The combination of lemon and poppy seeds never ceases to amaze me. You’ve seen it in my birthday cake as well and be sure that you’ll see in the future again too. I love bold flavors, but the tangy one is definitely on top of my list – however, in this particular recipe tangy is not at all overpowering. Instead, it’s delicate and creates a delicious contrast with the bitter, crunchy poppy seeds. It’s this contrast that keeps drawing me back to this combination.
The start point of this Bundt cake were the organic lemons I bought a few days ago. Their beautiful color and intense aroma inspired me to create a tangy, fragrant dessert. I chose this particular recipe because, apart from the two main ingredients stated so far, it also has sour cream which I find delightful in desserts – it preserves moisture in batters and it makes them silky and soft – how good does that sounds? It’s definitely not a cake with few calories if you also count the butter and lemon frosting, but then again, we don’t eat cake every day and I believe in good measure in cooking and eating rather than extreme diets. So I’m not afraid to use sugar, butter or cream in my desserts. They’re part of my religion and if you want diet desserts, this is definitely not the right blog.
But let’s get back to our dessert as it deserves to be in the spotlight. The glaze is Martha Stewart inspired and I found it whilst looking for an alternative to the classic lemon juice – powdered sugar glaze which I like but I find to be too thin and not what I wanted for this dessert. Instead, this butter based glaze is perfect with its rich, thick consistency and good coverage. Martha uses a similar recipe to cover tiny petite fours and I’m sure it would be just perfect for that, whether you use lemon juice or milk as the liquid in the recipe. In fact, it’s aversatile recipe and it can be made with various flavors to fit your needs.
- 3 eggs
- 180g white sugar
- 100ml vegetable oil
- 60g butter, melted
- 250g sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60ml lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 400g all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 120g powdered sugar
- 50g butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Preheat your oven to 180C and grease a Bundt pan with butter then slightly flour it.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in a bowl.
- Combine the eggs with sugar in the bowl of your mixer and mix well until creamy and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.
- Stir in the vegetable oil, followed by the melted butter and sour cream.
- Add the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest as well.
- Fold in the flour mixture then spoon the batter into your prepared pan.
- Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.
- When done, remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer on a wire rack.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Drizzle the glaze over the chilled cake and decorate with lemon peel.
- Serve the cake chilled.

ROMANIAN!
Combinatia asta de lamaie si mac mi se pare incantatoare tocmai prin contrastul pe care lamaia aromata dar acrisoara si macul crocant si usor amarui il creeaza. Am mai folosit aceasta combinatie de multe ori si niciodata nu am dat gres, asa ca iata-ma cu o noua reteta ce are la baza fix aceleasi arome. E un tort usor dens, evident mai dens decat un pandispan, asta-i clar, caci si ingredientele sunt de asa natura si diferenta intre cele doua e uriasa, insa nu e uscat asa ca merge si cu si fara o cana de ceai ori lapte. In plus, rezista bine cateva zile la loc racoros, dar nu in frigider.
Ingrediente:
Chec:
- 3 oua
- 180g zahar
- 100ml ulei vegetal neutru
- 60g unt topit
- 250g smantana acra (20%grasime)
- 1 lingurita extract de vanilie
- 60ml suc de lamaie
- 2 linguri coaja de lamaie (bio, organic de preferabil)
- 400g faina alba
- 1 1/2 lingurite praf de copt
- 1 praf de sare
- 2 linguri seminte de mac
Glazura cu unt si lamaie:
- 120g zahar pudra cernut
- 50g unt topit
- 3 linguri suc de lamaie
- Coaja de lamaie pentru decor
Mod de preparare:
Chec:
- Preincalziti cuptorul la 180C si ungeti o tava de chec/guguluf cu unt apoi infainati-o. Dati deoparte.
- Amestecati faina cu praful de copt, sarea si semintele de mac.
- Combinati ouale cu zaharul si mixati pana isi dubleaza volumul si devin spumoase. Adaugati uleiul, apoi untul topit si smantana.
- Incorporati vanilia, sucul de lamaie, coaja de lamaie, apoi amestecul de faina.
- Turnati aluatul in tava pregatita si coaceti timp de 40-50 minute sau pana checul trece testul scobitorii.
- Cand e gata, transferati checul pe un gratar si lasati-l sa se raceasca.
Glazura cu unt si lamaie:
- Combinati cele 3 ingrediente intr-un bol si amestecati bine cu un tel sau lingura.
- Daca glazura e prea groasa, mai adaugati cateva picaturi de zeama de lamaie, daca e prea subtire, ingrosati-o cu 1-2 linguri de zahar pudra. Glazura finala e groasa, dar inca curge. Ideal e sa o folosit imediat, caci se intareste pe masura ce sta, mai ales daca o pastrati intr-un loc racoros. Pentru a subtia o glazura intarita, incalziti-o usor pe baie de aburi. Untul se va topi din nou si glazura isi revine.
- Acoperiti checul cu glazura si decorati cu gasii de coaja de lamaie sau dupa preferinta.
Intr-adevar, o combinatie extrem de gustoasa, parfumata! <3
Multumesc, Laura!
You can never go wrong with the classic combination of lemon and poppyseeds.. this bundt cake just looks so delicious!
Thank you, Thalia! Indeed, the classic always work.