Bursting with delicious flavours, this old-fashioned German Poppy seed cake is soft and moist. Glazed with lemon icing these contrasting flavours are an exciting treat for your taste buds. The recipe is simple, the ingredients minimal. This is a showstopper cake without any hassle.
I first made this cake as a bring-along to my friend’s birthday party in London in 2014. One of my friends is Polish and she was reminiscing about her Grandmother’s poppy seed cake. This cake brings up memories of care-free fun times, of my youth.
History of Poppy Seed Cakes in Germany
Poppyseed cake is called Mohnkuchen in German. Simply put together from the German word for poppy seeds “Mohn” and cake “Kuchen”.
Traditional poppy seed cakes originate from Silesia and Poland but have become part of the German and Austrian cuisine over centuries.
About this German Poppy seed cake recipe
This recipe is so easy and simple, you will love it. It is full of poppy seeds, yet it is light and moist. This is because the dough includes yoghurt which gives the cake a smooth texture.
Ingredients:
- 200 gr butter ¾ cup or 7 oz – at room temperature
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 250 gr caster sugar 1 cup and ⅛ cup or 8.8 oz
- 200 gr ground poppy seeds 1.5 cups or 7 oz
- 300 gr flour 2 cups or 10 oz, in Germany Type 405 flour, UK plain flour, US pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder (affiliate link)
- 300 gr plain full-fat yoghurt 1 cup and 3 tbsp, 10 oz
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- zest of half a lemon (about 1 tsp)
Baking Essentials (Affiliate Links)
How to make German Poppy Seed Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F
- Using a stand or hand mixer add the butter, eggs and sugar to the bowl. Whisk until mixture is creamy.
- Add the yoghurt, poppy seeds, ground cinnamon and lemon zest to the mixture. Whisk the ingredients until you achieve a smooth batter.
- In a separate bowl, sieve the flour and baking powder (affiliate link) together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk until completely combined.
- Pour or spread the batter into a greased cake tin.
- Bake the cake for about 50 minutes. Oven times may vary depending on your oven.
- To check if the cake is done, poke a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean your cake is done.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool before adding the icing.
Icing options:
I would suggest three options on how to decorate the cake. In the pictures, I used lemon icing.
- You can dust the cake with some icing sugar.
- Alternatively, you can try the simple lemon icing below.
- For a cream cheese icing, which is an American twist, I would suggest the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Lemon Icing Glaze Recipe for Poppy Seed Cake
Icing Ingredients:
- 200 g icing/confectioners sugar (7 oz)
- 4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Method
- Sieve the icing/confectioners sugar into a bowl.
- Wisk in the lemon juice spoon by spoon until you achieve a thick, creamy consistency.
- TIP: If the icing gets too liquid add more icing sugar. If it is too hard to spread, add a couple of drops of lemon juice.
- Spread with a knife or a palette knife over the cake and leave to set.
How to serve lemon poppy seed cake?
In Germany, this cake will traditionally be served with coffee or tea for “Kaffee und Kuchen”. This is cake time in Germany and traditionally takes place in the afternoon. This is supposed to be a "dry" cake - but if you fancy why not serve with a big spoon of whipped cream (Schlagsahne)?
How to store poppy seed cake?
This cake is great to prepare in advance. It does not need to be refrigerated. Simply store in an airtight container and consume within 4 days. After that, the cake may dry out.
Can I freeze poppy seed cake?
This cake freezes very well. Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months.
*This recipe was first posted in March 2014 and updated in January 2021. We make this cake very often. Here are the old pictures as reference.
Looking for more recipes with poppyseeds?
Try this Hungarian Beigli Recipe, a Hungarian Poppy Seed Recipe.
Here are more German Cake recipes for you to try
- German Apple Streusel Cake (Apfelstreuselkuchen)
- Donauwelle (Danube Cake)
- Fantakuchen (Fanta Cake)
- Christmas Stollen
- German Strawberry Cake
- Mamorkuchen (German Marble Cake)
German Poppy Seed Cake with Lemon Icing
Equipment
- 25 cm/ 10 inch cake form
Ingredients
Cake Mixture
- 200 gr butter ¾ cup or 7 oz – at room temperature
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 250 gr sugar 1 cup and ⅛ cup or 8.8 oz
- 200 gr ground poppy seeds 1.5 cups or 7 oz
- 300 gr plain flour 2 cups or 10 oz, in Germany Type 405 flour, UK plain flour, US pastry flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 300 gr plain full-fat yoghurt 1 cup and 3 tablespoon or 10 oz
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- lemonzest of half a lemon
Lemon Glaze/Icing
- 200 gr icing/confectioners sugar 7 ounces
- 4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F
- Using a stand or hand mixer add the butter, eggs and sugar to the bowl. Whisk until mixture is creamy.
- Add the yoghurt, poppy seeds and cinnamon and lemon zest to the bowl. Whisk the ingredients until you achieve a smooth batter.
- In a separate bowl, sieve the flour and baking powder together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk to completely combine.
- Pour or spread the batter into a greased cake tin.
- Bake the cake for about 50 minutes. Oven times may vary. To check if the cake is done, poke a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean your cake is done. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool before adding the icing.
Lemon Icing Glaze
- Sieve the icing/confectioners sugar into a bowl.
- Whisk in the lemon juice spoon by spoon until you achieve a thick, creamy consistency.
- If the icing gets too liquid add more icing sugar. If it is too hard to spread, add a couple of drops of lemon juice.
- Spread with a knife or a palette knife over the cake and leave to set.
A question about the poppyseeds: do you use the ones available in a can? Or do you use whole poppyseeds that have to be ground up? Where do you get them? I had an aunt who used to make a poppyseed cake that looked just like yours. I probably haven’t had it in 50 or 55 years and can’t wait to try to make my own. It was my favorite cake.
Hello Illgen, I used ground poppyseeds. Where do you live? I think you can get them from health stores or amazon in most countries.
I really hope it's similar to your aunt's cake! Let me know
Oh my that’s a generous amount of poppy seeds in the cake. And the cake is so moist. If its a fuss free cake, I’m up for it. Like ones where I don’t have to send time icing or frosting them.
Totally worth it, fuss-free, easy-to-make deliciousness.
Hi Michelle,
thanks for your comment. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
It looks delicious! I’ve made pastries with a poppyseed filling before but never included them in a cake like this. I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks for linking it to #CookBlogShare 🙂
This looks like such a deliciously moist cake. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare
Two of my favorite ingredients! Poppy seeds and lemons. This looks so good!
What a great cake! I love German cakes and the Kafee und Kuchen tradition.
Hi, could you give a link to the normal recipe that isn't "light"? I prefer the really rich, buttery version.
It looks amazing! I have to admit I have never made Mohnkuchen - must try harder...
Oh, YUM! I love Mohnkuchen of just about any kind.
I forgot to rate the recipe. It looks really easy to follow and I think even the novice would have fun preparing this dessert!
Thanks its really easy... to make hope you try it one day x
The German poppy... looks delicious!!