Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Is it really June?! Time flies. It's crazy to think that I've been out of school for a little over a year and been working as a pediatric nurse for 8 months. It's amazing how much has changed. 

The brother has one year left as a teen. We had to celebrate a little early since he'll be off at camp on his real birthday. This year, he opted for a lemon poppyseed cake. I swear, the kid picks the weirdest things for me to make. Every other guy I know likes chocolate. But for the brother, I've done strawberry, white chocolate with raspberry, and now this. Gotta love him. 

The recipe is from Apple & Spice via Pinterest. I didn't change much, other than using whole eggs instead of just whites. And the brother vetoed the flaked almonds for decorating, so I used some extra lemon zest. Also, the original is all in metric units, so I'll give you the converted version. You're welcome. 

Basically, it tastes just like a lemon poppyseed muffin with frosting. It's pretty delicious if you're into that. It's moist, sweet, lemony, not too heavy. The brother was pleased with it, so I think that makes it a winner! 

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBSP poppy seeds
3/4 cup unsalted butter
zest of 1 lemon
275ml buttermilk
5 large eggs

For the sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
75ml water
juice of 1 lemon

For the frosting:
8oz cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP almond extract

• Heat the oven to 350*F and prepared 3 8-9" cake pans. 
• Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Gently mix to combine.
• Add the butter, lemon zest, and 200ml of the buttermilk. Beat on low until completely mixed. Raise the speed to medium and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine the remaining buttermilk with the eggs. Whisk to blend thoroughly. 
• Add the egg mixture to the batter in 2-3 additions. Beat only enough to incorporate.
• Divide the batter between the three pans (it may seem a little thick).
• Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your pans), until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. 
• Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning out.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the lemon sauce:
• In a small sauce pan, combine sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
•  Generously brush the cakes with the lemon sauce while they are still warm. 
• Allow the cakes to completely cool before frosting.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter & cream cheese until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides & beating well between each addition.
• Add the almond extract and continue to beat well for 3-4 minutes, until light & fluffy.
• I trust you can figure out how to assemble the cake!

Enjoy!

I seriously need to get back to cooking more. I've been eating like an unchaperoned 5-year-old at a birthday party. However, I've actually made some breakfast sandwiches and oatmeal cupcakes recently. They were pretty good... I'll TRY to get those posts up soon!