Name: Lemon Poppyseed Coffee Cake Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 3/4 C. All-purpose Flour; 1/2 tsp. Salt; 1 tsp.Baking powder; 1/2 tsp. Baking soda; 1 Tbsp. Poppy seeds; 1/2 C. Neutral Oil (such as avocado, canola or vegetable oil); 2 eggs; 1/4 C. Milk; 1/3 C. Plain Greek yogurt; 2/3 C. Sugar; 1 tsp. Vanilla extract; 2 Tbsp. Lemon zest; 1/4 C. Lemon juice; 1/2 C. All-purpose Flour; 1/3 C. sugar; 1 Tbsp. Lemon zest; Pinch of salt; 3 Tbsp. Cold butter (cut into small pieces)

This lemon poppyseed coffee cake is moist, tender and full of bright citrus flavor and nutty poppyseeds. The coffee cake has a buttery lemon streusel that adds texture to this light cake. It is the perfect sweet breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea.

Slice of lemon poppyseed coffee cake on a plate.

The lemon poppyseed combo is so classic in baked goods! And it works so beautifully in the tender and buttery coffee cake. This spring forward coffee cake takes a twist on a classic recipe and turns it into a breakfast you will want to make over and over.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flavorful: The lemon and poppyseed PLUS the lemon streusel creates a really flavorful coffee cake! And it is not too sweet, just the right amount to satisfy a sweet tooth without being over the top.

Seasonal: Although you can enjoy this lemon coffee cake year-around, I crave citrus in the spring time when it comes into season. Perfect way to enjoy citrus!

Easy: This recipe calls for easy to find ingredients and does not require any fancy baking equipment. You will need about 10 minutes of prep time and the rest is just waiting for the poppyseed coffee cake to bake!

What I Love:

This is not your average coffee cake recipe! The lemon and poppyseed is a sheet cake style breakfast that is light, bright and so GOOD! I love a classic coffee cake, but having a recipe like this one hand when I want something that is just a little different.

Ingredients to make the lemon poppyseed coffee cake.

Ingredients and substitutions

All-purpose flour: You will only need all-purpose flour for the coffee cake batter. If you need to make this recipe gluten-free, replace the flour with a 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour.

Poppyseeds: Poppyseeds add a slight nutty flavor and crunch to coffee cake. You can omit if you wish.

Baking powder & soda: The leavening agents used in this recipe.

Salt: Enhances the flavors.

Neutral oil: A neutral tasting oil, such as avocado, canola, or vegetable oil, helps keep the coffee cake moist.

Eggs: Provides structure.

Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness to the cake.

Milk: Milk adds moisture to the batter. You can use any percent milk or replace with an unflavored and unsweetened plant based milk.

Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt adds another layer of moisture. You can swap with a plain regular yogurt, plant based yogurt, or sour cream.

Vanilla Extract: Adds a touch of vanilla flavor to the batter.

Lemon juice & zest: Gives this poppyseed cake a a bright citrus flavor. You will need 1-2 lemons.

Streusel: The streusel is made up of all-purpose flour, sugar, lemon zest, pinch of salt, and butter.

Lemon poppyseed coffee cake batter in a baking pan.

Step-by-step insturctions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line with parchment paper a 8×8 inch metal pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and poppyseeds. Stir together and set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using your hands, rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils from the zest. This will help boost the lemon flavor.
Add the eggs to the lemon sugar and beat together with an electric mixer for one minute. Add the oil, milk, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Whisk or beat together until fully combined.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir together until just combined. Set aside and let the batter rest while you make the streusel topping.
To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest and pinch of salt together in a medium bowl. Add in the cold butter pieces and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until the butter has broken down to resemble coarse sand. Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the lemon poppyseed batter.
Bake the lemon coffee cake for 30-35 minutes, or until the batter is set and a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Let the cake cool before enjoying.

Sara’s Tip

By taking the time to rub the lemon zest and sugar together, you will get a brighter and more vibrant citrus flavor in the coffee cake. And although you could skip this step, I highly recommend taking the time to get the best flavor out of the coffee cake. You will only need to rub the lemon zest and sugar together for about 3 minutes to achieve a brighter lemon flavor.

Up close slice of lemon poppyseed coffee cake.

Does coffee cake have coffee in the recipe?

No, despite the name coffee cake, the recipe typically does not contain any coffee. It gets the name coffee cake because it is traditionally served with coffee. And I can fully attest that this lemon poppyseed coffee cake is a match made with a cup of coffee in the morning!

Can I make this lemon poppyseed coffee cake into muffins?

Yes! You can turn this coffee cake into muffins if you wish. To make the muffins, line the muffin tins and fill them to the top with the batter. Evenly top with the lemon streusel and bake at 415 degrees F. for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake for additional 10-15 minutes or until the batter is fully set.

Storage instructions

You can store the coffee cake at room temperature in a air-tight container up to 3 days. Or store it in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

You can also freeze the poppyseed coffee cake. To do this, cut the fully cooled coffee cake into individual slices. Wrap each slice tightly in saran wrap and place into a Ziplock bag labeled with the date. Freeze up to 3 months. Defrost the slices in the fridge when ready to enjoy.