Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf

Square overhead image of a sliced loaf of lemon poppy seed cake from cake mix.

5 from 7 votes

A delicious and easy recipe for lemon poppy seed cake that starts with a box of cake mix!

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword lemon loaf, lemon poppy seed bread, lemon poppy seed bread with cake mix, lemon poppy seed cake, lemon poppy seed loaf

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Cooling Time 2

Total Time 2 50

Servings slices

Calories 230kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

For the Bread

1 (15.25 ounce) box lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix (just the dry mix -- do not prepare the pudding)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Bake the Bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two (8.5 x 4.5-inch) loaf pans or spray with nonstick baking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the cake mix, dry pudding mix, poppy seeds, water, oil, and eggs for about 2 minutes.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans, then turn the loaves onto wire racks to cool completely before glazing.

Make the Glaze

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and the vanilla extract until a thick, pourable glaze comes together. If it seems too thick, gradually add more lemon juice one teaspoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin, whisk in additional powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cakes. Once the glaze sets, slice and serve.

Notes

These are relatively small loaf cakes, since you're dividing the batter between two pans. For purposes of calculating the nutritional information, I assume 8 slices per loaf.

Nutrition