Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have recently become super into lemon desserts and I'm not mad about it. My mother would scoff at me - the chocoholic that she is - but I'm loving the brightness of citrus these days! Enter, this lovely Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.

This cake is light and airy, with a bit of pucker from the lemon zest and juice (but in the best way). The curd in the center adds a nice surprise when you cut in, and some additional texture and tang! Finally, the whole thing is blanketed in a luscious cream cheese frosting that has the greatest mouth feel. I will always be #teamcreamcheese. It pairs well with literally everything.

Now, I'm sure you're rolling your eyes at me about a layer cake that you really don't feel like tackling. Well, GUESS WHAT. I've also included options in the notes section of the recipe for you to make this as a single-layer gal in an 8x8 inch square pan, or a 9-inch round pan. You're welcome.

BUT, if you haven't yet made a layer cake, I encourage you to try at least once! Here are some tips before you dive in:

1. You MUST allow the simple syrup to totally soak into the tops of the cakes before you add the frosting. If it's not fully absorbed, your icing will slide right off which would be a huge bummer.
2. You'll need to create something called a frosting dam in between the layers to hold the lemon curd. Take a quick peek at this picture of a frosting dam so you know what to do. Easy peasy.
3. Once both cake layers are together, you'll need to cover the cake in a crumb coat, which is a thin layer to help protect the cake (and catch all crumbs) before you add the rest of your frosting.
4. Feel free to omit the lemon curd if you're doing a single layer cake. I would still suggest adding the simple syrup before frosting, though, which helps to keep the cake extra moist!

Ok! Please try this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake, it's too good to pass up. And just look at it! So cute. And everyone loves cute things.

If you're looking for other things lemon, try my Lemon Meringue Tartlets!

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5 from 1 vote

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A moist lemon poppy seed cake with a tangy cream cheese frosting. Perfect for any time of year when you're craving light and bright. This can be made into a layer cake or a single cake!

Prep Time1 hr

Active Time1 hr

Cool time and assembly4 hrs

Total Time6 hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cream cheese frosting, layer cake, lemon cake, lemon curd, lemon poppy seed, poppy seed, simple syrup

Yield: 8

Author: The Cozy Plum

Equipment

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer
• Two 5-inch or 6-inch round cake pans OR one 8x8 inch square pan OR one 9-inch round cake pan
• Parchment paper
• Piping bag or ziploc bag
• Offset spatula, optional

Materials

Lemon Curd

• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup granulated sugar 50g
• 1 T lemon zest heaping
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon water
• 3 T unsalted butter room temperature (42g)

Cake

• 6 T unsalted butter room temperature (84g)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar 150g
• 1 T lemon zest heaping
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 120g
• 2 T cornstarch
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 T poppy seeds
• ⅓ cup greek yogurt room temperature (80g)
• 2 T lemon juice freshly squeezed

Lemon Simple Syrup

• ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
• ½ cup water
• 2 T Lemon juice freshly squeezed

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 12 oz cream cheese room temperature
• ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature (28g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar sifted (360g)

Instructions

Lemon Curd

• In a very small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk continuously until the mixture is just about to bubble. At this point, add the cornstarch slurry and whisk until the mixture bubbles for about 10 seconds, then remove from the heat. This is different on every stove top -- you will see a noticeable difference in the viscosity.
• Once off of the heat, whisk in one tablespoon of butter at a time, not adding another piece until the first is totally incorporated.
• Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, putting the wrap directly on the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for at least 2 hours in the fridge.

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and parchment line the bottom of two 5-inch round cake pans and set aside.
• In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients with a whisk: flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar and lemon zest and briefly mix. Allow the sugar and zest to meld for 5 minutes, then add the butter and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Next, add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla paste or extract and mix until combined.
• Alternating between the flour mix and greek yogurt, add in ½ of the greek yogurt and mix, then half of the flour and mix. Take a moment to scrape down the sides. Add in the remainder of the greek yogurt and mix, followed by the remainder of the flour and mix. Scrape down the sides again, then slowly mix in the lemon juice.
• Pour the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 28-30 minutes or until the cake has pulled away from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool the cake on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to finish cooling on the rack. Once cooled, wrap completely in plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge. Frosting the cake is easier when the layers are cold, but not necessary.

Lemon Simple Syrup

• Bring the sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil, stirring occasionally, so the sugar has fully dissolved. Allow to cool in the pot or pour into a heat proof bowl or jar to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth, then add in the vanilla paste or extract. With the mixer running on low, spoon in the sifted powdered sugar until completely incorporated, then mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds.

Assembly

• Remove your cake layers from the fridge. If they are not flat, trim off the domed top so you have a flat cake layer. At this point, brush (or spoon) on 1 T of simple syrup to the top of each cake and allow it to fully absorb for about 15 minutes.
• Put a quarter-sized dab of frosting on your cake stand (or whatever you plan to serve it on), and put your first cake layer down on top of it. At this point, slide strips of parchment paper under the cake to keep your cake stand clean during the frosting process.
• Put one large spoonful of frosting into a piping bag (or ziploc bag) and create a frosting dam around the edge with a ½ inch opening on your bag. Feel free to do two layers on top of each other. The dam is what keeps the lemon curd in place, so you want to make sure it’s the appropriate height so no leakage can occur.
• After creating the frosting dam, gently spoon in the lemon curd and spread until it just meets the dam. You want to keep the curd to about ⅔ the height of the dam. You will have a bit of curd leftover.
• Add the second cake layer evenly on top and very gently apply light pressure. Spread about ⅓ of the frosting to cover the entire cake with a crumb coat and place in the fridge to firm up for about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the fridge and use the remaining frosting to completely cover the cake. This is best done with an offset spatula. With any leftovers, you can pipe decorations onto the top of the cake!
• Store the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days. Remove 2-3 hours prior to serving.

Notes

A small amount of cornstarch is added to the curd to create a more stable curd for in between the cake layers.

You can also make this layer cake with two, 6-inch pans and decrease the baking time by about 5 minutes.

Alternatively, you can make this as a single-layer cake in an 8x8-inch square pan, or a 9-inch round cake pan. Parchment line the bottom of the pan and add the batter. Bake in the center rack of a preheated 350 F oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Brush (or spoon) the simple syrup over the top and allow to absorb for about 15 minutes. You can also make the curd to add to the cake after it’s cut and ready to serve, otherwise, you can omit. You will only need half of the amount of cream cheese frosting to cover the top.