- Hi everyone, it's Natasha of Natashaskitchen.com
and on this episode we are making
a lemon poppy seed cake that's soft, moist,
easy to make and has wonderful, fresh lemon flavor.
The whipped lemon buttercream frosting is incredible.
Preheat your oven to 350˚F
then zest your lemons,
you'll need about a tablespoon of zest.
You'll notice I am wearing safety gloves
to protect my fingers, I use these all the time
and I will leave a link in the notes.
Also squeeze all of the lemon juice right now.
You'll need two tablespoons for the cake
and three tablespoons for the frosting.
And this is the sturdiest lemon and lime squeezer
we have found and I will link to this as well.
Let's gets started on the cake batter.
You can use a stand mixer or just a bowl.
So in a large mixing bowl combine
12 tablespoons of softened, unsalted butter
with one cup of sugar.
Beat that together for about two minutes until creamed.
Now add three room temperature eggs,
adding them one at a time
and beating between each addition,
just until they're incorporated.
In a separate, small mixing bowl
whisk together two cups of flour,
two tablespoons of poppy seeds
and two and a half teaspoons of baking powder.
Whisk those together until well blended
and whisk thoroughly to aerate the flour for a softer cake.
Add half of the flour mixture to the batter
and beat on low speed, just until incorporated.
Now add one tablespoon of lemon zest,
two tablespoons of lemon juice
and one teaspoon of vanilla.
Beat just until combined, then with the mixer on low speed,
add half a cup of room temperature buttermilk.
Finally, blend in the remaining half of your flour mixture
and mixing until smooth without any lumps.
The batter will be thick and creamy.
Butter two nine-inch cake pans.
I like to butter the sides and the base
then line the bottom of each pan
with a ring of parchment paper.
Divide the batter evenly between your prepared cake pans.
Use a spatula to spread the batter in the pans
and even out the tops.
And I do double check to make sure
I have the same amount of batter in each cake pan
so that my cakes rise evenly.
This is the same digital kitchen scale
that I shared in our kitchen tour.
Now bake the cakes in the center of a preheated oven
at 350˚F for about 20-23 minutes
or just until a toothpick
inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes
then transfer them to wire racks, remove the backing
and let them cool completely to room temperature.
Once the cakes are at room temperature,
we can make that lemon buttercream frosting
and this is so easy.
Place two sticks or one cup of softened, unsalted butter
into a large mixing bowl and beat them on high speed
for two minutes or until creamy and smooth.
Now add four ounces of softened cream cheese
and continue beating until completely smooth and fluffy.
Now add four cups of powered sugar,
three tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Start beating on low speed
so you don't end up in a cloud of powered sugar
and then increase to high speed
and beat until whipped and fluffy or about five minutes.
Scrape down the bowl as needed
to make sure you have everything really well combined
and that whipped, thick consistency is perfect
for spreading or piping onto cakes.
It also has fantastic, fresh lemon flavor.
We are ready to assemble this cake.
Place your first cooled cake layer
flat side down onto a cake platter
and add about a third of your frosting.
I like a generous amount of frosting in the center
so spread that evenly over the top.
Cover that with your second cooled cake layer
with the flat side up so you have a flat top to work with.
Spread another generous third of the frosting
over the top and sides.
And we're going for more a naked cake look here
so you just need enough on the sides to crumb coat the cake.
It looks great and will keep the cake from getting dry.
Transfer your remaining frosting
to a large piping bag fitted with an open star tip.
Before piping on the frosting
I do like to sprinkle on a little bit of extra poppy seeds
giving people a hint of what's inside.
Now pipe generous puffs of frosting
all around the edges of the cake
and because it is a lemon poppy seed cake
I'll place a slice of lemon into the side of each puff.
Okay (laughs) it is done and it's time for the taste test.
Now you can refrigerate this,
it makes it just a little bit easier to slice
if the frosting firms up a tad
but you can also just dive right in (laughs)
so that's what we're gonna do right now.
Alright, here we go.
Alright, and a big old piece for me. (laughs)
Here we go, mm,
it's so soft.
(laughs) Alright, the taste test, here we go.
The moment I have been waiting for.
(satisfied sound)
This has a really surprising
and impressive pop of lemon flavor.
Make sure you use fresh lemon juice
because it really makes this cake in the frosting.
It's awesome, you can taste the lemon in the cake,
you can taste it in the frosting
and then it's speckled with lemon zest
and poppy seeds of course.
They give great texture and make this look so pretty.
This is delicious.
(laughs) I want more, oh wow.
And this cake stores really well
and what I love about this frosting,
that little bit of cream cheese in it
makes it perfect straight out of the fridge
or right after it's made
'cause it doesn't turn into a stick of butter
(laughs) when it's refrigerated.
And that lemon juice cuts the sweetness in the frosting
just right, this is delicious.
Make this and you will get rave reviews.
If you guys enjoyed this recipe
give us a great big thumbs up below,
make sure to subscribe to our channel
and we'll see you next time.
This cake is simple to make and even easier to decorate.
If you guys love impressive desserts
that aren't difficult to make
check these out right over there and right down there
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We'll see you next time.