LPS Tea Cake

Recently I posted Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread and I wrote about my craving for all things Lemon and Poppyseed. Delightful reader Grace of A Southern Grace asked what was next - pudding? That got me started. I made LPS (I'm getting tired of typing that out) pudding. I tried a technique of steeping crushed poppyseeds in the milk to intensify the flavor. It made fabulous tasting pudding, but it was ugly as sin. Since I'm averse to putting ugly things on the blog, you won't be seeing it here.

But what you are seeing is a delicious cake. It's actually a reworking of a favorite lemon cake, adding in poppyseed for a bit of taste and texture. I'm not sure that it won't replace the original as my go-to lemon loaf cake. I made it in a daintier size, perfect for having a slice with tea. But I won't complain if you prefer to have it with coffee.




Lemon Poppyseed Tea Cake
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Syrup:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1- Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Grease two mini loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pans.

2- In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3- In a large bowl whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and poppy seeds. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated.

4- Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 45-50 min, or until a cake tester in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

5- While the loaves are baking, place the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook and stir till the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set it aside.

6- When the loaves are done, allow them to cool in their pans for 10 minutes.

7- With the cake tester, poke holes over the tops of the loaves, about 1/2-inch apart. Spoon the syrup over loaves, gently pushing the edges away from the pan so the syrup slides down inside the pan. Allow the syrup to soak in. Don't be concerned if you have some syrup left over, just set it aside.

8- Remove the loaves from their pans, peel off the parchment paper, and allow the loaves to cool on a wire rack.

9- When the loaves are cool, combine the glaze ingredients with the leftover glaze. Stir till smooth and spoon the glaze over the loaves.