recipe: lemon poppyseed bundt cake

something about spring brings me overwhelming cravings for lemon-based desserts and orange-zested cookies. i was torn between a dope-ass lemon square and a lemon poppy seed cake, but those savory lil poppy seeds threw me over the edge. i made this cake last week with the intention of just having one slice to calm my craving... i ended up having almost half the cake, but thankfully bringing it into work easily gets rid of the leftovers.

i used the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction -- i liked that she took no shortcuts, used no lemon pudding, nor any yellow cake mix boxed-base... she was all about lemons and the ultimate ingredients. thankfully, all of the little extra steps she included made the end result well worth while -- this was so damn good!

ingredients list - cake:
- 2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 4 large lemons (about 1/3 cup, packed)
- juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temp

ingredients list - lemon simple syrup:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup)

ingredients list - lemon glaze:
- 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
- juice of 1/2 (or up to 1) large lemon


to make: 
lower oven rack to lower 1/3 position in the oven; preheat to 350 F degrees. grease and flour the inside of a 10" bundt pan, and set aside.

sift the flour and cornstarch together in a large bowl (from the original recipe, this mixture is best used as a substitute for cake flour, which yields a better, softer texture for bundt cake). whisk in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and poppy seeds.

in a separate bowl, with a handheld or stand mixer, bat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, for about 1 minute. add the sugar and beat on high speed until mostly creamed together. add the eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until combined. beat in the lemon zest and lemon juice. 

on low speed, add the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar/egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, and mixing each addition until just incorporated. be careful not to overmix.  

pour the batter evenly into the bundt pan. bake for 40-0 minutes, or until a toothpick test comes out clean. when it's done, remove from the oven and allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan.

while the cake is cooling, make the simple syrup by combining the sugar and lemon juice in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar as dissolved. remove from heat and set aside.

pour 1/3 of the simple syrup over the cake, then invert the cooled cake onto a wire rack spoon the remaining syrup over the cake.

allow cake to fully cool before glazing and serving.

to make the glaze: whisk the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl, and drizzle over cake. serve!!!