Call Me Cupcake

Sweet food & photography

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Lemon poppy seed bundt cake with a lemon syrup & blueberry glaze

I’ve struggled to come up with something to bake for the blog lately, but when I saw this pan in a second hand shop, I knew immediately what I wanted to make. Inspiration is a funny thing. It comes and goes, and usually it comes when you least expect it.

I have to act on it when it comes, which means a lot of other important things get pushed to the side. You know, as in eating well, taking care of myself, seeing friends, responding to calls and texts (who am I kidding, I never respond to calls), wearing something other than yoga pants. I started doing yoga almost every day though so at least I have an excuse for the yoga pants.

I think I’ve been in hermit mode since I quit my nine-to-five job, almost five years ago. I thank my friend Carey for encouraging me to take the mbti-test (16 personalitites) which has been sort of life changing for me. It made me understand myself, as an infp, and other people (yes, I forced everyone I know to take the test!) so much better.

But I digress. Cake! I made another version of this cake almost one year ago but was never happy with the recipe. Up until now, I haven’t had a proper lemon cake on my blog. HOW is this possible?

I adore lemon cake, especially with poppy seeds. And what a lemon cake it is, the best one I’ve made – by far! Soaked in lemon syrup and with a blueberry glaze. And how beautiful is that pan? I might make a pudding in it next time. Wouldn’t it be perfect for that?


LEMON POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE WITH A LEMON SYRUP & BLUEBERRY GLAZE

Serves 8

You can also bake this cake in a loaf pan! If you’re baking in a vintage cake pan, make sure to check doneness before removing the cake from the oven. I had to bake it for almost 70 minutes when using a vintage pan, , whilst in a new pan it only took 47 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

BUNDT CAKE

  • 210 g (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 225 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
  • 125 g (slightly more than 1 stick) softened salted butter
  • 3 large eggs
  • 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) heavy cream
  • 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp. poppy seeds

LEMON SYRUP

  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 55 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

BLUEBERRY GLAZE

  • 3/4 tsp. freeze dried blueberry powder
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 75 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp. milk
  • Poppy seeds, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

CAKE

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350F). Grease and flour a 6 cup (1 1/2 litre) bundt or loaf pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. Place the sugar in a large bowl. Add the finely grated lemon zest and rub together until sugar is fragrant and zest is incorporated. Add the butter and beat until mixture is light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
  4. In a small bowl, combine heavy cream and lemon juice. Add the flour mixture and cream mixture in additions to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 45-50 minutes (start checking doneness around 35-40 minutes, and cover the top with foil if the cake is browning too much) or until a cake tester comes out clean. While the cake is baking, you can prepare the syrup (instructions below). Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.

LEMON SYRUP

  1. Combine lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Place over medium high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
  2. Brush the cake with the syrup while the cake is still warm, then let the cake cool completely. Place the cake on a cake stand or serving platter.

BLUEBERRY GLAZE

  1. Place blueberry powder in a small bowl. Add a little splash of the lemon juice and stir until a paste forms. Stir in the rest of the lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Add milk to desired consistency.
  2. Drizzle glaze over the cake and sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • You can definitely also use a handful of blueberries in place of the powder. Just mash them together with the rest of the ingredients! You might need to increase the sugar, or leave out the milk as the blueberries contain some liquid. And if you want the glaze to be smooth you can just strain it. The reason I’m not using blueberries right now is because they’re not in season – but you can totally use frozen ones!

      Reply

  6. I just made a Lemon Blueberry layer cake with lemon buttercream frosting for my mother in law’s birthday and it was a hit. I didn’t get to taste it until after I completed my Whole30 adventure, so I froze a slice for myself to enjoy later. But your lemon bundt cake sounds fabulous too! I love how many creations you can make with one ingredient. Poppy seeds add such a beautiful texture to the cake as well. The pan you found to bake it in is beautiful. Love finding little treasures like that to add to the collection and be inspired by! Way to go on following through!

    Reply

    • Ohh ,that sounds yummy! Such a great idea freezing a slice for later 🙂 Poppy seeds do add such an interesting texture and flavor, I love them! xx

      Reply

  9. Oh you’ve just given me an idea! I bake for an elderly neighbor of mine every week and never thought about using one of my vintage (weird-shaped) pans. Fabulous. I’m a huge fan of your photography as well, so inspiring.

    Reply

    • So glad you feel inspired to use vintage pans!! I adore them, so many fun shapes! The only thing is the cake tends to stick… but just butter and flour it a lot and I’m sure it will come out. Thanks for your kind comment!

      Reply

  11. The cake looks amazing, it will be my next recipe. I am absolutely in love with that beautiful mold, could you tell me where you bought it?
    Thank you.

    Reply

    • Thank you for your kind words, Lourdes! The pan is vintage, so unfortunately I couldn’t tell you where to find a similar one. Etsy, perhaps?

      Reply

  13. I love all your creations Linda. They are just beautiful. I love baking and photography as well. I will try this recipe this weekend. Now… I need to get poppy seeds.

    Reply

  15. The recipe, the cake and the photography are beautiful! I’m making this at the weekend after looking for a nice recipe involving blueberries and discovered your blog. Thank you, I am sure I will be trying other recipes!

    Reply

    • Hi Rebekah, thank you so much for your sweet comment! I adore those little candles from OVO things.. so lovely! xx

      Reply

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