powder to increase the acidity and flavor. I’ll cut back on the quantity and sweetness next time.
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us Leigh Anne.
Patti Knight says
I was happy to find cakes that fed less than 8+ people. I decided to make the lemon poppy cake as a Mothers Day treat for my sister. I put the ingredients together as directed BUT the cake is not lemon at all. However, this is a good recipe for Lemon Poppy Frosting!
Joanne says
How much poppyseed do you use?
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
1 Tbsp – updated the recipe, sorry about that