Delicious Lemon Poppy Seed Cake topped with almond glaze! This Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet Cake is perfect for parties and serving a big crowd! Whenever I serve it people go back for seconds and LOVE it!
Amazing Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet Cake
Sheet cake recipes are a must to have! You need a really good chocolate one and a really good non-chocolate one… so here you go! This recipe is incredible and incredibly easy! It is my go-to recipe all summer long! The lemon cake is spotted with poppy seeds and perfectly moist (sorry for people who hate that word) and zingy. The almond glaze sinks into the cake just a little bit and gives it that perfect balance of sweetness and hint of almond. After making this Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet Cake just once you’ll be finding excuses to make it every week!
The BEST Sheet Cake Ever
This really is (in my opinion) the best sheet cake ever. I’m truly obsessed with this recipe and whenever I serve it at a party people are begging for the recipe, going back for seconds and then upset when it’s gone! There’s a few fun ways to play around with this recipe too, which makes it perfect for any occasion. This Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet cake can be made without poppy seeds and without an almond glaze. It could be just a regular lemon sheet cake if you want! You can dress it up with berry slices or make it more kid-appealing with sprinkles! The first time I had this cake was at my own bridal shower and it was the most perfect dessert. The host cut little slices and it paired perfectly with the food, cute and dainty! I first shared this recipe last year as a fun 4th of July cake! See how I made it gorgeously patriotic with fruit and no dyes!
I’m seriously SO close to going into my kitchen right now and making another one of these lemon sheet cakes! The photos are making me drool!
Best Dessert for a Potluck or Crowd
This Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet Cake is the perfect dessert to make for a crowd or a big potluck! First of all, it feeds anywhere from 24-48 people depending on how large you cut the slices! It’s a perfect dessert to even make the night before your party, the glaze on top seals in the moisture so the cake won’t dry out any time soon! It’s easy to serve once you get to the party and it’s really easy to transport in your car! If you are making this the night before, my once suggestion would be to wait to top with any fruit until you arrive to the party! Juices sometimes seem out of fruit and into glazes.
Sheet cakes, like this one, are usually made on rimmed cookie sheets! I sometimes swap a normal sized pan for two of my mini (quarter sized) pans when I shoot recipes so I can give extra’s away easier to families in my neighborhood. So if you’re looking at these photos and wondering why you only see 12 slices, it’s because I actually made two smaller cakes.
Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- 2 C. flour
- 2 C. sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 C. sour cream
- lemon zest of 3 lemons
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 C. butter cubed
- 1 C. water
FROSTING:
- 1/2 C. butter
- 1/4 C. milk
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract optional
- 4 C. powdered sugar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a rimmed cookie sheet (I used 2 mini pans for my photos).
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In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds.
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In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla extract until smooth.
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In a small sauce pan, add butter and water and bring to a boil. Then add to dry ingredients and stir to combine and then add in egg mixture and stir again. (Note: don't wash your butter sauce pan, you can use it to make the frosting.)
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Pour into pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until and inserted toothpick comes out clean.
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FROSTING: While the cake is baking make frosting. Add butter to your sauce pan (the same one you melted the other butter in) and milk. Bring to a boil. Pour into a bowl with vanilla extract, almond extract (optional) and powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth. Pour frosting over your cake right after you pull it out of the oven and spread smooth if needed! Eat warm or let cool. Top with berries, lemon slices or sprinkles!
Recipe Notes
Feeds 24-48 depending on how large you cut the slices!
What size of pan should I be using? Not sure what two mini pans are.
Well I made this and OMG, it was delicious!! Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipe.
This recipe needs a lot of work in my opinion. Usually lemon recipes use actual lemon juice. Lemon zest is great, but it’s not enough to give that real kick of lemon. Lemon zest would be great as a garnish, but lemon juice really should be used in the batter. If using lemon juice, then all the batter ingredients need adjusting as well because it will become more liquidy. I added more flour and it worked out well. The other problem is the instructions for adding the frosting immediately onto the cake after it comes out of the oven. Hot cakes often sink a bit as they cool, and adding the frosting immediately makes it melt and run EVERYWHERE. If the cake sinks a bit in the middle due to the weight of the frosting and just the natural effect of cooling, your icing will pool in the middle of the cake. It can also run all over the edges and seep under the cake. I would recommend letting the cake cool for a few minutes and then add the frosting. Put it in the fridge to set the icing. The icing is also way too sweet. It’s enough to make the teeth hurt. I cut the icing sugar in half and added whipping cream to try and tone it down. Still tastes great! Overall this recipe has good intentions for a delicious lemon cake, but it needs better directions and some reworking.
Disagree with last comment, I have made it several times and adore it. Sweetness entails tiny pieces only, just as stated above. I think commenters suggestions are great for lemon ‘cake’ in general but not that helpful for this application. I’ve made this for coffee break charities, just because its awesome and again just because it’s awesome, just as it is. Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Well I made this and OMG, it was delicious!! Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipe.
looks delicious and very wonderful
It is a nice recipe. Thx
http://www.fooddoz.com
Good post
I appreciate you sharing the cake recipe on your website; it’s fantastic. I appreciate you sharing your blog.
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I love the Lemon Poppy Seed Sheet cake, the directions to bake have being explained in simply steps.
I love the Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes, the directions to bake have being explained in simply steps.
he cake itself is moist and perfectly balanced, not too sweet but just right. Each bite is speckled with tiny poppy seeds that add a subtle crunch and an extra layer of flavor. I highly recommend trying this cake if you’re a fan of citrusy treats or if you’re simply looking for a deliciously different dessert to impress your friends and family.
Followed all the instructions and the cake turned out dry. There is no distinct lemon taste because only lemon zest is used in the recipe and no lemon juice. The icing recipe turned out very thick and was a mess trying to put it over the bars.
Your willingness to share experiences and advice is greatly appreciated.
thank you.
If I can successfully make this cake using your recipe the first time it will be really great.
i tried this recipe just today at home