Lemon Poppy Seed Poundcake

I was struck dumb last Thursday evening when I learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. And then the tears came. When my sister called and invited me to join her in singing “G’d save the Queen” one last time, I squeaked out a couple of notes and more tears followed. The Queen was a constant figure in my life from the time that I started elementary school. Our morning began with the singing of the British National anthem. Royal visits to Canada, a Commonwealth country, were eagerly anticipated especially when they included a stop in Toronto.

Lemon Poppy Seed Poundcake

In a speech in 1947, on her 21st birthday, the Queen pronounced, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong”. And in fact, Her Majesty’s stoic and selfless dedication to duty endured right to the end of her life. The Queen embodied the ideal of dignity, which appears to be a lost commodity in today’s society. Without ostentation and with great discipline, she was an icon of stability and perseverance.
This lemon poppy seed poundcake by talented recipe developer and food writer, Melissa Clark, published in the New York Times, is a tribute to the Queen. A thick slice of this bright, lemony, moist, poundcake, with a surprising smidgen of crunch from a sprinkling of poppy seeds, is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. Shared with friends and enjoyed with a hot “cuppa”, this loaf cake is a very tasty way to honor the memory of a very great monarch.

Assemble your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Zest and juice 2 lemons. Set aside the zest and juice. If not using buttermilk, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice to a measuring cup and pour in milk (any kind) to the 1/2 cup mark. Set this mixture aside.

In a bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar and rub with your fingers to release the lemon oil into the sugar. The sugar mixture should look like wet sand.

Whisk in the buttermilk or milk to which lemon juice has been added, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, oil, and eggs. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour or until a cake tester emerges from the middle of the cake with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, then turn out onto a baking rack set over a baking sheet lined with parchment. Whisk together the remaining 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar to make a glaze. Brush the glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Cool completely before slicing.

Print Recipe

Lemon Poppy Seed Poundcake

Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Desserts

By Melissa Clark – Serves: 8-10

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 60 minutes – Total Time: 80 minutes

This bright, lemony, moist, poundcake, with a surprising smidgen of crunch from a sprinkling of poppy seeds, is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

Ingredients

• 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup buttermilk or ½ cup milk (any kind) + 1½ teaspoons of lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• Glaze
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper.

2

Zest and juice 2 lemons. Set aside the zest and juice. If not using buttermilk, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice to a measuring cup and pour in milk to the 1/2 cup mark. Set this mixture aside.

3

In a bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar and rub with your fingers to release the lemon oil into the sugar. Whisk in the buttermilk or milk to which lemon juice has been added, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, oil, and eggs. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds.

4

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour or until a cake tester emerges from the center of the cake with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, then turn out onto a baking rack set over a baking sheet lined with parchment.

5

Whisk together the remaining 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and confectioner's sugar to make a glaze. Brush the glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Cool completely before slicing.

Notes

Freezes very well.