We have officially survived one whole week at home with two children under two. I’m thrilled to announce that last Saturday, after a very long feeling 10 days, we were able to bring baby George home from the NICU. Pulling into the driveway with our little guy in the backseat felt surreal, and I was relieved to have my baby home, healthy, and unplugged from all the machines and wires he was connected to during his stay in the hospital.
Once home, our first order of business was to introduce George to his big sister, Aimee. I’ll be sure to share photos of that exchange later because it was really just so sweet. Aimee has been a dream with George, and while she sometimes has the tendency to love him a little too hard (read: squish/ smother/ trample him in every way possible), her affection for him is an answer to prayer and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Can I tell you one of my favorite parts about bringing a baby home… and please don’t judge me?
I really like the food. Yes, the food.
I’m not sure if bringing a meal is a thing people do everywhere or if it’s just another one of the awesome ways that Southerners dominate in the field of hospitality, but where we live, if you have a baby people will bring you meals. It’s an excellent deal for us, if you ask me.
Let me be clear: I would not survive without the carbs and generosity from our friends here in Selma. What’s that saying about, “Man cannot live on bread alone?” Well, we probably wouldn’t even have bread in the house by now if it weren’t for all the croissants and Sister Shubert rolls that people have been dropping by our house. It’s magical.
Since this is our second go-around with the having a baby thing, I’m starting to develop a mental list of recipes I’d like to keep in my arsenal to potentially share with friends when they have babies. The recipe for this lemon almond poppyseed bundt cake is definitely one that I am mentally bookmarking. Bundt cakes, in my opinion, are terrific because they easily pass as a dessert, but also make a convincing argument in the breakfast department too. This lemon almond poppyseed bundt is no exception. It’s sweet, light, and fluffy like you would expect of any respectable cake, but its fragrant lemon and almond aromas and the little speckles of poppyseeds somehow remind me of a breakfast loaf that you might enjoy with a strong cup of coffee early in the morning. And because we all know that new parents operate on adrenaline and caffeine, this cake is a shoo-in gift for new parents.
A while back, my friend Lauren asked me to work on a lemon poppyseed cake recipe and after several tries and errors, this cake was the ultimate product. I have baked this batter in round cake pans and I’m pleased to announce that it works just as splendidly. While I haven’t tried this recipe in a 9″x13″ pan, I feel confident that it would bake up well and would be terrific with the almondy glaze poured right over top of the warm cake.
If you don’t know any new parents that you can share this lemon almond poppyseed bundt cake with, let me recommend weekend brunch, housewarming parties, bridal luncheons, church picnics, and whatever other events your social calendar has to boast as the perfect opportunity to test out this recipe. Bundt cakes are versatile and almost always appropriate to bring as a special treat for sharing.
So give this lemon almond poppyseed bundt cake a try and bless someone this week with the gift of food. Everyone loves a thoughtful friend, and friends who bring food are always invited back. And to all of our friends and family who have dropped by to share a meal: YOU ARE ANGELS. My thighs won’t thank you later, but our family is grateful for your love and generosity.
Print
Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake
A light, sweet, and fluffy bundt cake scented with almonds, lemon, and little speckles of poppyseeds. This is the perfect cake to share or gift your friends and family!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2–1/4 cups cake flour
- 1–3/4 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1–1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, but not warm
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- Juice of one lemon
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
- 2 whole eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
- 2 tablespoons poppyseeds
For the glaze
- Juice and zest of two lemons
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons of milk milk
Instructions
To prepare cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray or grease lightly.
- Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed for one minute until thoroughly mixed. While stirring on low speed, add small cubes of butter, one at a time, until all 1-1/2 sticks have been added. Continue to mix on low speed for another 1-2 minutes until butter is uniformly dispersed in the dry ingredients.
- Meanwhile, combine the buttermilk, extracts, and lemon juice in a measuring cup and pour this into the stand mixer bowl, reserving 1/3 cup of the mixture. Beat on medium speed for two minutes until smooth and uniform. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the remaining milk mixture while mixing on low speed. Slowly pour in the egg whites and eggs, increasing the speed back to medium. Beat for another two minutes, scraping the bowl as needed to ensure that all of the batter is uniform. Add the lemon zest and poppyseeds and mix on low until combined, about thirty seconds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack.
To prepare the glaze
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk. If the consistency is too thin, allow to set out briefly or add additional powdered sugar. Add additional milk if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the top of the cooled cake.
20 thoughts on “Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake”
Hi,
Can you help confirm what are real baking times? It says 60 minutes in 2 places but the actual recipe description says to bake for 25-30 minutes. And why bake it in 2 lined pans when we’re making a bundt cake?
Thanks!
Yazzy- I’ve tried to identify the correct bake time and have completely flabbergasted myself. I’m going to test this week again to verify the time. The time I initially told you is probably high for the amount of batter that this recipe produces, so please forgive me. I think it’s likely closer to 35 minutes. I’ll check and report back soon!
Still confused about the bake times; at the top of the recipe it says 1 hour, but at the end of the recipe, it says to “distribute between two lined pans” (?) and bake for 30-35 minutes! I’m assuming that in a bundt pan, it would be an hour?
I’m so sorry! that’s a horribly typo. I’ve adjusted it. 🙂
Could you please give baking temps and time for muffins??
Congratulations to you and your family, what an exciting time. Also, this cake looks incredible and should definitely be eaten for breakfast as well as dessert! 🙂
Thank you for the warm wishes. This has been an incredibly busy but fulfilling time. I checked out your site and am so excited to see you’re located in Atlanta!! I’ve wanted to identify some bloggers in my region. I’ll be sure to follow along with you now! PS- grapefruit pound cake?!?! YES!
This looks phenomenal! Lemon poppyseed cake is one of my favorites and the almond extract in the glaze just makes it sound even better! Congrats on bringing your baby boy home. He’s beautiful!
Thank you! It tastes even better than it looks. And thank you for the baby wishes. It’s been exhausting but wonderful. Love your blog– I’ll be following along with you!
At the very least you are burning double the calories right now, so eat anything you want! You always look fabulous! And so does the lemon cake too.
I may be burning double calories but your lasagna is making a fair dent in them! Thank you for your hospitality and generosity!!! 🙂
At the very least you are burning double the calories right now, so eat anything you want! You always look fabulous! And so does that lemon cake too.
Great post- keeping a lookout for more pics of those babies,! Something about siblings are so sweet to me. Also be sure to text any boy questions you might have- they are sweet but can be gross and changing them is definitely different a whole new world. And let’s face it you and I can go there. Love ya old rooms!
Oh my goodness- Cat. No one has prepared me for this. Boys are already an entirely different ballgame. Trust when I say that I will have MANY questions.
Kate I might actually be able to pull this one off and it looks so yummy! I’m so glad to hear that things are going well with George and that Aimee is receiving him well.
Is it ok if I share your blog on FB?
You can definitely pull it off! Thank you for well wishes for our babies 🙂
Please do share it! I would love for anyone interested to know about it!
Yay! so glad he’s home and that happens to be my favorite part about having a baby too lol this cake looks delicious and sounds perfect for some afternoon relaxation
I’m not going to say I would have a baby JUST for the delicious food…but I’m not saying I wouldn’t either. 😉
Beautiful Kate, as always. So glad the family is all home together. Enjoy these precious early moments.
All of the praise hands!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing my excitement with me! 🙂