Lemon Poppyseed Cake is my husband's favorite! He asks for it every year for his birthday! This year I tried and tweaked a new recipe and I LOVE the way it turned out. It's full of lemon flavor, and is lightly frosted and filled with lemon curd and a cream cheese frosting.
I've tried other recipes that have gone miserably wrong, and actually this year I had to make two cakes because the first was an utter disaster! My frosting was too thin, and I didn't let my cakes cool long enough so the whole thing kind of slopped over and was NOT a pretty sight! But I quickly recovered and learned from my mistakes and now have this recipe that I won't deviate from! If you follow the directions I'm fully confident you can recreate this cake!
When life gives you lemons, make lemon poppyseed cake!
"Naked" Lemon Poppyseed Cake
This is my husband's favorite birthday cake! It's decorated with a cream cheese frosting and lightly filled and topped with a sharp lemon curd!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1-2 tablespoons poppyseeds
- LEMON CURD
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons butter
- FROSTING
- 1 cup room temperature butter
- 1 8oz package room temperature cream cheese
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.3. Add in the eggs until the yolks are well incorporated.4. Add in the extract, zest and oil. Mix well.5. Add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) in increments, mixing well between each addition.6. Add the milk, and mix until the batter is silky.7. Finally add in the desired amount of poppyseeds and mix them in well.8. Evenly distribute the batter between two greased 9" rounds lined with wax paper. Bake for 30-35 min or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Do not remove from pans. Let cool in the fridge, then cover with plastic wrap and continue to chill the cakes in the fridge.8. While the cakes are cooking, make the lemon curd.9. In a small saucepan (no heat yet), beat together the sugar, lemon juice and eggs until the whites and yolks are no longer separate.10. On medium-low heat, continue to whisk the already well combined mixture.11. Cut the butter into tablespoons and add to the saucepan.12. Continue to mix the curd until it has thickened to the point of holding the marks of the whisk. 13. Transfer to a heat safe tupperware and chill.14. While the curd and cakes chill, make the frosting.15. Using a sturdy mixing spoon, combine butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, and mix until smooth. Cover and chill until cakes are cooled.16. Assemble and decorate!17. Remove the cakes from the pans and peel back the wax paper from the bottom of the cakes. 18. Trim the tops of the cakes so that each has a flat top (eat the scraps)!19. Put half of the frosting into a piping bag.20. Pipe a small circle of frosting on a cake stand or plate, and place the first layer on top. The frosting will help secure it.21. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the first layer. Then, pipe a THICK ring around the top of the first layer. Fill the ring with a light layer of lemon curd (a few tablespoons).22. Place the second layer on top, and cover with a light layer of frosting. 23. Continue to spread frosting, from the bowl, on the sides and top of the cake, reserving what is left in the piping bag for later. 24. Once the frosting in the bowl has been used up, and the frosting is spread to your liking (it doesn't need to be perfect! That's the beauty of naked cakes!), pipe 12 decorations around the top of the cake.25. In the center of the top of the cake, spread a couple more tablespoons of lemon curd. Decorate with blueberries and candied lemons!
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 slices