Floral Lemon Poppyseed Cake

This one’s real good. Like….really good. By now you know I love flowers, though cake isn’t necessarily my favorite. Unless it’s cheesecake. And then all bets are off. But a recipe with cake and edible flowers?  Ahem..this floral lemon poppyseed cake? I’m so in. Like jumping-head-first-into-a-pool-full-of-sprinkles in. Speaking of which, that exists! Have your feeds been super full of sprinkle pools, too? It’s all about the Museum of Ice Cream this summer and I want to go! It looks like a dream.

Like. this. cake.

This cake is seriously a d.r.e.a.m! And you might be surprised to hear it took minimal effort. In fact, the hardest part was waiting for the cake to cool. Oh, and also figuring out that lemon poppyseed cake mix isn’t really a thing. It’s more like you buy lemon cake mix and then add the poppyseeds. I only felt slightly foolish. T was the one who broke the news to me. Luckily it wasn’t too much of a tragedy. We simply ventured down another aisle and grabbed some poppyseeds in the bulk foods section. AKA, the most cost-effective way to buy poppyseeds if you ask me.

Once you’ve got your cake ingredients – cake mix, oil, eggs, and poppyseeds – you’ll want to stop by a florist or local farm. If you’re local to Boston, Allandale Farm is a fun spot to visit for flowers! Again, do your research and go ready to google feverishly. Not all flowers are edible! I repeat…not all flowers are edible. Some can actually be quite harmful. This time, I wanted to look for yellow and pink(ish) flowers. So, I went in without any specific types in mind and googled my heart away while standing in the greenhouse only looking slightly suspicious.

Edible Flowers for your Floral Lemon Poppyseed Cake

If you can, go on an early weekend morning. It can take a long time to find what you’re looking for and you don’t want to feel rushed. For this floral lemon poppyseed cake, we used flambe yellow strawflowers and sweet william annuals. To actually make the cake, I baked two rounds (so, two boxes of cake mix) and cut them in half once they cooled. I cut off the edges and stacked them together. That’s it! Seriously! This floral lemon poppyseed cake is different in that it doesn’t need to be covered in frosting. Instead, having it plain is totally enjoyable – at least for me.

However, I did add a drizzle of homemade icing (one part milk to two parts powdered sugar). The last step is to add your flowers and some rhubarb ribbons as you see fit. To make your own rhubarb ribbons, simply use a peeler on the length of the rhubarb and roll up the individual peeled sections. Stack them together on top of your cake as a natural cake topper!

And there you have it – a beautiful masterpiece without the stress of frosting, using fondant, or any expert baking tools. Ready to make your own floral cake? Are you a fan of lemon poppyseed or do you have something else in mind? Either way – go for it!

Please note, this story was originally published on the Alice’s Table blog.

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