The perfect Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf made from scratch. This lovely one bowl loaf cake is light and fluffy and made with fresh lemons and drizzled with a sugary glaze.
Love lemons?! 💛
If so, you’ll adore this lovely Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf. Soft and sweet, this one bowl lemon cake is so easy to throw together and is a total crowd pleaser.
Drizzled with a tangy lemon glaze, it’s my new fave thing.
I had Lemon Poppy Seed on my mind recently, so I jumped into the kitchen to create a light and moist Lemon Poppy Seed Bread that would rival any store bought kind. It’s the sort of cake you buy to have with a coffee when you’re out, but have you ever made it at home?
It’s incredible easy, and for a similar price, you’ll get twice as many thick, moreish slices to enjoy. But the best part is you can enjoy a piece warm from the oven – amazing!
Just like my popular Cinnamon Apple Cake, this Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf uses oil to make a super light and fluffy loaf. We also add fresh lemon juice and zest for plenty of flavour, not to mention a showering of trusty poppy seeds!
This recipe is going straight to the top of my ‘easy-but-oh-so-tasty-recipes’ to whip out when guests are coming over. It’s perfect for morning or afternoon tea or as a treat for the lunchbox. And it freezes really well too!
Trust me, you’re going to want to make this Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf over and over again! Promise ❤️
TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT LEMON POPPY SEED LOAF
- This is a simple one bowl recipe – no electric mixer required.
- Use a neutral oil for this recipe. I usually use vegetable oil, but I’ve also used a light olive oil or you could use grape seed oil.
- I recommend using fresh lemon juice and zest as suggested in the recipe for maximum flavour.
- Try not to over bake this cake. Every oven is different, so start checking the loaf from about 45 minutes onwards. Insert a butter knife or skewer into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean, you know the cake is ready.
- If the cake starts to go brown on the top and edges but is still not cooked in the centre, place a piece of aluminium foil on top in the last 10 minutes of cooking to help prevent the top from overcooking.
- The glaze is simply three ingredients – icing sugar, lemon juice and milk. To make it a little thinner, add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice, or if you would like it thicker, add another tablespoon or two of sugar. Make your cake is completely warm before adding the glaze otherwise it will just melt right into the cake!
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf
Soft and fluffy Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf made with fresh lemons.
Ingredients
Lemon bread
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of one lemon
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) greek yoghurt
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) full fat or whole milk
Lemon glaze
- 60 grams (1/2 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon full fat or whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon juice and zest. Whisk briefly to combine.
- Add flour, baking powder, poppy seeds and yogurt. Start to stir and then add the milk. Gently mix until combined – but be careful not to over mix.
- Add batter to prepared tin. Bake loaf for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If you find the top of your loaf is browning too much, simply add a piece of aluminium foil over the top towards the end of cooking.
- To make the glaze, stir together sugar, lemon juice and milk. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice. Drizzle over cake once it’s completely cooled and serve.
Deby says
It kind of burnt
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Deby, you might want to get hold of an oven thermometer to double check your oven isn’t running hot.
Natalie says
Fantastic cake! I get so many compliments and I’ve found that you can substitute ingredients and it still turns out fabulous. A friend of mine cannot eat dairy so I substituted Greek yoghurt for coconut yoghurt and milk for coconut milk. Turned out perfect! Another friend cannot have eggs so I just omitted the eggs. Again equally perfect. Trick is not to over mix. This cake is a winner!!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that’s great to hear Natalie! Thank you for the kind feedback!
Amelia says
Just love the tangy moist texture. The lemon is not over powering at all. Definetly a family fave. I didn’t tweek a thing, made it exactly as recipe. Yummy treat in the tropical state of Queensland, Australia😋
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant! Love hearing that Amelia!
Nicky M says
I made this for mother’s day, and it came out great! I only had brown sugar so I used that instead, and to punch up the lemon flavor I used lemon extract instead of vanilla. Other than that, I followed it to a T and came out beautifully. I will def make this again! Also, I appreciate that you gave the temperature for a fan-forced oven. Thanks again for this, and looking forward to trying your other recipes!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So happy to hear that Nicky!
Marion says
Fabulous easy recipe. I now make it regularly, it’s moist, tangy and delicious. As an alternative I used cranberries when I ran out of poppyseeds.
I also make it GF for my grandson and it’s equally successful, he loves it.
Thank you so much I’ll be looking at your other recipes for sure.
Marion
Jessica Holmes says
That is wonderful to hear Marion! And I love the idea of adding cranberries – I’ll have to try that myself next time!
Jennifer says
This cake is amazing!! Big hit in my home
★★★★★
Jennifer says
Question.. Can I make this cake ahead of time? how many days can I keep it on the counter or fridge?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes. You can keep it at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days or it will also freeze very well.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so happy to hear that Jennifer!
Ray says
Wow…this recipe is amazing…tasted nice and sofy days after!! You inspire me to bake because your recipes are fail proof. I have tried recipes from other popular youtubers with disappointing results.; keep doing what you are doing.sweetest menu!🤗👍
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Ray! Thank you for the kind feedback!
Carmen from Spain says
DELICIOUS AND FLUFFY! Thanks for sharing! I baked it in muffin cups 😍
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you liked it Carmen!
Jennifer says
I tries the recipe with oil and it was delicious. Can I substitute the oil with butter? If yes how much should I use?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jennifer, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I find oil works much better here in creating a soft and moist cake.
Celeste says
Hi Jessica! Can you replace poppy seeds with chia seeds? If so, in the same proportion?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes and yes! Hope you like it!
sharon says
can I use a regular vanilla yogurt in this recipe
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sharon, yes it should work.
Julia E McGregor says
Deliciously moist. I’ve already shared the recipe!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Julia!
Katie says
Have made this twice over the last fortnight and have friends requesting the recipe! A beautiful, moist cake – lovely for a morning tea treat.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Katie!