Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

Need a cheerful cake for a beautiful occasion?  With its freshness feeling, slight crunchiness, sweet -tart flavor, moist-texture, this Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake with oil and yogurt has everything you are looking for. It’s going to be a big hit at any party.

This post was originally published in 2014 and has been updated with new pictures and additional information.

Have you ever eaten a cake and felt like you’re eating ice cream? You will feel so when you try this cake! I have to tell you that this is THE cake for lemon freaks like me. I’m originally from Tarsus, the lemon country of Turkey and lemon is literally my territory. I can eat lemon with everything. My friends advise me to carry some lemons with me because they do not want to hear me constantly asking for extra lemons every time we go to a restaurant .

I made this cake for mom and she said it’s like a homemade lemon ice cream cake. Her favorite summer treat is lemon ice cream, so she was very satisfied with my lemon cake, which she thinks contains a hidden ice cream inside.

This lemony yogurt cake is tasty year-round, but we love it more when the weather starts to warm up. The yogurt inside helps the lemon cake become wonderfully moist, and the refreshing lemon flavor matches perfectly with it, which gives the ice cream feeling. Vanilla extract, sugar and powdered sugar on top balance it out with the sweetness they have. And the poppy seeds make this fresh and moist cake burst with slight crunches. It is soo yummy. It’s perfect for special occasions too! 

INGREDIENTS FOR THIS LEMON CAKE

For the cake:

• eggs
• sugar
• full-fat yogurt
• olive oil
• vanilla extract
• lemon juice
• lemon zest
• flour
• baking powder
• poppy seeds

For topping:

• powdered sugar
• lemon zest

HOW TO MAKE LEMON POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE?

Making this delicious shiny cake is incredibly easy and fast.  

• First, preheat oven to 350F.Beat eggs and sugar very well until creamy. Eggs will make our cake tender.
• Then, add in yogurt, olive oil, vanilla extract, lemon juice and grated zest, beat until blended. You can always adjust lemon juice and grated zest amount if you want a slighter or stronger lemon flavor.
• Next, sift together flour, baking powder and gradually combine these with wet ingredients beating together until well combined.
• After that, you can fold in the poppy seeds. In this recipe, the amount of poppy seeds is enough to have enough poppy seeds in every slice. But if you want every bite to be crunchy, you can be more generous with them. 
• Finally, butter a cake pan very well and pour the batter into it.
• Now, bake the cake for 50 minutes. To check if your cake is ready, you can stick a toothpick in it. If it comes out clean, then it shows it has cooked all the way through.

Pro Tip: As lemon might cause extra stickiness in the batter, make sure you butter the pan really well. I always use my fingers to coat every spot in the pan with butter.

VARIATIONS OF THIS CAKE

You might want to have a poppy seed bundt cake but no lemon in it. After all, not everyone is a lemon freak like me J Then you can have this poppy seed bundt cake from stratch without adding any lemon juice or zest in it. Or you can have with orange flavor if you like it better. All you need to do is to replace lemon juice and lemon zest with that of orange.

This lemon poppy seed bundt cake recipe is quite light as I use only powdered sugar as topping. I have to watch my weight since bikini times are around the corner, you know? However, if it is a birthday or your cheat day, you can also go ahead and change my powdered sugar topping with vanilla or lemon (still more lemon??) pudding or sour cream. Both are delicious alternatives. Pudding will make your cake sweeter unless you do it from scratch and take out the sugar. With sour cream, you won’t have a lot more sugar but you will have a creamy taste.  Alternatively, you can simply have vanilla ice-cream with your cake. They are so fresh and good together.

HOW TO STORE LEMON POPPYSEED BUNDT CAKE

If you are making this cake only for you or your little familly, do not worry about the left overs. You do not have to eat it in one sitting although I know you would love toJ This cake can stay fine at room temperature for 3 days. Make sure you cover it. You can use a cake plate or cake stand with a cover for this.

In case there are still leftovers, keep it in the fridge in an air tight container. Just bring it to the room temperature before eating. Then you can have one piece everyday for one week at breakfast or as an afternoon snack after school/work.

CAN I FREEZE IT?

Yes, you can. The best way is to slice it individual portions, cover each with plastic wrap and keep them in a freezer bag for up to 1 month.

CAN I USE A CAKE MIX FOR THIS RECIPE?

Yes, you can either use store-bought or make your own cake mix and use it in this recipe. You will need to leave flour and baking powder out then.

IS THIS POPPY SEED CAKE GLUTEN-FREE?

This recipe is not gluten-free as it has wheat- flour in it. However, you can make a gluten free lemon poppy seed bundt cake if you replace wheat flour with almond flour. If it is blanched finely ground, you will have the best results.

FAQs ABOUT POPPY SEEDS

• Do poppy seeds have a flavor? Yes, they have a subtle nutty flavor but they are mostly used for their crunchiness and the lovely texture they form in cakes.
• How do you store poppy seeds? Keep them in an airtight container or in small jars in the cupboard or wherever you keep the spices. You don’t need to store them in the refrigerator. They keep well for at least 6 months.
• How do you use poppy seeds? As the flavor is not really noticeable, you can use it in almost any dish you like. Personally, besides using it in cakes, I love them on my savory pastries, salads, dressings or dips too.
• What can replace poppy seeds in a recipe? The best substitutes are sesame seeds or nigella seeds. Although the flavors of these two are stronger and their size is larger than poppy seeds, you can use them instead of poppy seeds.

OTHER LEMON DESSERT RECIPES

• Lemon Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread
• Lemon Crinkle Cookies
• Lemon Flavored Kefir Bread
• Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
• Lemon Carrot Cake Recipe
• Lemon Jam Recipe

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