Description
Ina Garten’s lemon poppyseed cake delights with its zesty citrus notes and delicate crumb. Bakers will enjoy this classic dessert that balances tangy lemon flavor with sweet, tender cake texture.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 ½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¾ cups (345 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ lb (227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 extra-large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- ¾ cup (180 ml) lemon juice
- ⅓ cup poppy seeds
- ⅓ cup lemon zest (from 4–5 large lemons)
- 1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tbsps lemon juice
- Nonstick baking spray with flour (e.g., Baker’s Joy)
Instructions
- Seed Infusion: Marinate poppy seeds in buttermilk for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350°F and thoroughly spray a 10-inch Bundt pan with non-stick coating.
- Butter Cream Mixture: Using an electric mixer, whip butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, blending completely. Incorporate vanilla and lemon zest, scraping bowl sides to maintain consistent texture.
- Dry Ingredient Preparation: Sift flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together, ensuring even distribution without lumps.
- Batter Integration: Mix lemon juice into buttermilk-poppy seed mixture. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture to creamed butter base, starting and ending with flour mixture to achieve optimal consistency.
- Baking and Syrup Treatment: Pour batter into Bundt pan, spreading evenly. Bake 40-50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Simultaneously, create lemon syrup by dissolving sugar in lemon juice. Immediately after removing from oven, saturate cake with warm syrup and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Glaze Finale: Whisk confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Elegantly drizzle glaze over cooled cake, allowing it to flow down the Bundt pan’s distinctive ridges.
Notes
- Poppy Seed Soak: Marinate poppy seeds in buttermilk for 2 hours to enhance flavor depth and soften seeds.
- Zest Technique: Grate lemon zest carefully to capture intense citrus oils without bitter white pith.
- Baking Precision: Use wooden skewer test to confirm cake doneness; clean skewer indicates perfectly baked interior.
- Syrup Absorption: Pour warm lemon syrup immediately after baking to create a moist, intensely flavored cake that stays fresh longer.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 40 g
- Sodium: 200 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg