This Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake is a quick, deliciously moist cake that is easy to make and great to enjoy anytime of day!

Snack Cake. Let’s make it a thing, ok? It’s like cake that is good anytime of day. But it’s especially good for a snack. It’s not a big fancy thing that takes a bunch of time and effort to make. It’s more like those box mix cakes but better. However, it is just as easy to make!

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Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

We took a quick road trip last weekend and we drove through a Starbucks and I remembered how much I used to love their Lemon Loaf cake. Anyone remember that one? It’s dense, moist (yeah I said it!) and sickly sweet. But I loved it.

These days I prefer to make my own treats at home. I was craving that lemony, sweet treat but wanted to make something similar at home. I gathered a bunch of stuff from the pantry and this snack cake was born!

What Is Snack Cake?

I love a good pound cake but on this particular day I wanted something that was more like those box mix cakes I used to love to make growing up. You know which ones I talking about! You stirred together the powder mix with some eggs and oil and it turned out fluffy every time? Remember those!?

I was craving that texture but wanted something homemade. This cake is almost just as easy as a box mix. You grab some ingredients and mix them together. I love how easy this Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake is! That is what makes it a snack cake. How easy it is to make and it’s more fluffy and like a sheet cake than say a pound cake.

Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake

I used lots of lemon for extra tart and sweet in this cake! I am a big lemon lover so I used the juice and zest of five lemons for this cake. It’s extra lemony which I love but the tart lemon is well balanced with the sweetness of the powdered sugar based glaze.

The poppy seeds add an ever so subtle crunch which is a nice little extra in this this dense cake. This snack cake gets extra moisture from the vegetable oil which makes the cake stay delicious for a few extra days and keeps the cake from drying out too quickly.

 

 

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Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake

Makes one 9×13 in sheet cake

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup lemon juice + zest (from about three lemons)

1/4 cup poppy seeds

 

Lemon Glaze Icing: 

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice + zest (from about two lemons)

 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan with non-stick spray or butter.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and almond extract together on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time allowing to completely incorporate, scraping down bowl as needed.
5. Slowly add flour mixture, about two tablespoons at a time, until incorporated.
6. Add vegetable oil and lemon juice, mixing until just combined.
7. Using a spatula, fold in poppy seeds and make sure no flour pockets remain.
8. Transfer to prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until baked through. Edges will be golden brown.
9. While snack cake is cooling, make glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and remaining lemon juice and zest until combined. Pour over top and allow to harden slightly.
10. Store in an airtight container up to a week.