French Lemon Poppy seed Pound Cake

adapted from Flour

(Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe)

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makes one standard 9" loaf

240g (2 cups) cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
156g (1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to slightly warm
60g (1/4 cup) heavy cream
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (roughly two large lemons)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
4 eggs
250g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar

Lemon Glaze
70g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9" x 5" loaf pan or line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, cream, lemon zest, lemon juice and poppy seeds. The mixture should have the consistency of a thick liquid. If the butter hardens into little lumps, heat the mixture gently until the butter melts again. Set aside.


Using a stand mixture fitted with the whip attachment (or a hand held mixer), beat the eggs and granulated sugar on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy and lemon colored. (If you use a hand held mixer, this same step will take 8 to 10 minutes.)

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until combined. Fold about one-fourth of the egg-flour into the butter-cream mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining egg-flour mixture just until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, OR until the top of the cake is golden brown and springs back when you press it in the middle.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes and prepare the lemon glaze. 

Glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar and enough lemon juice (more or less to your preference) to make a smooth glaze.

When the cake has cooled to a warm temperature, pop it out of the pan and spread the lemon glaze over the still warm cake, letting the glaze dribble down the sides.

The cake can be stored, tightly wrapped, for up to three days. 

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enjoy!