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Sweet and simple Glazed Lemon Ricotta Poppy Seed Cakes. These go far beyond any coffee shop, these mini cakes melt in your mouth. Soft and fluffy lemon cake made with whole wheat flour, creamy rich ricotta cheese, and swirled with poppy seeds. Each little cake is made even more special with a brown butter glaze. This lemon load cake is the perfect winter treat to bake.
Happy Friday!! After many, many requests, I finally made lemon poppy seed muffin/mini cakes! I baked mini loaves and muffins and they turned out perfect! I love them so much! I’ve been working on this recipe all month long. They started out as a way more complicated muffin/cake that I just did not love. The texture was way too dense and the lemon flavor just was not there. I spent days working on the recipe only to decide I didn’t want to share it.
I ended up forgetting about those particular muffins and figured it just wasn’t the time. Maybe I’d revisit the idea another time. If I was going to share a lemon poppy seed muffin, I really wanted them to melt in your mouth, and be roll-your-eyes-back delicious.
A real winter treat, if you will!
I set the idea aside and moved on. Then, just this week, I made these muffins. It was a last-minute decision (which I’m becoming a real pro at) and one I do not regret. I love these cute little muffin cakes. I promise you, they’re so much better than any bakery sweets.
And healthier too! So we love that.
The details
What was wrong with my original attempt at these muffins was that I was making the recipe far too complicated. For this attempt, I simplified. I used basic everyday ingredients and the result was just what I wanted.
For the batter, paired the light lemon flavors with rich ricotta cheese. This is one of my favorite winter flavor combinations.
Like my favorite banana bread, this is completely no fuss and uses just one large bowl. Start with the dry ingredients. I use whole wheat flour for added flavor, you could also use all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour too. But I prefer using whole wheat flour. Then add baking powder and salt.
Next, the wet ingredients, stir fresh whole milk ricotta cheese, maple to sweeten, avocado oil (or try melted coconut oil, but I like avocado oil for this recipe), large eggs, vanilla, fresh lemon zest, and poppy seeds. I use double the lemon that most recipes call for, but it’s balanced with the ricotta.
Whisk everything to combine and then the batter is complete. You can bake the recipe into 12 muffins or 3 mini loaves. I have a couple of mini loaf pans that I’ve never used, so I thought it would be fun to finally put them to use.
Either muffins or mini loaves are wonderful.
For the glaze, I love a brown butter glaze. Keep it light and not too sweet.
When the muffins/mini cakes come out of the oven, enjoy them warm with the glaze spooned over each.
Delectable!
Hopefully, these homemade treats will make up for all the processed ones we enjoyed in our younger years. I can whole heartily say that these are so much better than anything packaged.
Looking for other yummy bakery items?? Here are my favorites:
Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts
Better Than The Bakery Chocolate Chip Espresso Yogurt Cake
Blender Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Maple Banana Bread with Cinnamon Spice Butter
Easy Chocolate Cinnamon Crunch Knots
Lastly, if you make these Lemon Ricotta Poppy Seed Mini Cakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Glazed Lemon Ricotta Poppyseed Cakes
Servings: 12 muffins or 4 loaves
Calories Per Serving: 280 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (or use melted coconut oil)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest + 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 10-12 muffin tins with paper liners.2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the ricotta, eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and poppy seeds. Mix until fully combined. 3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins or use mini loaf pans. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until just set. Remove and use a toothpick to poke a few holes in each cake. 4. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add the butter to a saucepan set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the honey, and lemon juice. Pour the glazes over the warm cakes/muffins. Top with extra poppy seeds, if desired. Enjoy.
This post was originally published on January 27, 2023
Lovely yummy muffins. My son approved which is a huge thumbs up. I’d attach a photo if I knew how. Lol
Hey Moira,
Amazing!! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for making it and your comment! xx
This recipe looks delish! Has anyone tried using almond flour/meal? I think this would be okay (in moderation) on a keto diet if it’s possible to use almond flour/meal in place of the whole wheat flour.
Oh great question. I need to know this as well. I’m baking this today
Hi Susan,
Sorry, I’ve not tested this recipe with almond flour, I think a gluten free flour blend would work best for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi Jenn,
Sorry, I’ve not tested this recipe with almond flour, I think a gluten free flour blend would work best for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Baked this in a loaf pan for about 55 minutes and it was amazing! Question, will this freeze well?
Hey Vivian,
Happy Wednesday! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! Sure, you could totally freeze this! xT
I thought this was very good, although I wanted a more pronounced lemon flavor. I think it was more subtle because I used olive oil instead of coconut/avocado oil. But that’s okay – crumb was perfect and so moist! Next time I’ll add more lemon zest to both the cake and glaze.
Hey Amber,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well! xT
So So fluffy and delicious. I used coconut oil instead of avocado oil, and I added the lemon juice to the batter/omited the glaze. Light and subtle lemon. It was a huge hit!
Hey Mary,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT
I’m thrilled yours turned out well because I’m sitting here waiting for mine to bake and feeling disappointed because I did the same (put the lemon juice in the batter) but not intentionally!
First time using wheat pastry flour – won’t be the last! I made this in all muffin form, so quick to mix and bake. The crumb is really light and the sweetness is very subtle, not the sometimes cloyingly sweet lemon poppy seed muffins of my youth. The lemon is just enough. Definitely adding these to my muffin rotation on a regular basis.
Hey Suzanne,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks for making it:) xx
Really, really good! Love how simple these loafs have been to make and they are super versatile. This one was my favorite and great with a cup of coffee for dessert or breakfast! I made it in a regular aluminum loaf pan and baked out an hour and it turned out perfect.
Thanks so much Olivia! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx
Oh. Em. Gee! These are delicious!! They were out of ricotta at the store so I swapped in Greek yogurt and still delish!! This one will be a regular for me I’m sure!! It’ll go great with my Earl Grey in the morning!!
I also sprinkled some lavender on top 🫠
Hey Aileen,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was tasty and thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
Made these tonight with my boyfriend and they are amazing! Will definitely be making these again! Thank you for sharing your creative recipes!
Hey Hannah,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx
One word: wow. I used chia seeds instead of poppy. I made muffins.. so good.
What a great idea to use chia seeds!
Hey Gretchen,
Awesome! So glad to hear the chia seeds worked well for you! Thanks for giving this recipe a try! xT
Another great recipe Tieghan, thank you! Made these this afternoon, the recipe is super easy and the mini cakes are light and delightful.
Hey Florence,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was tasty and thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
This is delicious! Would love an almond poppy seedy muffin/loaf recipe!!
Thanks so much Nicole!! Love that idea, will add to my list! xT
Could full fat Greek yogurt replace ricotta in this recipe?
I’m also tempted to add blueberries!
Hey Karol,
Yes, that would work well for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Thank you! Adding them to our valentine party line up 🤍
Awesome!!
It’s delicious, only issue is that it took longer than 20 minutes to bake at 350 for me. I ended up going closer to 35 minutes and kept checking on it through the window. My oven isn’t broken so I’m not sure what happened! But VERY YUMMY!
Hey Chelsea,
Thanks so much for making this recipe! Did you use the mini loaf pan or a regular loaf pan? Those would vary in bake times! xx
Can this be made with regular whole wheat flour?
Hey Lisa,
Yes, that will work, it’s just going to create a bit of a denser cake. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
These are delicious and SO easy! I used spelt flour and they still turned out light and fluffy! I’ll definitely be making them again!
Hey Joanna,
Happy Sunday!😃 Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, I am so glad it turned out well for you! xx