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Lemon Poppy Seed Bread ~ a super easy, quick bread packed with poppy seeds and lemon then topped with a simple lemon glaze.
This is a delightful and delicious loaf cake great served with breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea or even as a light dessert.
We love a good recipe that’s easy to throw together in just a few minutes.
After tons of testing, tweaking and tasting, this is the one that will be my go-to loaf cake for years to come! Â The texture is light and soft and the flavor is perfectly wonderful. Â It freezes well, slices beautifully and I’m practically giddy with excitement to share it with you!
Simple flavored loaf cakes and bread recipes can be a bakers best friend!
They don’t call these quick breads for nothing! This may not be a life changing recipe, but boy is it good. Just like our Easy Banana Bread Recipe, it’s a great cake to have on hand as a hostess gift, a little pick-me-up for a sick friend or just because you have an extra hour in the afternoon to enjoy a cup of tea.
Can you freeze this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread?
This lemon poppy seed bread freezes beautifully! Thaw the loaf completely before drizzling with icing, for best results. If stored in the refrigerator this loaf cake will keep for up to 5 days. I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that however, our lemon poppy seed bread may not last that long!
Lemon flavored recipes like this lemon poppy seed bread are some of our favorites.
In my humble opinion, you can never have too much lemon in a dessert. Â Our Homemade Lemon Curd is pucker-licious and great served on pound cake, biscuits, scones or muffins. Â One of our most popular posts is this Lemon Crumble Breakfast Cake, which we adore! Â Lemon Meltaway Cookies are some of my favorites and these Lemon Sweet Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing are heavenly!
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Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup buttermilk well shaken
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- Zest from 2 lemons (yellow zest only - no white pith)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (113g)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
For the icing:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 ½ by 4-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth and well blended. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar and eggs, and whisk just until blended.
- Drizzle in the melted butter and add the poppy seeds.
- Fold together with a rubber spatula until blended. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack for 30 minutes then remove from the pan and cool completely before icing. Drizzle with lemon icing if desired or a dusting of powdered sugar.
For the Icing:
- Whisk together until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake and serve immediately.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Quick breads, loaf cakes and sweet breads are some of the easiest, but most delicious recipes around.
With little effort, you can reap the big reward! Â This Maple Cinnamon Quick Bread ~ from The Food Charlatan sounds like a terrific way to enjoy cake disguised as bread! Â You’ll want to check out this gorgeous Cherry and Almond Quick Bread ~ from Foodiecrush, and for the chocolate lover (me!) we’ll want to try this Mocha Chocolate Chip Bread ~ from Back for Seconds. Â Let’s not ignore our savory side and check out this recipe for Quick Cheese Bread ~ from Your Home Based Mom.
Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a terrific weekend 🙂
Tricia
Anna
Made this and am so glad I did. It is one of the best lemon deserts I have made. The glaze is a must. Only added 1/2 tsp of lemon extract to the cake, someone said it wasn’t very strong lemon flavor, it was perfect. I hate it when someone alters a recipe and complains if it does not turn out, this is a hit!! Try it!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Anna! I’m so glad you enjoyed this easy loaf cake. Lemon and poppy seeds are perfect together. Thanks again 🙂
Kate
Amazing!! I doubled the recipe to make 2 loaves!
Can I freeze the second one to enjoy later?
Tricia Buice
Hi Kate – yes you can. This kind of cake / loaf bread freezes beautifully. Thanks for the feedback and for taking the time to comment!
Patti
Tricia, do you think you could make these as mini muffins, or regular muffins? We have a dessert shower coming up that this sounds so refreshing, (thinking presentation would be so nice as miniature size. I thought maybe doing the lemon and, as you suggested, orange. Thank you for such amazing recipes!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Patti! I was thinking about making these into muffins – probably regular size – I’m so excited you might try it. Please let me know how it turns out for you. I LOVE this recipe – it’s a keeper 🙂 I think I would try filling the muffins tins about 3/4 full. Thanks again!
Wendy
I will forever more think of the crack on top of quick breads as a hiding place for icing! Love it! 🙂 Quick breads are so wonderful to have on hand for spontaneous tea parties. This flavor combo would be a welcome taste of sunshine year round.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Wendy – have a super week!
Karen @ The Food Charlatan
The crack in the middle IS the perfect spot for extra icing! Love this!!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Karen!
Chris Scheuer
This looks so moist and delicious Tricia! Lemon and poppyseed just seem to go together like peas in a pod. This would be so lovely for a spring brunch!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Chris – I think so too! We really do LOVE this recipe. Have a terrific week!
Abbe@This is How I Cook
You know I’m not a lemon lover, but I do love hidden pools of icing. And I bet this would still be fabulous without the lemon. Quick breads are definitely winners!
Tricia Buice
Hi Abbe! This is a good base recipe – perhaps you could try another citrus like orange 🙂 Enjoy and have a terrific weekend!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
You can’t beat this quick bread ~ I love that you don’t have to fuss with creaming butter and sugar, and I love that drizzle of sweet glaze! Pinning and sharing this 🙂
Tricia Buice
Nothing like a quick bread that’s quick and easy! Thank you for sharing Sue and have a terrific weekend.
tanna
You can never go wrong with lemon!! 😉 YUM!!! xoxo ~ t.
Tricia Buice
Absolutely! Lemon and cake are made for each other 🙂 Happy weekend to you Tanna!
Susan
One thing I love about your blog is that we share many of the same flavor ‘loves’! Your luscious lemon poppy seed bread is calling my name 🙂
Tricia Buice
I always LOVE what you’re cooking Susan. Wish we could make all the recipes! Thank you so much 🙂
Gerlinde@ Sunnycovechef
I love to collect recipe that use lemons and your lemon loaf looks fantastic.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Gerlinde – it’s a good solid recipe for sure. We tested it enough! And come to think of it, I should test it again soon 🙂
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Lovely! I’m always craving lemon and can’t resist a good lemon loaf. This looks perfect 🙂 Sharing!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Jennifer!!!
Monica
I’m so craving lemon right now thanks to this. Wish my little guy was more of a fan so I could bake more lemony desserts. This really looks and sounds totally perfect, Tricia. I want this in my life. Maybe I can make a few small ones, keep one for my husband and myself, and share the others…
Tricia Buice
When I was a kid I only wanted chocolate and looks like your little guy got a good dose of it with your gorgeous chocolate cookies! You should give this a try and freeze some for later – I know you’ll love it! Thanks Monica – have a great weekend.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Citrus and poppy are definitely a classic combo. Your quick bread has such tender and soft crumb. And the glaze makes it even more intriguing!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Angie 🙂 Have a super weekend!
Letty Heredia
Can I substitute orange for lemon? How much orange zest? How much orange juice?
Tricia Buice
Hi Letty. I haven’t made this with orange but I’m sure it will come out fine. Use the same amounts of lemon to orange juice and maybe a little more zest. Enjoy!