Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes
Serves 8-10 people
Ingredients Needed
- 160g/5.6ozs butter, softened
- 235g/8.3ozs caster or superfine sugar
- 3 eggs
- 130g/4.6ozs sour cream
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 185g/6.5ozs plain cake flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 90-120ml/3-4flozs lemon juice (depending on how lemony you want it)
- 3 tablespoons/27g/1oz poppy seeds
For Icing
- 140g/4.9ozs pure icing or powdered sugar
- 10ml/0.4flozs water
- 9ml/0.3flozs lemon juice
Step-By-Step Instructions
*Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer texture.
Step 1 - Line the base and sides of a 20cm/8inch round tin. Preheat oven to 160C/320F fan forced or 180/350F conventional. Place the butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with a beater attachment and beat for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time (I beat them in a small bowl before adding). Then add in the sour cream and lemon zest and beat until the mixture if fluffy and there are no sour cream lumps.
Step 2 - In a bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Then sift this into the bowl. Add the lemon juice and poppy seeds and stir but do not over stir, make around 6-8 swirls until it just comes together making sure to get all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop into the prepared tin and bake for 48-50 minutes turning halfway. Cool in the tin and run a knife around the edge and remove the cake carefully. Place on a cake board.
Step 3 - Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the liquid slowly. Mix until it forms a smooth icing and then spoon it over the cake encouraging some of it to drip down the sides. Add flowers and serve.
Personal Note
I made this cake for Mr NQN to bring to a barbecue. Whenever we go out, it's always with my friends and never his because he doesn't really socialise much. I don't mean to suggest that he has no friends, he definitely has people that like him and like hanging out with him but he never makes plans to see anyone. Ever. I think in the entire time I've known him we've only seen his family and his friends at our wedding and that's it.
One day he said to me, "Hey there's a barbecue on in a couple of weeks, want to go?". I was excited because they're all part of a running group and I wanted to meet them. It was a bring a plate barbecue so as always I volunteered to bring dessert and if they needed another course to let us know because sometimes there are gaps that need filling.
But then a couple of days later I was invited to go away on a trip so I told Mr NQN that I wasn't able to go. "I hope I'll have the time to make the cake..." I mused out loud. I saw a look of concern cross his face briefly and I could tell that it was related to bringing a plate of something. I could have strung him along telling him that he would have to cook something for himself but he looked so stricken so I told him that I'm sure it would be fine and he wouldn't have to go to a shop to buy something and he brought this cake along!
So tell me Dear Reader, when asked to bring a plate, do you usually bring a sweet or savoury dish? Are most of your friends equally split?