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Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Custard Cake…the prettiest simple spring cake! Easier than you’d think to make…and most importantly, so delicious! The sweet lemony poppyseed cake acts as a boat that holds a light creamy vanilla custard and sweet blueberries that burst in the oven. If you love lemon poppyseed cake and you love a crème brûlée, this combination is just for you! Finish this simple, fresh, and exciting cake off with a dusting of powdered sugar. Every last crumb is SO GOOD. Enjoy for brunch, as an afternoon snack, or for dessert – truly delicious. Bonus? It’s so pretty…with very little effort.
Oh, this cake! You guys, I do know I say this very often, but I am really so excited about this one. When I set out to make this, I was not sure it would really work. I was very worried it could require multiple rounds of testing, and even then, not end up working.
But to my surprise, everything worked almost perfectly the first time around. That almost never happens with baking recipes, but I was so happy it did! The funny thing about this cake is that it was inspired by two very different recipes, an old school blueberry cake I found on Pillsbury and my recent crème brûlée.
Not exactly sure how I put two and two together, but it worked! With Easter coming up, followed by Mother’s Day, this feels like the perfect cake for both!
The idea
As I mentioned above, the cake itself was inspired by a brunch-style cake created by Pillsbury way back in the day. As you guys know, I’ve been into retro recipes lately. I’ve been doing more and more research on vintage recipes and it’s taking me in all directions.
What I love about the retro Pillsbury cake is the center. It was filled simply with blueberries. It sounds delicious as is, but something about the center of the cake inspired me. Then I thought about doing a crème center with blueberries on top. And when I say crème, I mean the creamy custard you’ll experience in crème brûlée. So delicious brûlée…plus lots of blueberries!
It sounded too delicious to not at least test it out. So even though I was pressed for time, I tested the idea.
And now here we are! It just goes to show you that you shouldn’t knock something until you try it, you know!?
The details
Start with the cake. It’s simple but made special with fresh lemon zest and poppy seeds. Mix your wet ingredients with the dry, then beat in a little sour cream to keep the cake very moist.
Now, the key to this cake is to create a bit of a “bowl” for the custard and berries to bake up in…or actually, it’s kind of like a “nest”. You’ll
spread the batter out into a springform pan, then push it up the sides to create room for the custard and berries.
It’s simple, and honestly kind of fun to do!
Now make the crème center
Mix the eggs with a bit of sugar, then pour the steaming cream into the eggs. The key here is to be constantly whisking the yolks with the hot cream. You don’t want to end up with scrambled eggs!
Add the custard to the “nest” you created, then sprinkle on the berries.
Bake it up and about forty-five or so minutes later your cake is done! The longer you bake the cake, the more set the custard becomes. And on the same note, the longer you chill the cake, the more set the custard will become. I love mine on the creamy, but runny side, so I like to chill for an hour or so.
And that’s it…simple, pretty, perfectly sweet, so creamy inside, but with just the right amount of sweet, lemony, poppy seed cake surrounding all that creaminess…SO GOOD!
Perfection beyond belief. Hope you guys all enjoy this fun spring/summer cake!
Looking for other spring cakes, try these:
Strawberry Chamomile Olive Oil Cake with Honeyed Ricotta
Hydrangea Flower Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Lastly, if you make this Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Crème Cake 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!
Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Custard Cake
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 594 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, use Meyer if you can
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 4 large egg yolks
Blueberries
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries thawed and drained
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9 or 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper, butter the parchment paper.2. To make the cake. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and 1 tablespoon vanilla until combined. Add the flour, poppyseeds, baking soda, and salt, and beat to combine. Beat in the sour cream until just combined. Spread the batter over the bottom and 1 1/4 inch up sides of the prepared pan, creating a boat for the custard. Making sure batter on sides is 1/4 inch thick and you have an even layer of batter on the bottom (see above photos).3. To make the custard. Whisk together the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl until combined.4. Place the cream over medium heat and gently warm until steaming. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. In a slow stream, whisk about 1/2 cup of the cream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so they don’t scramble. Whisk in the remaining cream. Pour 3/4 of custard into the center of the cake, reserving the remaining 1/3 cup. 5. In a bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, and flour. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of berries over the custard. It's going to be jiggly. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently pour over the remaining custard, then sprinkle on the remaining berries. Bake another 20 - 25 minutes until the sides of the cake are deep golden. The custard should be pretty jiggly in the center. If you want a looser custard, bake a total of 45-48 minutes.6. Let cool, then release the cake from the mold. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until ready to serve. The colder your cake is, the more set your custard will be. When ready to eat, generously dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar and enjoy!!
Wow! This was the belle of the ball at dinner tonight! It is very unusual but extremely good! The rim of the cake is the lemon poppy seed cake, then working into the center there is part of the custard that is set and finally there is this runny, gooey delight in the center that is not set.. When you cut the cake you have to be careful not to include the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake.This was a little tricky at times. When serving, the lemony cake part starts to soaks up the runny custardy(is that even a word) blueberry part and you have a haven of yumminess! Don’t forget the powdered sugar on top because it is definitely the finale. Tieghen, I’m giving this a solid 5 stars! The men of the family were sitting in the family room watching the basketball tournament and when served the cake you should have heard their lips smacking and groans of delight!
Follow the recipe just as Tieghen instructed and it will come out perfectly! The pictures really helped. Thank you !
Hey Lulu,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Just made this gluten free. So delicious. Bottom was not soggy, cake perfectly cooked. The custard is so soft and yummy. Added a splash of lemon juice to the custard and cake. I didn’t end up using all the custard tho and ended up putting the remainder in a ramekin for the last 20 minutes. So delicious and perfect for spring!
Hey Stephanie,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Yum! This is a beautiful dessert, maybe daring? Worthy of praises. The ingredients are the daring part, and it works.
Hey Teri,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
This looks so good! I want to try it for Easter ??
I hope you love the recipe Christine! xTieghan
If you don’t have a springfoam pan would a regular 9 or 10 inch cake tin work?
Hey Elisabeth,
Yes, that should work just fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Can this be made a few days in advance? 🙂 Thanks!
Hey Caitlin,
Yes, you can keep in the fridge until ready to serve:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this yesterday and it was fantastic. The recipe was simple and the pictures and directions were easy to follow. I was a little worried when it was baking that the “nest”was caving in but it turned out perfectly. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hey Taryn,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Love these flavors together. But it looks super soggy. Maybe needs to be baked longer. That is definitely not creme brûlée consistently. Thanks for sharing though!!
Hey Ivy,
This is how the cake is meant to be, the look is from the creamy custard. Let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I know this is an awful question but my brother can’t have seeds, will it come out just as delicious without the poppy seeds?
Thanks!
*btw every recipe I’ve tried has come out amazing! Thank you.
Hey Katherine,
Yes, it should be totally fine to omit the poppy seeds. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I was excited to try baking this cake after seeing Theigen make it on her Instagram stories. The recipe wasn’t overly complicated and the promise of a gooey custard filling had me sold. If I were to repeat this recipe, I would make a few changes: add more lemon zest to cake or perhaps a little lemon zest, build the wall of cake higher so I can add a bit more of the custard (had a seepage issue), omit 1/2 of the blueberries to allow for maximum custard gooeyness, and pay closer attention to cake in last 10 minutes to prevent over baking (oops). In the end, this cake smelled better than it tasted.
Hey Katherine,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry you did not enjoy the cake. xTieghan
Made this today. It’s amazing. Moist and flavourful. My hubby loved it too. Surprisingly easy to do and pretty enough for company. Wasn’t soggy at all just a little soft custard in the middle. I had to explain to hubby that it wasn’t under cooked and after one bite he was hooked
Thanks Tieghan
Hey Sue,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
This looks amazing! I’m definitely going to make it. Thanks for all your hard work coming up with amazing recipes. I’ve loved everything I’ve tried!
I hope you love the recipe Gretchen! xTieghan
I want to make this tomorrow but serve it on Monday, will it get soggy if you keep it overnight? Also if I refrigerate it all night will it just be completely set since I really would like it to be more on the runnier side like yours?!
Hi! This is great to keep overnight and if you cook as I direct, it shouldn’t be completely set.It will be on the runnier side! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This looks like the perfect spring dessert!! Can’t wait to try!
Hey Lizzie,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
These are all My favorite ingredients. Looks amazing. Can’t wait to make this. I just love your recipes. Thank you for always sharing these with us. God Bless you!!
Thanks so much Renee! xTieghan