Moist and not overly sweet, lemon poppy seed cake is a quick way to brighten up a cold winter day.

This afternoon, the sunshine poured through the living room window, filling our third floor apartment with warmth and the illusion that it wasn’t as cold as it actually is outside. But no mistake, we’re still deep in winter’s grip here in Ulaanbaatar. Today, the temperature soared to a chilly high of 17 degrees F – a bit warmer than it’s been the past several days. Snug inside our apartment, we fantasized about spring while we sat in the sunbeams enjoying warm pieces of moist lemon poppyseed cake with freshly brewed cups of tea.

Lemon Poppy Seed Drizzle Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

Drizzle

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease two regular-sized loaf pans.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, poppy seeds, sugar, and lemon zest.
4. Stir in oil, eggs, yogurt, almond extract, and lemon juice.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
7. Mix together drizzle ingredients.
8. Prick cake many times with tines of a fork while warm.
9. Brush drizzle on top of cake allowing the drizzle to settle into the cake.