The weather is finally getting beautiful here in DC, which only means one thing… Cherry Blossoms. A gift from the Japanese in 1912 as a token of friendship between the two countries, these beautiful flowers bloom for only as long as 14 days, usually around the end of March/beginning of April. Since my birthday falls on April 4, and I’ve grown up in the DC area, I am absolutely convinced that they bloom just for me!
DC holds an annual Cherry Blossom Festival with tons of activities for all ages. It’s pretty packed, and tourists come from all over the country to see the trees in all their glory. That’s probably why it’s been a couple years since I’ve been down to the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms — growing up around here, you find out quickly when tourist season begins and avoid all tourist attractions like the plague. But this year, I wasn’t going to let early spring go by without my photo opp. [Photos of my adventures below]
Note to those who want to avoid the crowds: try to get downtown on the weekend before the crowds descend … 7:30am, at the latest.
So in celebration of everything pink and flowery, I’ve whipped up a light Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Strawberry Glaze.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
- Juice of 3 large Lemons (roughly 1/3 cup)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup Strawberries, quartered
- Lemon Juice (from concentrate)
- 1 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F
- In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt
- Add in the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, butter and lemon juice and beat until mixed well
- Pour into two greased 9 inch baking pans (or one greased bunt pan)
- Bake for 40 minutes
- In the meantime, heat the quartered strawberries in a small saucepan with a couple drops of concentrated lemon juice until soft
- Using a strainer, puree the strawberries into a small bowl so that you’re only getting the pink liquid
- Slowly add in confectioner’s sugar and concentrated lemon juice, whisking constantly until the consistency thickens
- Pour over cooled cake for best results
Nutrition Information: Cals 285. Carbs 42g. Fat 11g.
For more easy recipes by Miss Measurement, sign up for email updates.
1 Comment on Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Strawberry Glaze
Comments are closed.