Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Updated April 16, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing pan
- 1¾cup all-purpose flour, more for pan
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1cup sugar
- ½cup buttermilk
- 3tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3large eggs
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅔cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1tablespoon poppy seeds
- ½cup confectioners’ sugar
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
446 calories; 22 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 34 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 232 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch loaf pan.
- Step 2
In a bowl, combine lemon zest and sugar and rub with your fingers until it looks like wet sand. Whisk in buttermilk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk dry ingredients into the batter, then whisk in oil and poppy seeds.
- Step 3
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan until warm to the touch, then turn out onto a baking rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Turn cake right side up.
- Step 4
Whisk together remaining 4 teaspoons lemon juice and the confectioners’ sugar. Use a pastry brush to spread glaze evenly over top and sides of cake. Cool completely before slicing.
Private Notes
Comments
Use Myer lemons, up the zest amnt
Add juice of 1/2 lemon to batter
Canola not olive
Change topping:
Boil 1/2 sugar with 1/4 c lemon juice
Poke holes, pour over after bake
Then bake a few xtra mins
Go heavy on poppy
Please... use grams and millilitres, or have a conversion function. Baking is about precision and cups are an archaic and inaccurate form og measurement.
You could also substitute sour cream, which I do often as I usually don't have buttermilk.
@MamaB followed your tips but added more zest, normal lemons (i like the zing), about 1/3 of the syrup you recommend but then the full glaze. 🔥🔥🔥perfection 10/10
Outstanding! I had lost my go-to recipe for a lemon loaf that uses the creaming, folding, and alternating between dry and wet ingredients method. Tbh, I was skeptical about this recipe for several reasons: oil instead of butter for a pound cake! no creaming and folding required, and the most intriguing of all was adding the oil at the very end! I was not very hopeful about the results, but was pleasantly surprised! Next time more lemon juice & rind, and with other citrus.
I swapped olive oil for canola oil as others recommended, then add a good 1/4 tsp of lemon extract as others said it wasn't lemony enough. It turned out really perfect, now replacing my old receipe. :) yum!