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    Home » Recipes » Cakes

    Published: Feb 5, 2022 · Modified: Mar 13, 2023 by Pate Giltner 4 Comments

    Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Poppy Seeds

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    This is the tastiest lemon cream cheese pound cake with poppy seeds! It's naturally flavored with lemons and lemon zest, beautifully sprinkled with poppy seeds, and then glazed with a sharp lemon icing! It's like taking a bite right into summer. 

    Lemon pound bunt cake with three slices cut and laying with in the ring of the bunt.

    Why you will love this recipe:

    I love lemon-flavored desserts; they are so fresh and bright-tasting. These lemon, thyme, and rosemary cupcakes and this Italian lemon ricotta cheesecake are some of my other favorites. 

    This southern lemon pound cake is made with cream cheese, making it extremely moist, a bit tangy, and totally delightful. But even though it's made with cream cheese and it's a pound cake, it's not overly dense. It has just a touch of baking powder, which gives the bunt cake a little additional rise and helps create a lighter crumb. If you're looking for another great pound cake, check out this blackberry pound cake.

    Ingredients for the pound cake on a brown table.

    Key Ingredients:

    Self Rising Flour: a low-protein self-rising flour like White Lily or Weisenberger Mills gives this lemon cake a tender crumb and a slight rise. White Lily and Weisenberger Mills flour are more similar to cake flour than it is regular all-purpose flour because of its low protein content. This kind of flour makes a lighter crumb, which is very beneficial in a denser cake like a pound cake. 

    Self-rising flour is beneficial too because it already has rising agents and salt blended into the flour. 

    Butter: butter provides flavor and structure to the cake; there is one stick of butter for each cup of flour, as is traditional for pound cakes.

    Cream Cheese: cream cheese adds moisture, texture, and a tangy flavor to the cake. This is a very moist crumb, and the cream cheese and a bit of buttermilk help give its moistness. 

    Lemons: This is a lemon bunt cake, and the zest from four lemons and the juice of two gives it its wonderful lemony flavor!

    Eggs: eggs traditionally give these cakes their rise; there is enough air whipped into them to cause them to rise. This recipe also gets its rising help from the baking soda and powder in the flour. 

    Collage showing how to make the lemon pound cake.

    Step by step instructions:

    • Beat the butter and cream cheese until fully blended. 
    • Add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy—about three minutes. Then add in the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition.
    • Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and the buttermilk and lightly blend. 
    • Slowly add in the flour and poppy seeds and beat on low until it's all been incorporated. 
    • Add to a well-greased bunt mold (at least 10 cup capacity), and tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. 
    • Bake for 1 hour and 15 - 20 minutes or until the topped is browned and a knife comes out clean. 
    • Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar with the lemon juice. Stir until no lumps remain. 
    Collage showing how to make the lemon pound cake.

    Tips for success:

    • To get your butter and cream cheese to room temp, place them into a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. 
    • Beat the sugar into the cream cheese and butter until lots of air is incorporated. About three-plus minutes. 
    • Slowly add in the flour; it will go everywhere if you try to add it in all at once. 
    • Tap the bunt pan on the counter to get the air bubbles out of the batter. 
    • Let the cake cool in the bunt pan for 15 minutes, and then turn out to fully cool. 
    Bunt pound cake with lemon glaze decorated with lemon slices and mint on a brown table.

    FAQ's

    How is the recipe best stored?

    This cake will keep for up to three days in an air-tight container.

    Can I use all-purpose flour?

    Yes, the cake will be denser and you will need to add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
    and ¼ teaspoon salt for each cup of flour.

    Three slices of lemon poppy seed pound cake on a plate and drizzled with lemon glaze.

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    Print
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    Lemon pound bunt cake with three slices cut and laying with in the ring of the bunt.

    Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Poppy Seeds

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
    • Author: Pate Giltner
    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    • Yield: 1 bunt cake 1x
    • Category: Cake
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: Southern
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    This is the tastiest cream cheese pound cake with poppy seeds! It's naturally flavored with lemons and lemon zest, beautifully sprinkled with poppy seeds, and then glazed with a sharp lemon icing! It's like taking a bite right into summer. 


    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    1. 1 ½ cup butter (3 sticks)
    2. 8 ounces cream cheese
    3. 2 ½ cups sugar
    4. ¼ cup buttermilk
    5. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    6. 1 teaspoon lemon extract
    7. ¼ teaspoon almond extract
    8. 6 eggs
    9. 3 cups self rising flour
    10. Zest 4 lemons (about 4 tablespoons)
    11. Juice of two (about 4 tablespoons)
    12. ¼ cup poppy seeds

    For the glaze:

    1. 2 cups powdered sugar
    2. 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

    Instructions

    1. Allow the butter and cream cheese to come to room temperature and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
    2. Beat the butter and cream cheese until fully blended.
    3. Add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy—about three minutes.
    4. Add in the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition.
    5. Add in the lemon zest and juice.
    6. Add in the vanilla, lemon, and almond extracts and buttermilk and lightly blend.
    7. Slowly add in the flour and poppy seeds and beat on low until it's all been incorporated.
    8. Add to a well-greased bunt mold (at least 10 cup capacity), and tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
    9. Bake for 1 hour and 15 - 20 minutes or until the topped is browned and a knife comes out clean.
    10. Let the cake cool in the bunt pan for 15 minutes, and then turn out to fully cool.
    11. Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar with the lemon juice. Stir until no lumps remain.

    Notes

    • To get your butter and cream cheese to room temp, place them into a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. 
    • Beat the sugar into the cream cheese and butter until lots of air is incorporated. About three-plus minutes. 
    • Slowly add in the flour; it will go everywhere if you try to add it in all at once. 
    • Tap the bunt pan on the counter to get the air bubbles out of the batter. 
    • Let the cake cool in the bunt pan for 15 minutes, and then turn out to fully cool. 

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag me @thegandmkitchen — I can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Roberta says

      June 11, 2022 at 8:21 am

      Hi,

      The recipe doesn’t specify salted or unsalted butter. I usually bake with unsalted, but you’re not adding salt so I assume salted butter?

      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Pate Giltner says

        June 13, 2022 at 5:22 pm

        Hi Roberta! It is unsalted butter, the self-rising flour has salt mixed in. 🙂

        Have a great day!!

        Reply
    2. Sumayya says

      June 20, 2022 at 7:54 pm

      We don't get poppy seed here so can that be skipped

      Reply
      • Pate Giltner says

        June 27, 2022 at 2:30 pm

        Absolutely! It's totally fine to omit.

        Reply

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    Pate Giltner holding a cupcake
    Pate Giltner holding a cupcake

    About Pate

    Hi! I'm Pate, the blogger, recipe developer, and photographer behind The G&M Kitchen!

    Raised in the heart of Kentucky, I come from a long line of passionate cooks and bakers. The kitchen was always the heart of our home, where we transformed vegetables into delightful dishes and crafted pies and cakes that emerged from the oven. This tradition of coming together through food and cooking inspired the name of my blog, The G&M Kitchen – 'G' for my father's family, the Giltners, and 'M' for my mother's family, the Millers.

    I also believe if a recipe is missing something, it's probably bourbon.

    Learn more about me →

    Hello and welcome!

    Here at The G&M Kitchen, you will find southern-inspired baking recipes with a modern twist that are easy, elegant, and fun! Everything is made from scratch, designed for the home kitchen, and is simply delicious!

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    As featured in: thefeedfeed, Sur La Table, Bake From Scratch, Foodtography School, The Bourbon Review, Bringing it Home

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