Lemon poppyseed cake
Lemon poppyseed cake is rich and moist, fluffy and buttery with a refreshing tang of lemon. The poppy seeds dot the cake beautifully giving it a pleasant nutty taste and an almost indiscernible crunch.
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup milk
- 6 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2¼ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ cup butter
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 teaspoon lemon essence
- 1 tablespoon zest of lemon
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Glaze
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Brush two 8-by-4-inch cake pans with butter or oil and lightly sprinkle with flour.
- Warm milk till hand-hot in a small pot or microwave oven, soak poppy seed in it for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- In a bowl, sift and mix flour, salt, and baking powder, set aside.
- Cream together, butter and sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla essence and lemon essence.
- Slowly pour in the oil while beating the cake mixture, beat until blended.
- Mix in lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk in three additions, starting and ending with the flour.
- Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 1 to 1½ hours, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the glaze for Lemon Poppyseed Cake
- Mix icing sugar and lemon juice in a small pot, set over medium heat, until sugar dissolves completely.
- Pour all over the cake until it is all absorbed.
- Wrap and keep for a few hours or overnight, before serving.
Notes
- Do not over mix the batter.
- To store, wrap in aluminium foil, the cake can last for 1 week in the fridge.
- It also freezes well for 2 months.
