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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 crumb 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. These lemon poppy seed muffins are 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. They were too dense and the 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 muffin.
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 bowl. Start with the dry. I use whole wheat flour for added flavor, you could also use all-purpose flour too. But I prefer using whole wheat flour. Then add baking powder and salt.
Next, the wet ingredients, fresh whole milk ricotta cheese, maple to sweeten, avocado oil (or try melted coconut oil, but I like avocado oil for this recipe), 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.
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.
Sadly this was not my fave! I think maybe the whole wheat flour didn’t do it for me. The batter was kinda thick – who knows maybe I did something wrong 😂
Hey Jessie! I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything you did differently? xT
Delicious! I also put the lemon juice in the cake vs. the glaze and it still turned out amazing. I put 1/3 cup of blueberries in the glaze just to take a walk on the wild side and it was lush. I baked in a bundt pan for about 40 minutes and it was perfect! xx
Hi Kelli,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you and thanks for sharing what you used! Have a great week! xT
This recipe was fantastic…so delicious! Thank you for introducing me to whole wheat pastry flour. I’m now internet searching for more baked good recipes that combine WWPF and ricotta. The combination makes that tender moist texture that has always alluded me. These muffins are stellar before you even add the decadent glaze haha!!…
Hey Ginger,
Happy Monday!! 🍋🫐 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was a hit! xT
how long would you bake this if you just want to bake it in a rgular loaf pan and not as muffins?
Hey Anna,
I would start checking for doneness at 45 minutes:) I hope this recipe turns out well for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx
If I were to make this in a regular sized loaf pan, would anything need to be changed besides the baking time? Thanks!
Does this need to be stored in the fridge? and for how long? I’ve already made twice and love, but found it had a different taste later in the week.
Thanks!
Hey Anastasia,
Happy Friday!! ☘️🌈 So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it out! These are good to keep in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days. xT
Hi! I made the lemon juice mistake also. Trying to multitask ! Should I do the glaze if serving the next day?
Hi Kylie,
You can wait to add the glaze:) Let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope they are delish! xx
Thoughts on subbing out the flour for almond or something to maje gluten free?
Hi Jamie,
I’m not sure I would recommend almond flour, a gluten free flour blend might be okay to use, but I haven’t tested it. Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
This recipe is amazing! I made in muffin form, and they are absolutely delicious and easy to make!
Hi Rachel,
Happy Sunday! 😃 Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Please change your recipe listing so the lemon juice is clearly put in a section for “glaze” like many of your other recipes! Otherwise you would have to ready the entire recipe to know the lemon juice does NOT go in the bread mix!!!!! (Like I unfortunately do) so sad!
Hi Alyssa,
Sorry to hear you had some issues here, but this recipe clearly lists the lemon juice in step 4:) I’ve not had any other readers with this issue. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
I made the same mistake, oops. Rushed through the recipe listing without actually reading the recipe and added the lemon juice to the muffin mix. Despite that small mistake, as well as subbing all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour, these still came out fantastic! Springy, light texture, not too sweet, and omg, that brown butter glaze…I could drink it through a straw haha.
Hey Laurel,
Oops! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
I made these as muffins with a gluten free flour blend and they turned out great! Such a treat and with simple, wholesome ingredients! Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
Hi Becky,
Happy Wednesday! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner!
I made these as muffins, and they were amazing! I love lemon poppyseed, and I also love when I can make things healthier with whole wheat flour and more natural sweeteners. 🙂 These were a big hit with the whole family, and they did not last long!
As a side note, if anyone is having issues with dense or flat muffins and lives at a low elevation, it might be due to altitude difference. I’ve moved around a lot over the last few years (military family), and the past 3 places we’ve lived (Washington, Alaska, & California) were at or near sea level. Every time I made HBH quick breads or muffins, they tasted delicious, but they always came out very flat or even sunken in the middle. We recently moved to Colorado and are now at about 6,000 ft elevation. I saw this recipe, thought it sounded delicious, and made it, fully expecting to get yummy but flat/dense muffins. I was amazed when they came out beautifully domed and fluffy! My mom, who lives at sea level, made this same recipe, and her muffins came out super flat. SO, all that to say, if anyone lives near sea level and is having flat muffin problems, it might be the altitude to blame. You can find high to low altitude recipe adjustments online, so you could give that a try!
Hey Anna,
Happy Friday!!🍀 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was delish! Thanks for sharing your handy noes! xT
Hi there. Can you substitute all purpose flour for the whole wheat pastry flour?
Hi Brittney,
You can, you might just have more dense of a cake as the pastry flour is much lighter. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Hi , your recipe photos looks awesome!
since i am border line diabetic i am thinking i can make once a month a sweet and thought of making this .
please can you give the measurments of the mini loaf pans and also the baking time if using loaf pans .
Thank you
Hi Anna,
The recipe is written for mini loaf pans, so you can follow all of the instructions as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx