Filled with fresh berries, lavender cream cheese filling and Italian buttercream, this glamorous lemon poppy seed naked cake tastes luxurious in every bite! The lemon poppy seed flavor with berries adds so much freshness. The lavender and Meyer lemon cream cheese filling adds a refined “je ne sais quoi”. Finally, the luscious and light Italian buttercream gives a delicious balanced taste to the cake.
This recipe has many steps, but do not fear them. With the tips below for making this recipe, you will be able to bake and assemble the cake beautifully, in addition to mastering the art of making delicious Italian buttercream!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a naked cake?
A naked cake is a cake without the the outer frosting layer. It stops at the crumb coat, which is a thin layer of frosting that helps sealing in the crumbs of the cake and preserve its moisture. This cake is perfect if you or your guests are more careful about the fat and sugar intake. I love to make this naked cake because there are so many flavors that come together, such as lemon, poppy seeds, lavender and berries and they need to be in perfect balance with each other.
What is Italian meringue buttercream?
Italian buttercream is made out of egg whites that are whisked into a meringue and this meringue is cooked with hot sugar syrup that is heated to 245°F (118°C). Because it is cooked, Italian meringue is the most stable form of meringue and I love its silky luscious look. To make it a buttercream, butter is then added into the meringue, which creates Italian meringue buttercream. This buttercream is my ultimate favorite because it is less sweet than all its buttercream counterparts and perfect for decorating cakes due to its stability! Using Italian buttercream in your cakes will allow you to taste all the other subtle flavors of the actual cake.
Using Meyer lemons:
I love Meyer lemons for its sweet and tart taste. Particularly in this recipe, using Meyer lemons elevate the cake on all the levels. However, Meyer lemons are not always in season and you can use regular lemons too and it’ll still be delicious!
How to store lemon poppy seed naked cake?
The cake can be kept refrigerated up to a week sealed or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, you can freeze it up to 6 months! If your cake was frozen, simply take it out of the freezer and let it thaw refrigerated. It will taste just as fresh!
How to store leftover buttercream?
Do you have leftover buttercream? You can keep it in the fridge for 5 days or in an airtight container up to 1 month. The buttercream will not be as light and fluffy once thawed. However, it is fixable. Take out the buttercream to be at room temperature and whip it for about 2-3 minutes.
PRO TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE LEMON POPPY SEED CAKES
Cake flour:
Cake flour comes from soft wheat and is finely milled. It has a lower gluten and protein content than regular all-purpose flour. It is more expensive than all-purpose flour but it’s definitely worth the extra splurge! Using it in this recipe will yield a very soft cake with a delicate texture. Do you have to use cake flour? It is highly recommended. If you do not have cake flour on hand and want to make a cake flour substitute, Sally’s Baking Addiction has a great article on how to do this. Bear in mind that even making this substitution will not yield the same refined texture cake results but will be similar.
Sifting the flour:
This step is a must, especially for this cake that is so delicate in texture and taste so you should not omit this step. Sifting flour helps to evenly distribute the baking powder and prevents clumps in the cake once cooked.
Creaming the butter and the sugar:
You should cream the room temperature butter with the butter until it is light and fluffy. By doing so, pockets of bubbles are created which will help trap the gasses from the baking powder. As a result, it will make your cake’s texture lighter.
Finishing to mix the batter by hand
I always finish mixing my cake batters by hand once all the ingredients are combined. Not only you will mix the ingredients that are left at the bottom of the mixing bowl, but also prevent the overmixing. Overmixed cake batters will create dense cakes. Your lemon poppy seed cake batter should look like this:
How to achieve flat cake layers:
If you plan on baking cakes often, you should consider investing in cake strips; they are a must among your baking tools! You simple need to wrap it around your cake pan before it goes into the oven. You can find them on Amazon or arts & crafts store such as Michael’s. Because it adds an additional layer during the baking process, bear in mind that you will need to add an additional 5 minutes to the indicated baking time.
PRO TIPS ON HOW TO FRESH BERRIES & CREAM CHEESE FILLING
Culinary Lavender – What makes this lemon poppy seed naked cake a perfect summer dessert is the addition of lavender into the cream cheese filling! If you have a mortar and pestle, it’s a great excuse to put them into use! Because lavender can easily be an empowering taste, a small quantity will go a long way. You can grind lavender by using a food processor. However, you will need to grind a bigger quantity.
Fresh vs frozen berries – I would recommend using fresh berries for this cake as the frozen ones will make the cake soggy. If you only have frozen berries, you can make a compote and use them as your cake filling. Alternatively, you can also purchase and use jams. However, this will make your cake sweeter.
PRO TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN BUTTERCREAM
To make Italian meringue buttercream, you will need egg whites only. The eggs should be separated with clean hands and they should be exempt from any trace of egg yolk. You can keep the egg yolks for making homemade pasta dough, custards, or crème brûlées!
1. Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are clean clean clean! Grease is meringue’s worst enemy and any trace of it will not make the meringue set properly. To prevent this and be on the cautious side, you can wipe your bowl and whisk with some lemon juice or vinegar before adding your egg whites.
2. When a foam forms, add cream of tartar or lemon juice and continue to beat on medium-high speed. The cream of tartar or lemon juice will help stabilize the meringue.
3. Slowly drizzle the granulated sugar (2 Tbsp or 30 g) and continue to whisk until soft peaks obtained (if soft peaks occur before the sugar syrup reaches 245°F (118°C), decrease speed to medium.
4. In a small saucepan on medium-low heat, add ¾ cup (150 g) sugar with 3 Tbsp of water. Make sure all the sugar is covered with water to avoid the sugar from crystalizing. You can use a spoon to stir it before putting on the stove. In addition, do not disburb the sugar while it’s heating no matter how tempting it may be! With a candy thermometer, monitor the sugar syrup until it reaches 245°F or 118°C.
5. Once the sugar has reached 245°F (118°C), immediately and slowly drizzle in the hot sugar into the meringue aiming on the sides of the mixing bowl to prevent sugar syrup spread in the whisk.
6. Continue to whisk until firm speaks form. This is your Italian meringue. Decrease the speed to medium-low for the meringue to cool down to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
7. Once the meringue has cooled, change the whisk to a paddle attachment to make the buttercream. Add butter, one dollop or spoonful at a time. It is normal to see the buttercream becoming a soupy clumpy mixture halfway through, do not worry!
8. Continue to mix until all the butter is incorporated and creates a silky soft buttercream texture. You can then add vanilla extract and food coloring and give it a last mix.
HAPPY BAKING! – Justine
Equipment
- Small-sized saucepan
- Candy thermometer
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachment
- Rubber spatula
- Offset icing spatula
- Straight scraper
- 2 to 3 pipping bags
- Star pipping tip (ie.: Wilton 1M) optional
- Cake board
- Turntable optional
- Mortar & pestle
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 ¼ cup (270g) cake flour
- 1 ½ tsp (6g) baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup (120ml) whole milk room temperature
- 1 Tbsp poppy seed
- ¾ cup (190g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup (350g) white granulated sugar
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream room temperature
- ½ cup (120ml) lemon juice about five medium-sized or four large-size lemons
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
For the cream cheese filling
- 1-8 oz (226g) cream cheese block room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cup (175g) confectioner's sugar
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 Tbsp (15ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp (2g) culinary dry lavender flowers grinded
- Zest of 1 lemon
For the Italian buttercream
- ¾ cup (150g) white granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp water
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp lemon juice or ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 2 TBSP (30g) white granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cup (340g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 Tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Optional: 2 drops of lavender or purple food coloring
For the fresh fruit filling
- ¾ cup fresh blueberries or raspberries washed and well dried
Instructions
Making the cake
- In a mixing bowl, soak the poppy seeds in milk and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans with some butter and line them with parchment paper at the bottom. Dust the sides of the pan with some flour and set aside.
- In a second mixing bowl, sift cake flour and baking powder. Add salt, mix and set aside.
- In a third mixing bowl with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time and continue to mix until they are incorporated.
- Add the soaked poppy seeds milk, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract, one ingredient at a time by mixing for 5 seconds before adding the next ingredient. Once all ingredients are added, mix until incorporated.
- Add the sifted flour mixture and mix until just combined. Finish mixing the batter by hand and scrape the mixing bowl to ensure that no unmixed ingredients remain at the bottom.
- Pour cake batter equally into the cake pans. For 6-inch cakes, bake for 30-35 minutes and for 8-inch cakes, bake for 45-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes rest in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove them to cool on a wire rack.
Making the cream cheese filling
- In a mixing bowl with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar until silky and soft. Add butter and mix until fluffy. Add ground lavender, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix until all incorporated.
- Set the cream cheese filling aside in the refrigerator. When ready to use, take it out 30 minutes prior.
Making the Italian buttercream
- In a small saucepan on medium-low heat, add ¾ cup (150 g) sugar with 3 Tbsp of water. Make sure all the sugar is covered with water. With a candy thermometer, monitor the sugar syrup until it reaches 245°F or 118°C.
- Meanwhile, in a clean grease-free mixing bowl with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed, whisk egg whites.
- When a foam forms, add cream of tartar or lemon juice and continue to beat on medium-high speed.
- Slowly drizzle the granulated sugar (2 Tbsp or 30 g) and continue to whisk until soft peaks obtained. If soft peaks occur before the sugar syrup reaches 245°F (118°C), decrease speed to medium.
- Once the sugar has reached 245°F (118°C), immediately and slowly drizzle in the hot sugar into the meringue aiming on the sides of the mixing bowl to prevent sugar syrup spread in the whisk.
- Continue to whisk until firm speaks form. This is your Italian meringue. Decrease the speed to medium-low for the meringue to cool down to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Once the meringue has cooled, change the whisk to a paddle attachment to make the buttercream. Add butter, one dollop or spoonful at a time. It is normal to see the buttercream becoming a soupy clumpy mixture halfway through. Continue to mix until all the butter is incorporated and creates a silky soft buttercream texture.
- Add vanilla extract and (optional) food coloring continue to mix until everything it incorporated.
Cake Assembly
- Add the cream cheese filling in a piping bag and the Italian buttercream in a second piping bag. Cut the tip to make it about a ½ inch wide opening.
- Optional: Using a pipping tip (I am using the start pipping tip Wilton 1M), fill a third piping bag with Italian buttercream.
- Using a cake turntable, place a cake board and pipe a dollop of buttercream in the middle. Place the first cake layer.
- Pipe Italian buttercream around the edge of the cake. Pipe cream cheese filling inside the cake and spread evenly with an offset icing spatula. Place fresh berries onto the cream cheese filling.
- For a 3-layer cake: Repeat step above for the second cake layer.For a 2-layer cake: Proceed to the next step.
- Add the last cake layer and pipe Italian buttercream on top of the cake and a thin layer around the entire cake. It’s ok if it’s not even.
- Smooth edges out a straight scraper and even the top of the cake out with the icing spatula.
- Optional: With the third pipping bag attached a pipping tip, pipe dollops of Italian buttercream on top of the cake.
- Decorate with fresh berries and lemon zest.
