Easy Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake. A delicious cake, moist and tender from the yogurt and vegetable oil, delicate, not too sweet, with a delightful lemon flavor, and the poppy seeds that add a little crunch.
As a matter of fact, poppy seeds, or the combination lemon/poppy seed so popular abroad, is not usual in Italian baking. Since I have been living in Canada, though, my palate has broadened immensely and I am enjoying making desserts that I did not know until a few years ago.
Yogurt cakes
Certainly, to make it more in tune with my Italian heritage, I am adding yogurt, one of my most favorite ingredients, to a lemon poppy seed cake. My Easy yogurt cake is often our go-to breakfast, and the Lemon yogurt berry loaf is one of our preferred summer desserts. Not only, I love to add yogurt to muffins and mini cakes; use Greek yogurt as a filling, mixed with ricotta, for "crostatine" (tartlets), and also to make a cream filling for a wonderful chocolate cake.
Ingredients
- eggs
- cane or granulated sugar
- lemon, juice and zest
- vanilla
- vegetable oil
- plain yogurt
- all purpose flour (or type 00)
- potato starch
- baking powder
- poppy seeds
- icing (powdered) sugar + lemon juice, for the glaze
Easy preparation
Indeed, this Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake is quick and straightforward to make. As a rule, when I bake, I prefer to use a scale to measure my ingredients. And I like to have them all ready to go before I start. This is what I do:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C . Grease and flour an 8in/20cm bundt pan. Grate the lemon zest and rub it in the sugar. Squeeze the juice and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, the lemon juice, the vegetable oil and mix. After, add the yogurt and mix again.
- Sift in the flour, potato starch and baking powder, and blend just until combined. Then add the poppy seeds and mix gently.
Pour the batter in the prepared bundt cake pan.
Cook in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or when light golden brown in color and a wood skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake on a rack for a few minutes, then unmold. In the meantime, prepare the glaze by whisking the icing sugar with the lemon juice until smooth.
Place the rack with the cake over a sheet pan. Drizzle the glaze onto the cake with a fork or a spoon and let sit for a few minutes.
Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Truly, this is a delicious cake, moist and tender from the yogurt and vegetable oil, delicate, not too sweet, with a delightful lemon flavor, and the poppy seeds that add a surprise little crunch.
This Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake is just sugared enough that the icing is not overpowering, but the right compliment to the cake. Especially, the combination of icing sugar and lemon juice in the glaze adds sweetness but also a pleasant tartness.
Overall, between breakfast, snack, and dessert, the cake is almost gone. Having just one slice might not be enough, I am warning you.
Hope you enjoy this Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake as much as we do. If you make the cake, we would love to hear from you in a comment below, or on social media.
Happy baking!
PrintEasy Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Easy Yogurt, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake. A delicious cake, moist and tender from the yogurt and vegetable oil, delicate, not too sweet, with a delightful lemon flavor, and the poppy seeds that add a surprise little crunch.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert, cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients
- 3 organic free-range eggs
- 100 g cane or granulated sugar
- 1 organic lemon, juice and zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 80 g vegetable oil
- 200 g plain yogurt
- 160 g all purpose flour (or type 00)
- 40 g potato starch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
For the glaze:
- 50 g icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C . Grease and flour an 8in/20cm bundt pan.
- Grate the lemon zest and rub it in the sugar. Squeeze the juice and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, the lemon juice, the vegetable oil and mix.
- After, add the yogurt and mix again.
- Sift in the flour, potato starch and baking powder, and blend just until combined.
- Then add the poppy seeds and mix gently.
- Pour the batter in the prepared bundt cake pan.
- Cook in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or when light golden brown in color and a wood skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a rack for a few minutes, then unmold. In the meantime, prepare the glaze.
For the glaze:
- Whisk the icing sugar with the lemon juice until smooth.
- Place the rack with the cake over a sheet pan. Drizzle the glaze onto the cake with a fork or a spoon and let sit for a few minutes.
Notes
If you prefer, you can double the icing for a more prominent glaze.
Also, if you are a fan of poppy seeds, you can double that, too.
Store the cake in a cake dome. It will last for 4-5 days.
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Julia says
Nicoletta- this looks beautiful! I am always looking for an excuse to use my poppy seeds (that I feel are usually neglected). Your writing is wonderful as well as your photos. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Julia, for your words and compliments. So much appreciated, and needed 🙂 ! I am glad you stopped by!
Rachel @ Simple Seasonal says
Such an elegant cake. A perfect way to brighten a bad day. Besides I would take this over lemonade any day! I'm loving your vintage props too!
Thank you Rachel for your nice words! Eating a piece of cake always helps me improving a bad day 😉 .
Belen says
Hi Nicoletta,
I love lemon Cake! I will definitely try this recipe out! It looks great.
Hello! Thank you for leaving your comment! Let me know how you like it or if you need to ask me anything.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
I know exactly what you are talking about Nicoletta because I get the same way emotionally. My Hubby, J, Is always telling me to pick my battles and let go of stuff, but many times I just can't. Speaking of J, lemon is his favorite flavor and he would love this cake so I'm making it very soon for him (and me too). Love that you used your Mom's kitchen pans and dishes. So sweet and so beautiful 🙂 xoxo
Let go of stuff...sometimes it is just so hard to do, isn't it?... Hi Karrie, so glad you stopped by 🙂 . Hope you and J like the cake. For a lemon lover it has the perfect amount of tartness. Big hug to you!
jeannie says
Even though I thought using icing sugar might be a bad idea, I followed the recipe exactly. Now I am wondering if it may been a typo in the recipe. My cake did not rise much (and yes, I did remember the baking powder). Maybe it was the butter at the end. Whatever the reason, it was a lot of trouble to go through to end up with a mostly flat cake. Tastes ok, but I am a little disappointed.
My deepest apologies. I would be disappointed, too. A couple of things come to mind, I did not mention the size of the bundt pan, which was small, around 8" on the bottom coming to a 6" at the top. What size pan did you use? Anyway, it's an old post that I wanted to redo and I might try using cane sugar instead of icing sugar in the batter. Thank you for your feedback, really appreciated.
Jim Delaney says
Ciao Nicoletta, This was definitely one of my favourite birthday cakes growing up, along with orange chiffon cake. Thanks for this recipe - a great reminder.
Ciao Jim! Great to hear! It's a great birthday cake and Loreto's favorite 😉 .
Momof9 says
Can I not use potato starch?
Yes, you can replace it with flour. The potato starch makes it fluffier, lighter, but it's still great with just flour.