150g (5oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
175g (6oz) granulated sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1tsp. vanilla extract
125g (4oz) buttermilk
1Tbsp. poppy seeds
250g (9oz) plain flour
2tsp. baking powder for the icing
150g (5oz) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
75g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
2Tbsp. lemon curd
350g (12oz) icing sugar, sifted
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Lightly grease and line a 20.5cm (8in) round cake tin with baking parchment. Put butter and granulated sugar into
a large bowl and beat together using a handheld electric whisk until pale and fluffy, about 3min. Gradually beat in eggs, mixing constantly, followed by the lemon zest and juice, vanilla extract, buttermilk and poppy seeds.
Step 2
Sift over flour and baking powder, then fold together with a large metal spoon. Empty mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5min in tin, then take out of tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 3
Once the cake has cooled, peel off the parchment and transfer to a cake stand or serving plate. To make the icing, put the cream cheese, softened butter and lemon curd in to a food processor and whiz together until smooth (alternatively, whisk together by hand). Add the icing sugar and whiz again to combine. Spread over the top of the cake and decorate with crystallised rose petals, if you like.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
