Lemon Poppyseed Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon Poppyseed Cake Recipe fans will love this cake with cream cheese frosting made with fresh lemon, bright lemon zest, and sour cream for a moist, tangy crumb. This lemon poppy seed cake is easy to make at home because you bake it as a simple sheet cake. It's a classic homemade dessert everyone wants seconds of. You'll get the best tips for texture and flavor so it turns out right every time without extra fuss. Pin this now so you always have an easy lemon cake ready when you need a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

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Why is this the best lemon poppyseed cake recipe

This easy lemon poppyseed cake with cream cheese recipe is absolutely delicious! The combination of fresh lemon juice baked into the moist cake and topped with creamy sweet cream cheese frosting is delightful.

This cake is very easy and quick to prep. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, pour into a baking dish, and bake! While your cake is baking, you can create cream cheese frosting. Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake, and that's really all there is to it!

The ingredients for this easy lemon poppy seed cake recipe are common and inexpensive. You probably have most of the simple ingredients already in your pantry, and the remaining couple are available in most grocery stores or on Amazon.

This recipe makes the best lemon poppyseed cake anytime! It's super easy to make and quick enough for those last minute family gatherings. You'll have a delicious dessert, baked to perfection in no time!

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What you'll need to make a lemon poppyseed cake recipe with cream cheese frosting

Equipment

• Kitchen scale gives you exact amounts for your ingredients
• 8x8 inch baking pan, perfect size for this cake, to cut even slices
• Parchment paper-easy clean up
• Cooking spray-to spray on top of parchment paper to avoid the baked cake sticking
• Microplane grater makes grating lemon zest easier, avoiding grating the pith
• Citrus juicer- extract fresh lemon juice without the seeds
• Whisk helps mix the dry ingredients well
• Silicone spatula-mixing the wet ingredients, so the mixture doesn't stick
• Electric mixer-creates a well-blended cream cheese frosting

Ingredients  

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

For the lemon poppyseed cake

• all-purpose flour - Flour is the foundation of your cake. It's okay to use a cup-for-cup gluten-free baking mix.
• poppyseeds - You can't have a lemon poppyseed cake without poppyseeds! But if you want to, you can leave them out and just make a plain lemon cake.
• baking powder & baking soda - These are leavening agents which means they create little pockets of air that give your cake a light texture.
• salt - This enhances the other flavors in the cake, but it's also a leavening agent which helps your cake to rise.
• white sugar - You need sugar to balance the tartness of the lemon juice. I've never tried this recipe with an alternative sweetener.
• sour cream - This should be full-fat for the best flavor and should be room temperature if possible.
• vegetable oil - Oil makes your cake tender and moist.
• eggs - These should be room temperature.
• lemon zest - You must remove the zest before you squeeze the lemons. It's really really difficult to zest a squeezed lemon.
• fresh lemon juice - Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not use lemon juice from a bottle. You will not like the flavor of the cake. The reason this cake tastes good is that you used fresh lemon juice to make it. I promise. Please take my word on this.
• vanilla bean paste - I prefer vanilla bean paste to vanilla extract because the paste has a much stronger and richer vanilla flavor. Vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol and then removing the beans. Vanilla bean paste is made by mixing crushed vanilla beans into concentrated vanilla extract. You can use them interchangeably in equal amounts.
• yellow food coloring - This is completely optional. When my kids were little, I used a lot of food coloring because they thought it was fun. Now that they're mostly grown, I rarely use it and just let my foods be the color they are.

For the cream cheese frosting

• powdered sugar - You need powdered sugar to make frosting. It's sometimes called frosting sugar, 10x sugar, or confectioners' sugar.
• cream cheese - You're making cream cheese frosting, so you need cream cheese. It will taste the best if it's full-fat and it needs to be room temperature in order to whip properly.
• unsalted butter - This also needs to be room temperature but not melted. You can play with the proportions, but you need some butter in order for the frosting to be light. If you use all cream cheese, it will be thick and heavy.
• fresh lemon juice - See note about lemon juice above. This needs to be fresh from whole lemons.

How to make lemon poppy seed cake

Instructions 

For the lemon poppyseed cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch x 8-inch x 3-inch cake pan with parchment paper, then spray it well with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
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2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined, then set aside.
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3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together white sugar, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla bean paste, and food coloring (if using) until well combined.
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4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir well using a silicone spatula until you no longer see dry ingredients in the batter. Do not overmix.
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5. Use a spatula to evenly spread the cake batter into the prepared cake pan.
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6. Bake for 32 to 35 minutes or until the cake no longer jiggles in the middle and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool completely before adding frosting.
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For the cream cheese frosting

1. Place softened cream cheese, softened (but not melted) butter, and lemon juice into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
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2. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, fully incorporating before adding more. Start on a slow speed until all the confectioners' sugar is incorporated, then turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until the frosting is smooth and light. You can't overbeat frosting, so make sure it's really nice and light.
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3. Spread the frosting evenly over the completely the cooled cake.
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Substitutions & variations

This Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake is moist and bursting with lemon flavor. The poppy seeds give a slightly nutty taste to the cake and pair nicely with the lemon flavor. This cake is a nice balance of tart and sweet. The lemon cream cheese frosting adds a lot of sweetness to the cake so if you prefer something less sweet, simply skip the frosting or cut the frosting recipe in half so you only add a thin layer of frosting.

You can swap out poppy seeds with finely chopped nuts. Almonds or pistachios work beautifully.

You can add lemon curd to the cream cheese frosting.

This cake is great for making a loaf cake, placing in a bundt pan, cupcakes, a round cake, or as a second cake layer. You will need to adjust the cooking times depending on the shape and size of your pan.

Adding a drizzle of lemon glaze and edible flowers on top of the frosting will elevate this cake to a new level for your Easter gatherings.

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Why didn't my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake rise?

There are a few different reasons why a cake will not rise during baking. First, check the expiration dates on your baking powder and baking soda. These ingredients can expire as early as 6 months after opening. So even if the "best before" date hasn't arrived yet, if these ingredients have been sitting open in your pantry for over 6 months, they may need to be replaced.

Another reason for a cake that isn't rising could simply be that it's under baked. Try to resist the urge to open the oven door earlier than 30 minutes into the baking time for this cake. Before removing the cake from the oven to cool, check for doneness using a toothpick inserted in the middle. The toothpick should no longer have raw cake batter stuck to it once the cake is fully baked.

Why did my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake sink in the middle once cooled?

If the cake sinks once it's been removed from the oven, this indicates that the cake was under baked and is still partially raw in the middle. Before removing the cake from the oven, be sure to check that the cake is no longer jiggling in the middle and that a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The toothpick will look wet from the moisture of the cake but it shouldn't have any raw batter on it. Also, when you gently press your finger on the top of the cake, a fully baked cake will spring back up. If your finger leaves an indented mark in the cake, the middle is not yet fully baked.

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Storing leftovers

Refrigerator: Because the frosting has butter and cream cheese in it, your best bet is to place the cake in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezer: Wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temp before eating. The cake freezes best unfrosted, but you can also freeze it after it's been frosted.

Check out more delicious cake recipes.

• Orange Creamsicle Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake with a Box Cake Mix
• Chocolate Turtle Cake
• Pineapple Angel Food Cake Squares
• Flourless Chocolate Cake (Gluten-Free)
• Nana's Best Classic Apple Cake Recipe
• Triple Chocolate Cake with Homemade Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting
• Banana Upside Down Cake
• Cherry Almond Cake

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