You like poppy seeds? Then you will love this French Poppy Seed Cake. A soft and delicious cake topped with lemon icing and more poppy seeds — try it for your next coffee break!
Do not think you need to buy a cake mix for this. Nope, because making a poppy seed cake from scratch is so easy.
So, if you are a beginner, don’t be wary — it’s an excellent cake recipe to start with.
No complicated steps, ingredients, or timings.
Just a delicious serving (or two) for everyone to enjoy — any time of the day.
IF YOU WANT MORE EASY FRENCH RECIPES, YOU WILL LIKE THESE POSTS!
Ingredients
- Butter – I typically use unsalted butter for preparing this French poppy seed cake.
- Sugar – regular white sugar will be great.
- Flour – all-purpose flour is all you need.
- Baking powder – just use your favorite brand.
- Poppy seeds – you will use this both for the cake batter and on top.
- Lemon – you would use the zest and the juice of one lemon.
- Eggs – medium-sized (63 to 73 grams/egg), room temperature, and separated.
- Honey – I suggest going for mild-flavored honey.
- Milk – you need buttermilk for this poppy cake recipe.
- Powdered sugar – you would only use this for the icing.
Preparation
Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F), greasing an 8-inch cake pan with butter, and dusting it with a bit of flour. Set cake pan aside.
Use a strainer to sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Add four tablespoons of poppy seeds, then mix (photo 1).
Using a large mixing bowl, combine butter with sugar, then mix until it’s creamy.
Add the yolk, honey, lemon zest, and milk (photo 2).
Continue mixing until everything is evenly combined.
Add the strained dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds (photo 3).
Mix until just combined, then set cake batter aside.
Start beating the egg whites (photo 4).
Add a third of it into the batter once you get stiff peaks from the egg whites (photo 5).
Fold gently to combine, then add the remaining egg whites in batches.
Do not overmix; just enough to combine the whites into the rest.
Pour the batter into the greased cake pan (photo 6).
Tap the pan gently on the counter to get rid of bubbles.
Place the pan in the lower part of the oven for thirty-five to forty minutes — or until a toothpick comes out dry when you stick it in the cake.
Take your poppy seed cake out of the oven and set it aside to cool.
Start with the icing by combining the powdered sugar with the lemon juice and mix until you get a creamy texture (photo 7).
Pour on top of the cooled cake.
Use an angled spatula to spread it evenly.
Sprinkle the remaining poppy seeds on top (photo 8).
Set aside until the icing solidifies.
Your French poppy seed cake is now ready for slicing and serving!
Helpful tips
- Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. So, if you’re keeping them in the refrigerator, take them out an hour earlier.
- Check that the cake is no longer warm before pouring the lemon icing on top. Otherwise, it will just melt the icing instead of setting it.
- Feel free to double the serving of the icing if you prefer a thicker layer than what I’ve shown in the images.
- Do not add all the lemon juice at once when preparing the icing. Instead, add it a teaspoon at a time while mixing. It should have a creamy consistency, not thin or watery.
FAQs
Absolutely.
The sweetness in the cake itself is already balanced, so it’s excellent even without the lemon icing.
A 9-inch cake pan will absolutely work, but you will have a thinner cake, and you might need to prepare more icing.
Looks so tempting, right? Give this poppy cake recipe a try this weekend, and let me know!
📖 Recipe
French Poppy Seed Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For Poppy Seed Cake Batter:
- 125 grams butter (1 stick + 1 tbsp, level), unsalted and softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 & 2/3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp & 2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 piece lemon, grated zest
- 1 medium egg yolk
- 4 medium egg whites
For Lemon Icing:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, heaping
- 5 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F), greasing an 8-inch cake pan with butter, and dusting it with a bit of flour. Set cake pan aside.
Cake Preparation:
- Use a strainer to sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.
- Add 4 tablespoons of poppy seeds, then mix.
- Using a large mixing bowl, combine butter with sugar, then mix until it's creamy.
- Add the yolk, honey, lemon zest, and milk, then continue mixing to combine evenly.
- Add the dry ingredients from earlier — flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds.
- Mix until just combined, then set cake batter aside.
- Beat the egg whites until you get stiff peaks.
- Add 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the batter and fold gently to combine.
- Add the remaining egg whites in batches; do not overmix, but just enough to combine the whites into the rest.
- Pour the batter into the greased cake pan.
- Tap the pan gently on the counter to get rid of bubbles.
- Place the pan in the lower part of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes; or until a toothpick comes out dry when you stick it in the cake.
- Take your poppy seed cake out of the oven and set it aside to cool.
Icing Preparation:
- Combine the powdered sugar with the lemon juice and mix until you get a creamy texture.
- Pour on the cooled cake and use an angled spatula to spread it evenly.
- Sprinkle the remaining poppy seeds on top.
- Set aside until it sets.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook’s Tip #1: Remember to use eggs at room temperature. Take them out of the refrigerator earlier if that’s where you keep them.
- Cook’s Tip #2: Make sure the cake is no longer warm before adding the lemon icing on top. Otherwise, it will just melt the icing instead of setting it.
- Cook’s Tip #3: Feel free to double the serving of the icing if you prefer a thicker layer than what I’ve shown in the images.
- Cook’s Tip #4: Do not add all the lemon juice at once when preparing the icing. Add it a teaspoon at a time while mixing — it should have a creamy consistency, not thin or watery.
Ellyna
Hi. You mention add yolk and milk. What’s the amount of milk to use as it’s not in your ingredients list. Thank you
Neriz
Thank you so much for your comment Ellyna! You are absolutely right. I have now updated the recipe to include the amount of milk.
Sorry for the confusion.