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Lemon poppy seed loaf
Serves: 10
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
Lemon poppy seed loaf
This please-all bake is elevated by its pretty candied peel topping – perfect for your next coffee morning
Serves: 10
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time:
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
413Kcal
Fat
19gr
Saturates
10gr
Carbs
53gr
Sugars
36gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
6gr
Salt
0.5gr
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Cookery Workflow Editor, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Cookery Workflow Editor, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
- 175g soft unsalted 1 butter, plus extra to grease
- 3 lemons, scrubbed
- 175g caster sugar
- 175ml milk
- 4 tbsp poppy seeds
- 225g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten
For the topping
- 50g caster sugar
- 125g icing sugar
Step by step
Get ahead
Keeps for up to 5 days in an airtight container or can be frozen.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin (9cm x 20cm base measurements).
- Finely grate the zest from 2 of the lemons and put in a mixing bowl with the butter and sugar. Juice 1 of the lemons and stir the juice into the milk in a jug; it will start to thicken and curdle, which is what you want. Stir in the poppy seeds so that they will soften slightly, then set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a spoonful of flour halfway through.
- Once the eggs have been added, beat in half the milk mixture and half the remaining flour, then repeat. Scrape into the lined tin, level the top and bake for 1 hour-1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- While the cake is cooking, pare strips of zest from the third lemon. Put them in a small pan with the juice of this lemon, and the 50g of sugar. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Lift out the candied lemon zest using a fork, and transfer to a sheet of baking paper. Set the lemon syrup aside.
- When the cake is done, pierce the top all over with a skewer and brush with the lemon syrup, warming it slightly if it has started to set in the pan. Leave to cool in the tin.
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To finish, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add just enough lemon juice, roughly 1 tablespoon (from the leftover lemon), to make a thick but pourable icing. Remove the cooled cake from its tin and discard the paper. Drizzle or spread the icing over the top of the cake, letting some drip down the sides. Scatter with the candied lemon zest and leave to set.TipHow to make it gluten-free
Use gluten-free baking powder and flour, adding 1⁄4 tsp xanthan gum to the mixture, plus an extra tablespoon of milk.