Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake has a buttery texture and sweet tangy flavour. It is delicious for afternoon tea, a snack or dessert.

My mom often made pound cakes, and one of my favourites was this Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake. Even though we bought our poppy seeds from the grocery store, as a child I was fascinated by the idea that they came from flowers just like the bright red poppies that grew in our garden.

Mom and I often enjoyed a cup of tea after school. We would each choose a cup and saucer from her collection of antique china, pour some tea and sit together and have a chat. I treasure the memories of this time together. Occasionally, Mom would make this Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake for us to enjoy alongside our cups of tea. It made our pause for afternoon tea extra special.

Read on to learn more, or press the Jump to Recipe Button to go straight to the recipe.

What Does Lemon and Poppy Seed Pound Cake Taste Like?

Pound cakes are often described as a dense or heavy cake, but this can be misleading as it belies their wonderful texture. They are not a light and fluffy cake, but these cut and come again treats are such a treat. Their buttery taste is quite addictive and while they are generally a bit less sweet than other cakes, with a whole cup (200 grams) of sugar, they are far from savoury! The lemon in this Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake recipe has a lovely tang, and the poppy seeds add a great texture as well as delicious flavour.

The History of Pound Cakes

Pound cakes have been around for a long time. You can find recipes for them in cookbooks that date back to the eighteenth century. Back then, there was no baking soda or baking powder, so you had to use a lot more eggs (generally at least 10) and beat them by hand for absolutely ages. Today, pound cake batter still requires a fair amount of beating – enough that it is easier to mix the batter in an electric mixer or with a hand held electric mixer – but using leavening agents like baking powder makes the time considerably shorter.

Why A Loaf Cake?

Like my Triple Ginger Pound Cake, Lemon and Ginger Pound Cake and my Orange Pound Cake recipe, my mom’s Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake is designed to be made in a loaf pan.

Pound Cakes are made in both loaf cakes and Bundt or tube pans, but the recipes will vary in terms of the proportion of ingredients. Bundt Cake recipes generally have more ingredients to make enough batter to fill the larger baking pan. They also take longer to cook than loaf cakes.

Can I Glaze or Frost Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake?

This is a lovely plain cake as the lemon juice and rind add a lot of colour. However, if you want to dress it up a little, you can definitely drizzle a little bit of icing over it like I do with my Triple Ginger Pound Cake. I just make a simple icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) and water icing by mixing about 1 cup (about 75 to 100 grams) of icing sugar with a tablespoon or two of water until you get a thick, pourable glaze.

If you want to really bump up the lemon flavour, you can use freshly squeezed lemon juice instead of water in your glaze. Be sure the cake is completely cool before glazing or the glaze will just run off and/or be absorbed into the cake.

How Long Will Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake Keep?

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. If you are not going to use it up within that time, I recommend you slice the remaining cake and freeze it with a bit of greaseproof paper between the slices. That way you can just thaw a slice at a time to enjoy with your cup of tea or coffee.

That said, I do have to whisper here that if you warm pound cake slightly and serve it with butter it makes a very decadent breakfast. You can also use leftover pound cake in trifles; I often use it instead of plain cake in my Easy Individual Almond Trifles. The lemon and poppy seeds add a wonderful flavour and texture, perfect alongside the almonds.

How to Serve Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is delicious simply cut and served with a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of milk. I also serve it for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or lemon sorbet and some berries when they are in season.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake – Printable Recipe