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Incredibly delicious, this bright fresh tasting cake is perfect for brunch, snacks or dessert. A double citrus glaze is a spectacular finishing touch.
I'm not sure why, but it seems like lemon always make me feel happy! That's what this Poppyseed Citrus Tea Cake does for me. Not deep-down-in-my soul-happy, because only Jesus can do that; but rather a sunshiny, light kind of happy. So when the weather here in Carolina went from drop-dead gorgeous with balmy 70˚ temperatures and clear blue skies on Saturday to snow, ice and freezing rain on Monday, I declared that something LEMON was definitely in order.
A lemon tea cake sounded perfect, since it can be served for breakfast, brunch and snacks AND it makes a wonderful dessert. Since I had some beautiful oranges and limes, I decided to combine them with my happy lemons to make it a Poppyseed Citrus Tea Cake with double-glaze icing.
The first cake I made wasn’t so “happy", as I didn’t bake it long enough and it had big “sink hole” in the center. I wanted to get it just right for you, (well okay, for me too) so I tweaked the recipe just a bit and tried it again, this time allowing it to bake to a perfect golden brown. The second batch looked wonderful and smelled amazing as it emerged from the oven. I let it cool a bit, added the citrus glazes (yes, two of them) and set things up to get some pictures for the blog. As Scott and I were finishing up the photo shoot, I got a text from my son who had, earlier in the day, invited us for dinner. The text read: “Got any desserts lying around?”
Did I have any desserts lying around? Holy Schmoley ………... did I ever!! I texted back, “How about a Poppyseed Citrus Tea Cake?” with a picture that we'd just taken. His text back just said “YES!!”. I drizzled bit of extra icing on the cake (we like our icing!) and we were on our way. Woohooo! Dinner at Nick and Lindsay’s is always a treat.
As usual, Lindsay made a wonderful dinner and, when we finished, someone remembered the cake. It was cut in thick slices and ………. the verdict? “Wow, this is REALLY good!”, “Yum”, “Oh, wow!” were a few of the comments that slipped out as the moist, citrusy cake was enjoyed with glasses of cold milk. It was definitely a hit, a happy hit ………. and we didn’t even care that the cold, damp rain was still falling outside. By the way, today it was 65˚and sunny ...... go figure!
P.S. Are you wondering about TWO glazes? I thought so .......... here's the scoop; the first glaze is more of a syrup, which is poured on while the cake is still hot. It seeps down in and creates amazing moistness and flavor. The second is the crowning glory: a simple citrusy glaze made with juice and powdered sugar. It's drizzled over the top, once the cake's cooled, cascading down the sides and creating pools of yummy icing just perfect for swiping a finger across ..........
- finely grated zest from 1 large lemon
- finely grated zest from 1 medium lime
- finely grated zest from 1 medium orange
- 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- For the cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
- 4 tablespoons prepared citrus juice mixture see recipe instructions
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces butter at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- For the syrup/glaze:
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons prepared citrus juice mixture see recipe instructions
- For the icing:
- 1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons prepared citrus juice mixture see recipe instructions
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Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray 2 - 8 ½ x 4 inch loaf pans with baking spray. Line the pans with parchment paper so that paper extends an inch or two over the top long edges of the pans.
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Combine all three types of zest in a small bowl and mix lightly with the tines of a fork.
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Combine lemon, lime and orange juice in a another small bowl. This juice will be used in the syrup/glaze, the icing and also in the bread. Divide the juice up like this; place 5 tablespoons of in a small sauce pan (for the syrup glaze). Place 3 tablespoons in a medium size bowl (for the icing). Set aside he remaining 4 tablespoons of juice for the bread batter.
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For the bread, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds in a medium size bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
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Combine yogurt, milk and the 4 tablespoons of juice and vanilla. Stir or whisk together. Set aside.
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Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.
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Add the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt/milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Add zest (reserve just a bit of zest to garnish the loaves with after baking) and stir to combine.
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Divide batter between the two prepared pans. Place pans on a sheet pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until skewer or toothpick insert in the center of the loaves comes out clean.
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Allow to cool slightly while preparing syrup.
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For the syrup/glaze, add ⅓ cup sugar to the juice in the saucepan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Stir till sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat. Poke the top of the loaves all over with a skewer or toothpick. Slowly drizzle syrup over cake, allowing it to sink in before adding more. Use up all the syrup between the two loaves.
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Allow cakes to cool completely in pans, then remove with the overhanging parchment paper.
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For the icing, add 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar to the 3 tablespoons of juice in the medium bowl. Whisk together till smooth. Add more powdered sugar to make a thick, yet drizzle-able icing. Drizzle back and forth over tops of loaves allowing icing to drip down the sides. Garnish with a bit more zest, if desired.
Rondi says
This is incredibly delicious. Soft, light, flavourful and freezes perfectly.
I make the 2 loaves (one bigger and one smaller) split the large one as there are only 2 of us and put them in the freezer for “later”. But “later” is usually
Thank you so much for another great recipe!
Rondi says
That should say “but “later” is usually within the week!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Rhondi! Glad you enjoyed this one 🙂
Ania says
Hi, the cake looks amazing! I don’t have loaf tins - do you think this would work in a springform with the same cup capacity as the 2 loaf pans (? About 4 cups each?) Sorry - I’m a beginner!
Chris Scheuer says
I think that should work fine, Ania. The baking time might be different. I would start checking early. If you have an instant thermometer, it should read between 200 and 210˚F when it's done.
Granny says
Can this be stored out on the counter or does it need to be refrigerated?
Chris Scheuer says
It can be stored at room temp.
Claire Van Allen says
Just made this today yummycious.
Scuore says
It was a winner with my guests today. Absolutely delicious.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much Scuore for taking the time to leave a comment, so happy you enjoyed it!
Sneha Kurien says
Hi, the recipe sounds Devine and I would love to make it. The only issue is that in India, we only have key limes. What would you suggest the quantities be? Look forward to your reply.
Sneha
Chris Scheuer says
Hello Sneha!
Greetings from the other side of the world :). What a blessing to have key limes, that’s even better. I guess the only down side is zesting them as they’re so small. I would try to get about one and a half teaspoons of zest and the same amount of key lime juice (3 tablespoons).
Happy baking!
Sneha Suzan Kurien says
Dear Chris,
I tried the recipe and it was fabulous! I would have replied earlier but I wanted to try it before I got down to thanking you ????. I haven't been very lucky with lemon/lime flavoured cakes - this one broke the spell! I will be making this many many MANY more times....it is perfect for this l'ete indien!
Sneha
Chris Scheuer says
Sneha, welcome to the Café! We are so glad you came. If you like lemon, check our Pinterest boards for lots more where that came from. The lemon chess pie and the French Grandmother's Cake are out of this world!
Jan says
I love citrus too! I have a question on the glaze/syrup. It says 5 tablespoons juice to 1/3 cup sugar.
Do you add water to this? Seems like there should be water to make the syrup.
Thanks
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jan,
Nope, no water. Just the lemon juice and sugar. It makes a lovely syrup. Water would make it too runny.
Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
Nancy says
This has become my favorite poppy seed bread recipe. It's always a hit with my family and friends. I've used it for bridal showers too! Comes out perfect every time. It freezes well so I always have it on hand.
Love your website and recipes Chris!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much Nancy!
Linda says
Hi Chis,
I made this cake today. I will say...yes your pictures are lovely...but I had to take too much time reading the recipe over and over to figure out where the vanilla was suppose to go and how on earth did 5T of juice in up to be 1/2 cup for the syrup glaze? Also for someone reading it for the 1st time, I would suggest you write, "in ANOTHER small bowl mix the juices. I read "small bowl" and put the zest WITH the juices. Oh...well, it all goes in one way or another I figured. I did add the vanilla with the sugar and butter (from experience with most cakes). However frustrating it was to read the recipe, the cake is divine! The crust was perfect and the cake was moist with the wonderful tastes of lemon, lime and orange! I WILL make it again! Oh...I also reduced the sugar to 1 1/2 cups in the cake as I prefer less sweet. It was perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Recipe has been clarified, hope this helps!!
Liz says
Yeah, a treat is definitely in order with this crazy weather! Snow in our overnight forecast...yikes! It may be my day to bake up this gorgeous loaf cake. Katie would be thrilled!
elisabeth@foodandthrift says
Chris, I carefully looked over your ingredients in this wonderful citrus butter cake. Love the combination of the lemon, orange, and lime; the poppy seeds really add an attractive touch and flavor. Also the Greek yogurt adds moistness and flavor. The double citrus drizzle is so irresistible and pretty!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
This is definitely my kind of cake…I love citrus in desserts. We need all the happy we can get, We still have a foot of snow on the ground with temps in the teens at night and thirties and forties during the day.