My mom’s birthday was earlier this week and I wanted to make her a treat to celebrate. She might be citrus’ biggest fan, so I knew I had to incorporate a couple of citrus components into it. This Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake was the result!
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This recipe is adapted from a NYTimes Cooking recipe.
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Ingredients:
- Butter, for greasing the loaf pan
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, dividedÂ
- the zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
- the zest and juice of 1 lemon, dividedÂ
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- â…” cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla extract to make nut free
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon flour and shake the loaf pan, coating it evenly in flour. Discard any extra flour that doesn’t stick to the sides/bottom of the pan.
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Add the sugar to a large bowl. Zest the orange and lemon into the bowl, and mix to combine thoroughly.
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Juice the orange and lemon into a measuring cup. You should have a bit over 1/4 cup juice. If you have less than that, juice another lemon until you have more than 1/4 juice. Set aside.
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To the sugar mixture, whisk in the buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of the lemon-orange juice, and the 3 eggs.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking to combine.
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Follow by whisking in the olive oil.
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And the poppy seeds, until fully combined.
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Pour the batter into the loaf pan (it will be a pretty wet batter).
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Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
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Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Use a knife around the edges to loosen the loaf and turn it out onto a baking rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Turn the loaf right side up.
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Whisk together the remaining lemon and orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract, and the confectioners’ sugar.
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Drizzle the mixture over the loaf.
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Let cool completely before cutting.
I cannot begin to describe how amazing my kitchen smelled while making this.
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The pound cake turned out nice and springy and filled with citrusy goodness.
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This is a great make ahead recipe — slice the pound cake, add back to the loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to eat. This would be wonderful with fresh blueberries!
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing the loaf pan
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- the zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
- the zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- â…” cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla extract to make nut free
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon flour and shake the loaf pan, coating it evenly in flour. Discard any extra flour that doesn’t stick to the sides/bottom of the pan.
- Add the sugar to a large bowl. Zest the orange and lemon into the bowl, and mix to combine thoroughly.
- Juice the orange and lemon into a measuring cup. You should have a bit over 1/4 cup juice. If you have less than that, juice another lemon until you have more than 1/4 juice. Set aside.
- To the sugar mixture, whisk in the buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of the lemon-orange juice, and the 3 eggs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking to combine.
- Follow with the olive oil.
- And the poppy seeds, until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan (it will be a pretty wet batter).
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (mine took 65 minutes)
- Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
- Use a knife around the edges to loosen the loaf and turn it out onto a baking rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Turn the loaf right side up.
- Whisk together the remaining lemon and orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract, and the confectioners’ sugar.
- Drizzle the mixture over the loaf. Let cool completely before cutting.


What do you think?