Lemon and poppy seed – the ultimate bundt cake flavour combination – is in perfect balance in Kim Kushner‘s simple cake recipe from her cookbook The Modern Table. Light olive oil adds moisture to the cake, while a cup of orange juice adds sweet citrus notes. A delightful Lemon Poppy Seed bundt cake recipe that is elegant enough for entertaining, and easy enough for family night dinner.

Baking tip:

Room-temperature eggs mix into the batter more evenly, and they also create more voluminous baked goods, which is especially important in a sponge-cake like this one. – Kim Kushner

Lemon Poppy Seed Chocolate Swirl Bundt Cake

Lemon and poppy seeds make a perfect pairing, but when you add a fudgy, gooey swirl, this bundt cake is next level.

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Course Dessert

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

9" Bundt pan

Ingredients

¾ cup light olive oil plus extra for greasing
2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
1 cup sugar
3 eggs room temperature
1 cup orange juice or ½ cup orange juice + ½ cup lemon juice
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda divided
½ tsp kosher salt
½ cup poppy seeds Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup chocolate syrup such as Hershey’s or U-bet , plus extra for drizzling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch Bundt pan with olive oil and dust lightly with flour. Shake out the excess flour.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand-held mixer), beat olive oil and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. With the mixer running on medium-high speed, add eggs, one at a time, and mix for 5 minutes. Add the orange juice (or orange-lemon juice) and mix for another minute.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix for 1–2 minutes, until combined. Using a spatula, fold in poppy seeds and lemon zest.
Reserve 1 cup of batter in a medium bowl and set aside. Pour the remaining batter evenly into the prepared pan.
To the reserved 1 cup of batter, stir in chocolate syrup and the remaining ½ tsp baking soda. Spoon the reserved chocolate batter into the pan. Using a knife, swirl the chocolate batter into the mixture.
Bake for 50–60 minutes, until the cake springs back when tapped or a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely before removing from the pan.
Run a knife along the sides and center of the Bundt pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Invert the cake onto a cake plate or platter and set aside to cool.
Drizzle chocolate syrup on top and serve.