Lemon Poppy – Seed Cake
Posted on 08 February 2010
When life or in my case the next door neighbors, give you a couple grocery bags of Meyer Lemons from their trees you have to find something wonderful to make with them. I was first introduced to these delightful little fruits last winter and set about finding some new recipes to experiment with. The lemon poppy-seed cake was the first recipe to be made with my new citrus find. When Meyer lemon season arrived this year my daughter Katy started daydreaming about this cake again. This is her favorite non-chocolate cake. I got up at 5:15 Sunday morning to bake this cake before going to church. It filled the house with the most delightful lemony aroma. I took some of the cake to a Super Bowl party and my friend Carrie said, ”This cake was worth getting up at 5:15 to make.” Thank you Carrie!
Before we get to the recipe I have to share a few things I have learned about Meyer lemons. These are not your ordinary lemons, Meyer lemons are sweeter, and less acidic with out a mouth puckering tartness usually associated with lemons. In fact my daughter Katy has been known to eat them like an orange! They taste like a cross between a lemon and a tangerine.
The thin skinned Meyer lemon produces a lot of juice. Unfortunately these qualities do not make them good for shipping. If you don’t live in a citrus growing state you might not be able to find them locally but I urge you to look. They are definitely worth the search.
Meyers can be substituted for regular lemons resulting in a burst of lemon flavor with out the acidic bite. This makes them wonderful partners for dessert recipes, baking, and seasoning fish and poultry dishes. If you are looking to brighten a soup or sauce recipe stay with the more acidic regular lemon. I don’t let any of my grocery bags full of Meyer lemons go to waste. I juice the lemons, pour the juice into ice cube trays and when frozen, transfer the juice cubes to freezer bags and use them through out the year in both sweet and savory dishes.
Toasting the poppy seeds before adding them to the lemony batter adds a little nutty crunch to the baked cake. The combination of whole wheat pastry flour and all purpose flour results in a light crumb, moist with just the right amount of sweetness since it is finished off with a simple glaze instead of a heavy frosting. If you are following the Weight Watchers points plan it is only 4 points for a full size serving. There is nothing skimpy about 1/16th of a bundt cake! If you don’t have Meyer lemons by all means use regular lemons and enjoy this cake.
Lemon Poppy-Seed Cake
Adapted from Eating Well
•1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, (see Note)
•1 cup all-purpose flour
•1/4 cup poppy seeds,toasted (see Tip)
•1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 cup buttermilk, (see Tip)
•1/4 cup canola oil
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
•2 tablespoons lemon juice
•2 large eggs, at room temperature (see Tip)
•2 large egg whites, at room temperature
•1 1/4 cups sugar
Lemon Glaze
•3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
•3 tablespoons lemon juice
•1 tablespoon water (I use more lemon juice in place of the water)
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan, preferably nonstick, with cooking spray and dust with flour (or use cooking spray with flour).
2.Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Combine buttermilk, oil, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice in a glass measuring cup.
3.Beat eggs, egg whites and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until thickened and pale, about 5 minutes.
4.Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture with a rubber spatula, a third at a time, alternating with 2 additions of the buttermilk mixture. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
5.Bake the cake until the top springs back when touched lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
6.To prepare glaze: Sift 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl; mix with lemon juice and water to create a thin glaze. Poke 1-inch-deep holes all over the cake with a skewer. Coat the warm cake with the glaze using a pastry brush. Let cool completely. To serve, cut into 16 servings, set the cake on a serving plate and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Nutrition
Per serving : 215 Calories; 6 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 27 mg Cholesterol; 38 g Carbohydrates; 5 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 146 mg Sodium; 70 mg Potassium WWPs 4 Serving size: 1/16th of cake
Tips & Notes
•Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan, preferably nonstick
•Note: Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten forming potential than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Store in the freezer.•Tips: Toast poppy seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
•No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: the ratio is 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.
•To bring cold eggs to room temperature quickly, place in a mixing bowl and set it in a larger bowl of warm water for a few minutes; the eggs will beat to a greater volume.
•To separate eggs safely: Use an egg separator, an inexpensive gadget found in cookware stores; separating eggs by passing the yolk back and forth between pieces of eggshell or your hands can expose the eggs to bacteria.
9 responses to Lemon Poppy – Seed Cake
Incredible photo! I’ll have to see if I can find the whole wheat pastry flour! I know we can’t get the Meyer lemons!
thanks for another great looking recipe Tami!
Thank you Carol. I was so pleased how the photos turned out. Most grocery stores here carry the whole wheat pastry flour and the health food stores do for sure. This recipe does not call for Meyer lemons so regular lemons will work just fine. Let me know if you make it.
WoW… I will try this as well. Thanks for explaining the pasty flour to me, I was going to make your yummy apple cake but realized I didnt have the pastry flour for it… Do you think I can use regular flour instead? I will get some next time when I do my shopping if not..
My mom who lives in Louisianna brings these yummy lemons to me when she comes for her visits.. sooo good…
Thanks for sharing… My hubby is going to love this one for sure….
How nice that your mom brings you Meyers Lemons.
You can use regular white flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour just remember that it will decrease the amount of fiber by 16g for the total cake.So per serving each serving will have 1g fiber less.That is not too bad.
You might need to adjust the liquids since you won’t have as much fiber. If you are an experienced baker and I think you are from seeing the bread baking on your blog, you should be able to make the swap with some adjustments.
White flour does result in a more tender crumb and a lighter texture since it has less fiber.You might need less buttermilk if using white flour,so I would start with 3/4 cup and see what the batter is like. If it is really thick add more buttermilk a little at a time.
Here is how the flours stack up:
Gold Medal unbleached All-Purpose flour, 1/4 cup =
100 calories, 1g fiber, 1g sugar, 3 g protein
Bob’s Red Mill 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 1/4 cup =
110 calories, 4g fiber, 0g sugar, 3g protein
If you decide to get the whole wheat pastry flour most grocery stores here carry the whole wheat pastry flour in their health food departments. Of course Whole Foods and health food stores stock it as a regular item and even sell it in the bulk bins.
I store the whole wheat pastry flour in the freezer so it stays fresh. Just pull it out before baking with it so it can get to room temperature.
Your question has made me think that I should do a special page all about whole grains and the differences. Thanks for the inspiration.
Let me know what you decide to do, and give me a review!
Thank you thank you .. Your fantastic… Im going to give it a whirl … Thanks for all the input and taking the time to write all that. You rock..
You are welcome, I am happy to help!
Hi Tami,
Um, this looks delicious! We have a dwark meyer lemon bush, but the last few years it hasn’t really been producing. I don’t know why. Wish I did because they are SO yummy.
You know you can buy soft wheat and grind it yourself if you have a wheat grinder. I do, because my religion is big on storing food for a rainy day and one of the main things we store is wheat. So, you have to have a grinder to grind it! I love to use soft white wheat flour in place of white flour. unfortunately, I am out of soft wheat currently. I need to get some more.
Thanks for the recipes you sent me! I appreciate it!
Emily,
What a shame your Meyer lemon tree stopped producing.
I have not ground any of my own flour. I do however own a Blendtec blender that is capable of grinding wheat.
I did buy some white whole wheat flour from King Arthur Flour and have had success subbing it for white flour in some recipes. I wasn’t sure about subbing that in this recipe as I was looking for a soft crumb for this cake. I know it gets tricky to make sure your end result is moist when subbing whole grain flours for white.
I am still learning! Any hints and tips you have regarding converting recipes that call for white flour to using soft white wheat woulde be appreciated.
You are so welcome for the recipes. I love to share recipes and tips on improving our diets, cooking for our families and staying motivated!
Blessings,
Tami
[...] picked the last of the lemons from his tree and gave them to me! Katy is dreaming about the Lemon Poppy Seed bundt cake that I make. She ate almost the entire cake herself the last time I made it.I don’t eat [...]