From 1 layer to 3: lemon poppy sheet-pan cake
Sheet pan week continues with a recipe from Molly Gilbert's "Sheet Pan Sweets"
Hello! Hello!
The next time you hear from me, I’ll be saying “Bonjour! Bonjour!” I fly home to Paris tomorrow and, of course, I’m excited. I’ll be there for about six weeks, so if there’s something you’d like me to check out, let me know. If I can, I will. If not … next time. I keep lists of places to go/to see/to do/to eat (especially things to eat and places to eat them) and it would be fun for me to know your favorites.
For now, I’m still in Connecticut and, as promised when I sent you Melissa Clark’s “tagine,” I’ve got another sheet pan recipe. It’s just as surprising as Melissa’s, but this one’s sweet. It’s the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake from Molly Gilbert’s new book, Sheet Pan Sweets. Not only is it such a delicious cake, it’s such a good idea to bake a sheet cake and turn it into a layer cake!
THE BOOK
Call Molly Gilbert a sheet-pan pioneer. She wrote her first cookbook, Sheet Pan Suppers, a decade ago, when sheet pan cooking was commonplace for every chef and when we home cooks were just realizing that we could use the pan for a lot more than Toll House cookies. In this book, Molly goes sweet and wide. There are sheet cakes, of course, and rolled cakes too. But there are also layer cakes (I’m a little obsessed with these) and bars and cookies. Molly’s included a chapter called “Pies & The Like” and “Breakfasts & Breads,” another of my favorite chapters. There’s just so much to like here!
Recipe reprinted with permission from Sheet Pan Sweets by Molly Gilbert (Union Square & Co., October 2022). Photography by Dana Gallagher.
THE CAKE
With the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake, Molly takes a classic combination — poppy seeds and citrus — one that we often see in loaf cakes and muffins, and uses it to make a splendidly tender and very flavorful cake. That you bake it in a sheet pan, means that it bakes quickly, that all the layers will be even and that you don’t have a mess of pans to juggle in the oven. That the cake cools and is ready to be cut into three rounds and frosted in half an hour is another good thing! Molly’s chosen a cream cheese frosting for the three-layer beauty and it’s perfect. But it doesn’t need to be the last word — I’m eying her sour cream and white chocolate frosting, the one she uses for her red velvet cake, as a possible next move. And about the scraps that you get when you cut the rounds — if you haven’t nibbled them all while you were frosting the cake, Molly’s got a use for them: They make a simple decoration.
Maybe you’ll make Melissa’s chicken for dinner and Molly’s cake for dessert. Now there’s a good idea!
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LEMON POPPY SEED LAYER CAKE
Photo: Dana Gallagher
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
The pan: In her section on Tools & Equipment, Molly makes it clear that when she says “sheet pan” she means a rimmed baking sheet that measures — and this is the important part — 18 x 13 inches and has a 1-inch high rim. A jelly-roll pan, which is smaller, is not a substitute for a sheet pan — the recipe will overflow, your oven will be a mess and, if you’re the cursing type, you’re guaranteed to curse. There! You’re warned. If you want to bake half a recipe, use a quarter sheet pan that measures 13 x 9 inches.
The poppy seeds: Because poppy seeds, like all nuts and seeds, have oil, they can go rancid. Smell the seeds when you open the jar or bag and taste a few before you add them to your batter. If you’re not going use your seeds for a while, store them in the freezer.
The shape: I love that you can make a round cake from the sheet, but the cake would also be beautiful cut into three rectangles. Choices. Choices.
The scraps: If you cut round layers, you'll have scraps left over. Molly suggests cutting the scraps into cubes and topping the cake with them or crumbing the scraps and using them for decoration. Choices. Choices. Again.
The measurements: Molly’s book uses American volume measures. I’ve inserted metric measures.
Makes 8 to 10 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the cake
Nonstick cooking spray
1 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
1 cup (240 ml) milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh lemon juice
3 cups (408 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks / 141 grams / 5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons poppy seeds (see above)
Photo: Mary Dodd
For the frosting
1 (8-ounce / 226 grams) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks / 226 grams / 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups (520 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the center position. Grease a sheet pan (see above) with nonstick spray, line it with parchment paper, and grease the parchment, too.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, mix the granulated sugar and lemon zest together on low speed until the sugar turns yellow and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the milk and lemon juice in a large, spouted measuring cup.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the butter to the lemon sugar, increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the oil and vanilla until well combined.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture, beginning, and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the poppy seeds with a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
Photo: Mary Dodd
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly to the corners with a large offset spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Photo: Mary Dodd
While the cake bakes, line a work surface with a large sheet of parchment paper.
Set the sheet pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then run a paring knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Carefully invert it onto the parchment-lined work surface, remove the parchment from the cake, and allow it to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt and beat on high speed until creamy and light, about 5 minutes.
To make a round, three-layer cake: Use the tip of a paring knife to cut out three 6 3/4-inch circles from the sheet cake (use an inverted bowl, plate, or cardboard round as a guide). Save any cake scraps to use for decorating.
Photo: Mary Dodd
Place one round cake layer on a serving platter and use an offset spatula to spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top, all the way to the edges. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, using the offset spatula to spread a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides of the entire cake. Refrigerate the cake for about 10 minutes to firm up the crumb coat.
Photos: Mary Dodd
Meanwhile, cut the cake scraps into cubes or break up into crumbs.
Photo: Mary Dodd
Spread the rest of the frosting in a thick layer over the top and sides of the cake. While the frosting is still sticky, arrange the cake cubes or crumbs on top of the cake.
Slice and serve immediately. The cake will keep, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Photos: Mary Dodd
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From 1 layer to 3: lemon poppy sheet-pan cake
This cake is delicious!! Everyone loved it. I piped some of the frosting on top and along the bottom edge to make it a bit fancier. It would make a wonderful dessert for Easter.