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Bright and buttery lemon poppy seed loaf with lemon glaze is the perfect cake for lemon lovers! Made with butter, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk, each slice is incredibly tender with a moist crumb. Delicious for breakfast, afternoon tea, or any time that needs a burst of sunshine, you’ll love this easy loaf cake recipe.
Lemon poppy seed loaf is one of my favorite ways to bake with fresh lemons. Simple and delicious, each bite is moist and delicate, with a beautifully light texture.
The cake is perfectly lemony thanks to a triple hit of citrus, no lemon extract required. My favorite way to infuse lemon desserts with natural lemon flavor is to make a quick batch of lemon-sugar: combine fresh lemon zest and granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute, until the zest is finally ground. This quick step releases all of the natural oils from the zest!
Once baked, a brush of lemon syrup soaks into the warm cake, adding extra moisture. A drizzle of sweet lemon glaze makes the perfect finish!
Love baking with lemons? Try my bakery style lemon poppy seed muffins next!
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Mix dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds until combined. This helps evenly distribute the poppy seeds throughout the cake.
Make lemon sugar: Combine lemon zest and granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute to combine.
Make cake: Beat room temperature butter and lemon-sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Mix in vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed with a spatula.
With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture).
Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Tap pan sharply several times to reduce air bubbles.
Bake cake for 52 to 56 minutes, until golden and a tester emerges with a few moist crumbs. Remove cake from the oven and immediately brush the top with lemon syrup. Let cake cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve topped with lemon glaze.
Tips to Freeze
Let loaf cake cool completely on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and then wrap again in foil or place the wrapped cake in a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months.
The day before you plan to serve, let the cake thaw overnight in the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation), then bring to room temperature. Glaze just before serving.
More favorite lemon recipes:
PrintHomemade Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 52 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 17 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf, 12 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Bright and buttery lemon poppy seed loaf with lemon glaze is the perfect cake for lemon lovers! Made with butter, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk, each slice is incredibly tender with a moist crumb. Recipe makes 1 loaf and freezes well.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
- 2 Tbsp (18 g) poppy seeds
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (6 g) fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs (100 g), at room temperature
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (180 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80 g) Greek yogurt, at room temperature
Lemon Syrup
- 2 Tbsp (30 g) fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (22 g) fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Make cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds in a medium bowl.
- Place sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute. Beat butter and lemon-sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla on low speed. Combine buttermilk and Greek yogurt in a small bowl. Beat in dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture), just until incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula and tap sharply to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake loaf cake for 52 to 56 minutes, until cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.
- Make lemon syrup: In the last five minutes of baking, combine lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and syrup thickens, about 4 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and immediately brush the top with lemon syrup. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; carefully remove cake from pan and cool completely.
- Make glaze: Whisk together melted butter, salt, lemon zest, juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over cake and let set before serving.
- Store leftover cake at room temperature overnight (tightly covered) or in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Mini loaf cakes: Divide the batter evenly between three mini (5 3/4″ x 3 1/4″) loaf pans. Bake the mini loaves on a preheated baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until cakes spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.
Make ahead: This loaf cake can be made one day in advance. Let cool completely and store at room temperature overnight. Add the lemon glaze just before serving.
Freezing instructions: Once fully cool, wrap loaf cake in plastic wrap and a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. The day before serving, move the cake to the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation) and defrost overnight. Bring to room temperature, remove plastic wrap, and add glaze.
Would this recipe work with a bundt pan? Also how do you think adding blueberries would work and removing lemon (not a lemon fan)? Thank you!
Hi Arianna, it sounds like you’re probably looking for a blueberry bundt cake then. You can omit the lemon zest and lemon extract from this bundt recipe, and just flavor the cake with vanilla extract: https://tutti-dolci.com/blueberry-lemon-bundt-cake/
Hope that helps!
Thanks for your quick reply! I actually really want a blueberry poppy seed bundt recipe. Do you think I can add poppy seeds to the blueberry bundt cake recipe?
That should work – you can whisk in the poppy seeds with the other dry ingredients.
Wow, so good! I am making it for Easter. I added an extra Tbsp of zest to the batter. You can’t beat this lemon poppyseed cake!
Looks beautiful, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Hi, I want to make this tomorrow. I have everything except the yogurt. Will sour cream work?
Hi Ann, yes you can use sour cream instead. Happy baking!
Thank you, the sour cream worked well. Excellent recipe.
I bake this cake every season with my Meyer lemons. It’s the best ever!
Great to hear, thank you Shari!
I baked this cake twice over the weekend and it’s absolutely perfect – fluffy, moist, and filled with lemon flavor. The glaze is incredible too!
Hi Maddie, thanks so much for trying this recipe and for sharing your feedback! 🙂
This lemon poppyseed cake is AMAZING! So light, fluffy, and delicious.
Thanks so much, Leslie! So glad you tried this recipe!
This cake is amazing! I just made for my husband’s 94 year old mom, and she devoured it! This will become a family favorite! Thank you for sharing!
So happy to hear that, thank you Megan! 🙂
In this recipe, when you say a cup of flour or cup of sugar, how much is that in grams please? Also, the flour, is that plain or self raising please?
Hi Alex! Flour is plain, all-purpose flour. 1 cup flour = 140 grams. Sugar is granulated sugar. 1 cup sugar = 200 grams. Happy baking! 🙂