Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Hello everyone! I am back from the beach and ready to start cooking and blogging again!

I love cakes and breads with sour cream in them - it just makes the baked good so moist and delicious. I made this loaf cake last summer (pre-blog, which is why I don't have any citation, if this is yours, let me know!) and LOVED it. So when I was deciding on breakfast/snacks to make for the beach, this came to mind.

You may want to double the recipe for two loaves and stick one in the freezer for later - it's that good!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

from unknown source

Makes one loaf

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a loaf pan, dust with flour.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt until blended. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and poppy seeds until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until just blended. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and stir until both are just incorporated. Stir in the sour cream, then sprinkle with the remaining flour and stir until evenly distributed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 65-70 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake near the end of baking and cover loosely with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.

Run a knife around the inside of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack and lift off the pan. Continue cooling – serve warm or at room temperature.