Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 buttered and lightly floured 9 x 5-inch loaf pan


• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature


• 1/2 cup light brown sugar


• 1 heaping Tbs lemon zest


• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice


• 2 large eggs


• 2 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)


• 2 Tbs poppy seeds


• 1 cup buttermilk


• sliced strawberries for garnish (optional)

PROCEDURE:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and use an electric mixer to cream one stick of room temperature butter with 1/2 cup light brown sugar until it’s nice and creamy.

Then add 1 heaping Tbs of grated lemon zest and 2 Tbs of fresh lemon juice as well as 2 large eggs. You may have to stop the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula once or twice and turn the machine off once it's well combined.

For the dry ingredients, use another small mixing bowl to combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 Tbs of poppy seeds.

Lemon poppy seed cake for Mother's Day

Easy and delicious with or without fresh berries!

Place it on the center rack of the preheated oven and let it bake for 45-50 minutes and it's a good idea to spin it around once while it's in there. Use a toothpick test to check it for doneness.

Let it cool down, turn it out onto a cooling rack after a few minutes if you want and all that's left is to slice it up and serve it with sliced strawberries over the top!

HINTS:

Use regular or low fat milk instead of buttermilk if you like. Toss the sliced strawberries with a little white sugar 15-20 minutes ahead of time to give them a little juice. You can use a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan but it will most likely take less time to bake so keep your eye on it.