Questions you may have about the recipe:
What citrus can I use in this recipe?
You can use lemon, lime, sweet lime, blood oranges, grapefruit, mandarins, malta oranges, etc.
Why do I have to rub the sugar and the zest together?
The zest of citrus fruits have the most amount of flavour. Rubbing it with the sugar releasing the essential oils and gives you maximum flavour. Please do not skip this step.
I don’t have black poppy seeds, they are not available in India!
I got mine when I was travelling overseas but I have found black poppy seeds online, you can check it out. link: https://amzn.to/3Qv1e6r
Your cake is so tall
I baked my cake in 6 inch tall pan because I like how it looks. It does take longer to bake. If you wish to bake in a 7 inch pan the baking time will be lesser.
How to preheat the oven and for how long?
You always preheat your oven with both top and bottom rods ON, and for a minimum of 15-25 minutes. I always use an oven thermometer to be sure.
BAKING IS ALWAYS WITH ONLY THE BOTTOM ROD ON.
Click here to buy the baking items I use
Click here to buy the baking items I use
Ingredients breakdown:
Plain flour: This is your regular all-purpose flour or maida as we call it. I use what I buy locally.
Caster sugar: This is just regular sugar but it is finer in texture. This helps it to dissolve in the batter so you don’t get a batter that is grainy. It leads to an even texture in the baked cake.
Baking powder: Always ensure you use the best quality baking powder you can get. Also check its expiry.
Eggs: I use fresh, locally available eggs.
Butter: I live in India and I love Amul butter, I normally always use salted butter in my bakes unless specified. If you plan on using unsalted butter please add 1/4 tsp salt in the recipe along with the dry ingredients.
Oil: I like to add a little bit of oil in this recipe because it helps to keep the cake more moist and long lasting.
Poppy seeds: These are literally the highlight of the cake, they add a beautiful texture and enhance the flavour of the cake.
Lemon: Use the best quality locally available lemons for best flavour. You can also use any other citrus fruits you like. In the reel I have made on Instagram I have made a sweet lime version of this cake. Always wash and dry your citrus before zesting.
Milk: I have used both full fat dairy milk and coconut milk. Both work amazingly in this recipe.
Lemon and Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Dry:
- 150 gram maida or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 160 gram superfine caster sugar
- 2 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (you can also use lime)
Wet:
- 100 gram butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature (I use salted butter)
- 60 milliliter flavourless oil (I used sunflower)
- 3 eggs (medium sized) room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (you can also use lime)
- 3-4 tablespoon milk (I have made it with full fat dairy as well as coconut milk)
Soak:
- 40-50 millilitre Juice of lemon and lime (you can mix the two or use any on citrus)
- 2-4 tablespoon superfine caster sugar according to preference of sweetness
- 2 tablespoon water
Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 175 C. Grease and line a 6 inch loaf pan (7 inch pan works too but the loaf will not be as tall)
In a medium-large bowl add the sugar and lemon zest, using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar. (read more about the why of this step in the questions).
Now sift the flour, baking powder into the bowl and gently whisk to combine everything. Add the poppy seeds to this and stir with a spoon to distribute it evenly.
Add the soft cubed butter into this bowl and using a handheld mixer whisk on low speed till the mixture looks like wet sand.
Now add the oil and then, one egg at a time, whisking for 10 seconds after each addition (do not whisk longer)
In the end add the lemon juice & milk and whisk for another 10-15 seconds. (try not to over mix).
Pour this batter into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top and then run a knife through the centre of the batter lengthwise (for the pound cake crack as the cake bakes).
Bake for 60-70 minutes (for the 6 inch pan). Or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake rest in the pan on a wire rack while you make the soaking syrup.
Soaking syrup:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk till the sugar dissolves. Pour this over the hot cake. Use the entire quantity, the cake will soak it all.
Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.
Enjoy!
Bakesalotlady™ 