Lemon, Almond and Poppy Seed Squares

This Lemon, Almond and Poppy Seed cake has a light sponge with a Lemon Drizzle topping. A quick and easy recipe to make. Cut into 12 good sized squares.

This recipe is adapted from my Lemon Drizzle Traybake recipe. It has the addition of ground almonds and poppy seeds in the cake mixture with Flaked Almonds on top. Another easy recipe to make. You can omit the Lemon drizzle if you wish to reduce the lemon zing flavours.

How to make Lemon, Almond and Poppy Seed Squares

The butter must always be at room temperature. It makes creaming the butter and sugar together that much easier and quicker.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until you have a light and fluffy texture. I've been using a Kenwood Flexible Beater with my electric mixer ( Kenwood Major) and find mixing so much quicker and thorough as it scrapes down the sides of the bowl as it goes along. It was such a pain having to stop and start the machine several times using my usual K beaters. This attachment saves me a bit of time.

Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a little flour between each one to help prevent curdling. Mix until well combined.

Add the remaining flour and ground Almonds and on a slow speed, mix until well combined. Add the lemon zest and poppy seeds. Mix until well combined using a spatular or wooden spoon.

Pour the cake mixture evenly into the prepared baking tin.

Scatter the Flaked Almonds evenly over the top of the cake batter mixture.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 – 30 mins. Or until baked. Testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean. The top of the traybake springs back when pressed.

While the cake is cooling, make the drizzle. It’s important to add the drizzle while the cake is still warm as it helps the lemon drizzle seep through the sponge giving it that extra zing.

Mix the sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to a runny consistency. Pierce the cake at various points with a cake skewer and spoon the Lemon Drizzle topping over the cake.

Cut into 12 squares. This cake tastes delicious while still slightly warm. It will keep well for a few days when kept in an airtight container. But I doubt it will last that long. It’s so delicious and refreshing.

Other traybake recipes that you might like to try.

• Lemon Drizzle Traybake with Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
• Chocolate Tray Bake with easy to slice hard chocolate topping.
• Matcha Green Tea cake with a zingy white chocolate frosting, topped with strawberries and Pistachio nuts

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