This Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake is probably my all-time favorite thing that Justin bakes. It’s just that good. The lemon flavor is delicious and the cake itself is incredibly moist.
The recipe was a bit temperamental at first, as Justin ended up making 3 loaves in one weekend just to get it to look right. But I didn’t mind. I was 9 months pregnant that weekend and I LOVED having this cake in the house…as did a few of my other pregnant girlfriends, ha! The first cake fell apart when he tried to take it out of the tin, so for round two he lined the tin with parchment paper. The second cake severely sank in, so for round three he said he didn’t over-beat the batter. The third cake came out absolutely beautiful, but all three cakes tasted amazing.
The recipe is originally from Jocelyn at Grandbaby Cakes. She calls it “Healthy Lemon Loaf Cake” because the base of the cake is olive oil and Greek yogurt. I love that there’s no butter in the recipe, but I can’t bring myself to say that any recipe is “healthy” when it has this much sugar in it. But she makes a very good point…”This was so tasty and full of tart lemon flavor that I had to remind myself that the only way it is bad for me is if I overindulge and eat the whole loaf!”
Ah hem. No one did that in this house. No one.
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
Yield 10 servings
Recipe adapted from the lovely Jocelyn at Grandbaby-Cakes.com.
Ingredients
Loaf Cake
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar {or 1 cup of honey or maple syrup}
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds {or add more to your liking}
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk or fresh lemon juice for more lemon flavor
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, granulated sugar, lightly beaten eggs, greek yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Don’t over-beat this mixture, just make sure it is well combined.
- Using a spoon, gently stir in the poppy seeds.
- Add the lemon cake batter to a greased loaf pan or a pan lined with parchment paper {it comes out easier} and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes then remove from the loaf from the pan to finish cooling.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and milk or lemon juice and pour over the cake. Let the icing set before serving.
- Try not to eat the whole thing at once… {It’s hard!}
