Lemon Poppyseed Cake

Lemon Poppyseed Cake

Inspired by: Technicolor Kitchen

Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

• 3 cups of cake flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 of a teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of white sugar
• 1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 5 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• The grated zest of 1 lemon
• Juice from 1/2 of a lemon, strained
• 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds

Lemon Simple Syrup:

• 1/4 of a cup of sugar
• 1/3 of a cup of water
• Juice of 1 large lemon

Lemon Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 12 oz of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 of a cup of butter, softened
• 5 heaping cups of powdered sugar, sifted
• The juice from 1/2 of a lemon
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Butter two 9” round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper-- butter the paper and set aside
• Zest an entire medium lemon and set aside

• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder—whisk together and set aside
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes)

• Add in the egg whites and beat well
• Add in the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternating. First flour, added in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk added in 2 additions
• Gently mix in the poppy seeds and lemon zest—if you beat too hard, the poppy seeds will break and change the color of the batter

• Divide the batter between the two pans

• Flatten out with a spatula to make an even surface, and then drop the pans a few times on the counter to get the air bubbles out

• Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the edges start to pull             from the sides of the pan
• Let cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes, then remove and turn onto cooling racks

Make the Lemon Simple Syrup

• Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan
• Boil until reduced into a thicker syrup

• NOTE: Don’t overcook! The first time I did this it ended up brown, and it tastes caramel-y and gross with the lemon

This is what mine looked like

• This will go on the cakes as soon as they come out of the pans (I put wax paper underneath my cooling rack to avoid a sticky mess)

Make the frosting

• In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy
• Add the vanilla and lemon juice and mix well
• Add the sugar 1-2 cups at a time, mixing well between each addition, and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed
• Once everything is well mixed, beat on a high speed until fluffy

Assemble The Cake

• Let the cake cool completely after the lemon syrup has been brushed on top
• Once everything is completely cool, place one round on a cake plate and spread icing in the middle
• Cover and cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes
• Put the second cake on top and ice the rest of the cake

Keep refrigerated so the cream cheese icing doesn’t spoil

Approximate Nutrition Information for 1 slice, if cut into 12

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