Lemon and Poppyseed Cake with Almonds and Lemon Icing

Jump to Recipe

This delicious lemony sponge, loaded with ground almonds, is topped with a silky, light, fresh lemon icing. The olive oil in the cake pairs wonderfully with the lemon, and they, in turn, are balanced with the mellow, sweet, nutty poppy seeds and almonds. The sponge is bursting with natural, harmonious flavours and the crumb is soft and moist. The sweet icing elevates this simple cake to a special treat for afternoon tea.

Wonderfully quick and easy to make, this recipe uses mostly store cupboard ingredients. Should you not have any ground almonds, or you would prefer a nut-free cake, simply replace the almonds with flour. I love it this way too!

Scatter over some roast flaked almonds before you serve it

When I use nuts in a cake, I also like to add some to the decoration. Whilst the nuts here look pretty and bring a wonderful flavour and texture to the cake, they also act as a reminder for anyone with allergies, that the cake includes nuts.

How to make Lemon and Poppyseed Cake with Almonds and Lemon Icing

This sponge cake is based on my Butter and Oil Cakes – Core Recipe – a recipe I developed to be able to bake at altitude. Our house in Switzerland is at 1700m altitude and this can make baking difficult. Some traditional bakes will not rise but cakes made with oil and yoghurt fare better. I just love the light and airy texture and the fact it can be whipped up so quickly, by hand, all in one bowl.

The changes I have made to the core recipe include:

• using just olive oil rather than oil and butter
• using additional yoghurt to replace the liquid
• replacing some of the flour with ground almonds. Please note that because you are replacing some of the flour with almonds, the sponge will not rise as much as one made with just flour. This is normal.

Collect all the ingredients together:

Dry ingredients –

• plain/all-purpose flour
• ground almonds
• baking powder
• bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
• fine salt
• caster sugar

Wet ingredients –

• olive oil (mild flavoured)
• eggs
• natural yoghurt
• almond extract
• vanilla extract 
• grated lemon zest
• lemon juice

Icing and topping –

• icing sugar
• lemon juice
• roasted flaked almonds (optional)
• poppyseeds

How to make this delicious cake:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 (fan 160°C) and grease and line the base of a 20cm/8in round, deep-sided cake tin. You could also cook this in a 20cm/8in square cake tin.
2. Scatter the slivered/flaked almonds for the topping onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Tip into a bowl to cool and set aside.

Make the cake –

1. Measure all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl large enough to contain all of the ingredients. Stir with a balloon whisk to mix.
2. Next, grate over the lemon zest and add the wet ingredients. Beat with a balloon whisk until incorporated – be careful not to over-mix. It should take only 30 seconds to a minute and you may need to stop half way to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
3. Fold in the poppyseeds.
4. Pour the cake batter into a greased and lined cake tin and cook in the centre of a  preheated oven for 35 – 45 minutes or until cooked. It is cooked when:
   • the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains.
   • a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
   • the cake is beginning to come away from the sides of the tin.
5. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, remove and then transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Make the icing –

1. Slowly add the lemon juice to the icing sugar. Mix thoroughly until you have a thick, but easily spreadable, paste.
2. Transfer the cake to a serving plate. Pour on the icing and spread over the surface of the cake. It is OK for it to spread down the sides of the cake – in fact I like it!
3. Scatter with toasted almonds, if using, and some poppyseeds. .

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.