Category: Poppy Seed

Poppy Seed & Lemon Buns

  • These little buns are based on one of my poppy seed cakes.
  • This amount makes 12 buns made in bun cases.

INGREDIENTS – buns

  • 100g butter
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 120g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds
  • Fine zest of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1 lemon

    Topping

  • 1 large lemon – rind pared & juice
  • 50g granulated sugar & 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

METHOD

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.
  • Cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest.
  • Add the eggs, one by one and whisk again.
  • Mix the flour with the baking powder.
  • Fold in the flour.
  • Mix in the lemon juice.
  • Fold in the poppy seeds.
  • Divide the mixture between 12 bun cases in a bun tray.
  • Bake for 25 -30 minutes.
  • Leave on a cake rack to cool.
  • *
  • MEANWHILE
  • Take the rind parings and boil them in a little water for 2 minutes.
  • Sieve and dry.
  • Add these to 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and mix.
  • *
  • Mix the lemon juice with the 50g of granulated sugar.
  • *
  • Divide the topping over the buns.
  • Sprinkle parings over the buns.

Heathcote, made in England, cake plate.

Duchess Bramble Rose Tea Rose

Little Poppy Seed Cakes -2

  • I posted my little poppy seed cakes post in December 2019.
  • I have been using spelt flour – orkiszowa – a bit recently and decided to try these out using this flour.
  • They were delicious – the spelt flour giving them a slightly nutty taste.

Ingredients

  • 180ml of milk (full fat or semi)
  • Around 100ml of runny honey (extra may be needed)
  • 120g of poppy seeds 
  • 50g of raisins
  • Strong Earl Grey tea
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon

Method

  • Make some strong Earl Grey tea.
  • Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with the hot tea and leave till they go cold.
  • Into a small saucepan put the poppy seeds and the milk.
  • Bring to the boil then lower the heat.
  • Simmer gently for around 20 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Take care not to let the mixture burn.
  • Add the honey and continue heating and stirring.
  • Drain the raisins and add them to the mixture and mix them in.
  • Keep stirring and try and drive off any liquid left.
  • Taste for sweetness – you may want to add more honey.
  • Leave to go completely cold before using.
  • Add the grated lemon rind.
  • *
  • If this is too much filling – you can always freeze some.

Yeast Dough

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon of fresh yeast
  • 4-5 tablespoons of milk (full fat or semi)
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 250g of spelt flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 120g of butter
  • 20g of caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 egg white for glazing (I always use just egg white now – it does not burn as easily as whole egg)

Method

  • Warm 3-4 tablespoons of the milk to hand heat.
  • Add the teaspoon of sugar.
  • Add the yeast and leave it to froth up.
  • Place the flour into a large bowl and add the salt.
  • Cut in the butter with a knife and then make breadcrumbs with your fingers.
  • Stir in the sugar.
  • Make a well in the centre.
  • Add the egg yolk and the yeast mixture.
  • Use a knife at first to bring the dough together.
  • You may need some of the extra milk.
  • Use your fingers to gather all the ingredients into  a ball.
  • Knead the dough for around 5 minutes till you have a smooth dough.
  • Leave the dough to rest for at least 45 minutes – covered with a tea cloth.
  • ******
  • Grease and line several baking trays.
  • Cut the dough into 3 or 4 portions.
  • Roll the dough out thinly.
  • Use a 6cm cutter to cut out circles.
  • Place a small teaspoon of filling on half of the circles.
  • Place a second pastry circle on top.
  • Use a pastry fork to crimp the edges together making sure they are sealed.
  • Glaze with beaten egg white.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C (quite low for a yeast pastry!).
  • Bake for 12-13 minutes.
  • Dust with icing sugar whilst still warm.
  • Leave to cool.
 

Poppy Seed Cake – 5

  • As you can see from the numbering – cake 5 – I have several recipes for a poppy seed cake – makowiec.
  • This was adapted from a recipe in a magazine I bought in Gdańsk.
  • It is baked in a rectangular tin and has a lemon glaze poured over it when cool.
  • Or you can cut it in half to make two squares and sandwich them together with Polish plum spread – powidła or another dark fruit jam.

Ingredients

  • 125g butter – softenned
  • 125 granulated sugar
  • 100g poppy seeds
  • 125ml milk
  • 2 eggs seperated
  • 150g flour (cake flour is good)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • *
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 50g Sugar
  • or
  • Polish plum spread – powidła or Sour Cherry or Blackcurrant jam.

Method

  • Line 3 sides of a 26 x 20 baking tin with one piece of greaseproof paper.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Cream the butter and sugar together.
  • Mix in the egg yolks.
  • Mix in the poppy seeds and the milk.
  • Mix the flour and the baking powder together.
  • Fold the flour mix into the cake mixture.
  • *
  • Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff.
  • Fold the whites gently into the cake mixture.
  • Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
  • Smoothe the top flat.
  • Bake for 50 -55 minutes.
  • Near the end of baking check the top is not burning.
  • Cover with paper or foil if it is.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.
  • *
  • Mix the lemon juice with the sugar.
  • When the cake is cooling, spread the lemon mixture over the top of the cake.
  • *
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Option

  • Rather than the lemon juice – wait till the cake is cool.
  • Cut it into 2 squares and sandwich together with Polish plum spread or dark fruit jam
  • Blackcurrant jam was used here.
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.

St Martin’s Croissants

  • St Martin’s Day (swietomarciński) is 11 November.*
  • These rogaliki – crescents or horns  or Marcińki are traditionally eaten around that day.
  • The recipe originates from Poznań – but the bakeries in Gdańsk had many for sale at the end of October when I was there.
  • The ones in the bakeries were much smaller than ones I have made in the past – see photo at the bottom right hand side.
  • *
  • The pastry is a flaky yeast pastry.
  • The filling is a poppy seed and dried fruit filling (some recipes add chopped nuts as well).
  • They are delicious.
  • White poppy seeds are often used  – I have not seen these here in England.
  • * Since 1918 – 11 November is also Independence Day
  •  

INGREDIENTS – Filling

  • 100g poppy seeds
  • 300ml milk
  • 2 tablespoons of runny honey
  • 1 tablespoon of semolina
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 50g mixed peel
  • 75g sultanas

Method

  • Put the poppy seeds and milk into a saucepan and simmer then together for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop any sticking or burning.
  • The aim is to cook the seeds and adsorb as much of the milk as possible.
  • You need to watch this carefully and keep adjusting the heat to stop the mixture burning.
  • Keep stirring and heating until the milk is absorbed.
  • The poppy seeds then need to be crushed, I use a hand held blender for about 5 minutes which I find is the easiest way.
  • Once crushed, add the semolina, mixed peel and sultanas
  • Whisk the egg yolk and honey together until this is thick and creamy and then add this to the mixture.
  • Leave to cool before using.

Ingredients – Pastry

Leaven – Starter

  • 150g plain flour
  • 200ml warm milk
  • 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 1 pkt of dried yeast (= 1 tablespoon)

Rest of Ingredients

  • 300g plain flour
  • 100g butter
  • 2 yolks
  • *
  • a little more milk might be needed 
  • Egg white to glaze
  • For layering
  • Around 180g of butter

Method

  • Mix the yeast and sugar into the hand hot milk.
  • Put 150g of flour into a bowl and mix in the milk mixture until it is like double cream.
  • Cover the bowl and leave it to rise.
  • *
  • Rub the butter into the 300g of flour until it is like breadcrumbs.
  • Add the egg yolks and the yeast starter.
  • Mix till you get a soft dough – you might need to add a tablespoon or so of milk – depends on the flour.
  • Knead the dough till you have a nice smooth ball.
  • Leave in a bowl, covered, to rise and double in size.
  • *
  • Place the butter into a dish and leave at room temperature to soften.
  • Knead the risen dough lightly for a few minutes.
  • **
  • Roll out the dough out thinly into a large rectangle.
  • Spread a around a sixth of the butter over 2/3rds of the surface.
  • Fold the dough without the butter over a third of the dough.
  • Fold the rest of the dough over this – making a rectangle.
  • Turn the dough by 90°.
  • Repeat the rolling, butter spreading and folding
  • Leave to rest for around 10 minutes.
  • ***
  • Repeat from ** to *** twice.
  • *
  • Cover the dough in greaseproof paper and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes or longer if you do not want to use just straight away.
  • When you want to use the dough take it out of the fridge for 20 minutes first.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C
  • Grease two baking sheets.
  • Roll the dough out into a rectangle to use.
  • *
  • With a knife or pizza cutter divide the dough into 8 or 16 triangles.
  • Place a teaspoon of filling at the fat end.
  • Roll up the triangle from the fat end to get the horn shape.
  • You can curve it slightly.
  • Place them on a baking sheet – as far apart as possible.
  • Repeat with the rest of the dough.
  • Brush the tops with egg white.
  • Cover loosely and leave for about 15 minutes.
  • Bake for around 14 – 15 minutes.

NOTE

Poppy Seed – Tort

  • Today is 31 December 2023 and this will be my 590th post.
  • Thank you to everyone who reads any of them.
  • *
  • Poppy seed cakes are a very Christmas time thing in Polish cookery.
  • But of course can be found all through out the year as well.
  • This could be called a makowiec – but it is light and more a tort (sponge layer cake).
  • I got a packet of ground poppy seeds (for the first time) and this recipe was on the back.
  • I tried it out and it is light, fluffy and delicious.
  • It is good just on its own but the suggestion is to add butter cream.
  • I used a rum flavoured butter cream but think, vanilla, rum or lemon rind would also work well.
  • You can cut the cake in half and sandwich it together or put the butter cream on the top.
  • The cake takes 6 eggs and was baked in a 24cm diameter round tin.
  • It is left to cool in the tin and does sink slightly in the middle.
  • I think next time using 2 sandwich type tins would be better or
  • Make ½ the quantity.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 eggs separated.
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 200g ground poppy seeds (a whole packet)
  • 3 tablespoons of semolina 
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • pinch of salt

Method

  • Grease and line the base of a 24 cm round tin.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Mix together the poppy seeds, semolina and baking powder.
  • Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar till thick and creamy.
  • Fold in the poppy seed mixture.
  • Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk till stiff.
  • Fold the whites into the rest of the cake mixture.
  • Put into the cake tin and smooth over the top.
  • Bake for 40 – 45 minutes.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.
  • The cake may drop slightly in the middle.
  • *
  • Serve dusted with icing sugar or
  • Cut in half and sandwich with a butter cream of your choice – vanilla, rum or brandy or lemon rind.

Duchess & Meakin poppy tea plates.

Onion Rolls

  • When I visited one of my aunties in Białystok we often talked about cooking and recipes.
  • She mentioned making making bread rolls with onions on top.
  • I did not get an actual recipe and looked some up instead.
  • You can call these cebulaki – (cebula = onion in Polish).
  • However I did find that they are often called  biały as they are a traditional recipe from Białystok.
  • I discovered you will find these for sale in New York as they were brought there by Polish and Jewish émigrés from Białystok around 1920.
  • The traditional topping is fried onion and poppy seeds.

Ingredients – Rolls

  • 200g & 50g plain flour
  • 150 ml warm milk
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • ½ tablespoon of dried yeast
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 egg white – for brushing

Ingredients – Topping

  • 1 onion
  • 1 tablespoons of butter
  • Large pinch of salt
  • Ground pepper
  • ½ tablespoon of poppy seeds

Method – Rolls

  • Mix the milk, yeast, sugar and 50g of plain flour.
  • Leave for 20 minutes
  • Put the 200g  of plain flour, salt, yolks and yeast mixture in a bowl
  • Mix together to form a soft dough.
  • Add a little extra milk if this is too dry.
  • Knead for 10 minutes – set a timer – till you get a smooth ball.
  • Cover and leave for 1½ – 2 hours.
  • Line the baking tray with baking paper.
  • *
  • Make the onion topping.
  • *
  • Lightly knead the dough for a few minutes.
  • Divide the dough into 6.
  • Roll each one to make a ball.
  • Place the balls on the baking tray and flatten each one.
  • Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
  • Pre-heat the oven  to GM6 – 200°C.
  • Using finger tips or the base of a tumbler flatten the centre of each roll.
  • Brush with beaten egg white.
  • Put  the onion and poppy seed mixture into the centre of each roll. 
  • Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  • *
  • Serve warm or cold.

Method – Onion Topping

  • Thinly slice the onion and cut the slices into quarters.
  • Fry the onion in butter till golden brown.
  • Add salt and pepper.
  • Leave to cool completely.
  • Mix in the poppy seeds.

Poppy Seed Yeast Buns

I recently posted a recipe for cinnamon buns, which were very soft and fluffy.

I thought – Why not use the traditional sweet Polish poppy seed mixture instead of the cinnamon mixture? – and so I did.

A mixture of strong and plain flours is used making the dough softer and a little harder to handle. After the first rising the dough is NOT knocked back, just used as it is to make a rectangular shape. Putting the buns into a deep foil lined roasting tin helps to let them rise into shape.

Ingredients – Dough

  • 250g strong flour
  • 250g plain flour
  • Half a tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 50g butter
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • Around 330ml milk

Method

  • Line a roasting tin with foil taking it all up the sides.
  • Warm a little of the milk and add the yeast.
  • Leave for around 10 minutes.
  • Mix the flours together.
  • Rub the butter into the flour – like breadcrumbs.
  • Add the sugar.
  • Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture.
  • Add the beaten egg.
  • Slowly add the milk – you might not need all of it.
  • Use a knife first to start to bring everything together
  • Then use your hands and form a soft dough ball.
  • Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for at least 5 minutes – even up to 10 minutes.
  • Place the dough into a bowl, cover (a disposable shower cap is good) and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board.
  • DO NOT KNOCK BACK THE DOUGH.
  • Using you fingers gently flatten and shape the dough into a rectangle.
  • Cover the dough with the poppy seed mixture.
  • Roll into a log.
  • Slice into thick pieces.
  • Place the pieces into the tin.
  • Cover and leave to rise.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C
  • Once all the pieces are touching put in the hot oven.
  • Bake for around 20 mins – check and maybe cover after 15mins.
  • Drizzle some icing made from lemon juice and icing sugar over these or just dust with icing sugar.
  • Leave to cool in the tin on a cake grid.

Ingredients – Poppy seed mix

  • 180ml of milk (full fat or semi)
  • Around 100ml of runny honey (extra may be needed)
  • 120g of poppy seeds *
  • 50g of raisins
  • Strong Earl Grey tea
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • *
  • * You can grind the poppy seeds – I used a little electric grinder.

Method

  • Make some strong Earl Grey tea.
  • Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with the hot tea and leave till they go cold.
  • Into a small saucepan put the poppy seeds and the milk.
  • Bring to the boil then lower the heat.
  • Simmer gently for around 20 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Take care not to let the mixture burn.
  • Add the honey and continue heating and stirring.
  • Drain the raisins and add them to the mixture and mix them in.
  • Keep stirring and try and drive off any liquid left.
  • Taste for sweetness – you may want to add more honey.
  • Leave to go completely cold before using.
  • Add the grated lemon rind.
  • *
  • If this is too much filling – you can always freeze some.

 

 

Makowiec – Roasted Poppy Seed Cake

I came across this recipe recently using roasted poppy seeds which give a slightly nutty flavour to the cake.

The cake part is the same as a previous poppy seed cake – makowiec 4 -and uses the simple all in one method using soft tub margarine.

Here roasted poppy seeds are used and lemon rind is not, nor is there a lemon glaze.

Roasting Poppy Seeds

100g of poppy seeds are used in this recipe.

Poppy seeds

Use a small frying pan without any oil or butter.

Add the poppy seeds to the pan and heat gently for around 5 minutes, stirring the seeds with a wooden spatulas and do not let them burn.

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Pour some milk into a jug or bowl and tip the roasted poppy seeds into the milk.

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When the poppy seeds have cooled, tip then into a sieve and let them drain away until they are dry.  You can press them with a spoon to speed up the process.

IMG_20151215_073209814(1)

The seeds need to be as dry as possible – you could do this part  several hours earlier or the night before.

This cake is a modern version as soft tub margarine is used and it is an all-in-one method which is so easy to do with an electric hand whisk.

I use either Flora original or Stork for baking – both of these have given good results.

Ingredients

100g poppy seeds – roasted

175g soft tub margarine for baking

225g self-raising flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

3 tablespoon milk (full fat or semi-skimmed)

Method

Pre heat the oven to Gas mark 4 – 1800C.

Make this as a tray bake in a tin about 31×22 cm.

I have a selection of Mermaid Hard Anodised rectangular baking tins and they are superb.

Grease the tin and use one piece of greaseproof paper to line the base and the two long sides of the tin.

IMG_20151120_074347436

Place all the ingredients except the poppy seeds into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until they are well blended.

Add the poppy seeds and  mix them well in.

Put the mixture into the tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes.

Leave to cool on a cooling rack and then take the cake out of the tin.

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Dust with icing sugar before serving.

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Tea Plates  – Silver Rose by Duchess

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Babeczka – Small Cake – Little Bun

  • Babka is the name of a cake in Polish – or rather it refers to its shape – the name means grandma or little old lady – the shape is round and dumpy.
  • It can be a yeast cake or a sponge type cake. I will go into detail about these later in the year.
  • A small  bun or fairy cake can be called a babeczka (babeczki is the plural).
  • I have also seen the word mufinka now in Poland!
  • Using my various poppy seed recipes I have tried out some variations to make some babeczki.
  • These I made with a yeast pastry & poppy seed filling for Wigilia – Christmas Eve – a couple of years ago – using a different yeast pastry to the one in the traditional poppy seed roll.

Babeczki with Poppy Seed filling. The photo is dark as it was taken in the evening whilst getting ready for the special meal.

  • I used a simple sponge mixture to make 2 other types of poppy seed buns.
  • I have used paper cases – I am not sure if these are available or used in Poland but they are so useful and make the buns very portable and easy to eat.
  • You can use a basic Victoria sponge mixture made using 2 eggs, butter or margarine, caster sugar and self-raising – the recipe method and amounts such as in the Be-Ro  recipe book will work well.
  • This mixture should make about 12 buns.
  • I use a method  which I will write about in more detail later in the year, in this  the eggs are weighed in their shells and each of the other ingredients is then that same weight.

Weighing eggs

Buns – 1 – Using dry roasted poppy seeds To the sponge mixture you add dry roasted poppy seeds. The dry roasting  gives them a more nutty flavour. Note – Lemon zest  is not used in this recipe.

Buns made with Dry Roasted Poppy Seeds

  • To dry roast poppy seeds It is best to make this first before mixing up the sponge cake.  Weigh out the required amount of poppy seeds  – in this case 40 – 50g for a 2 egg cake mixture.
  • In a small dry  frying pan (ie without any oil or butter) fry the seeds for 5 minutes – stirring them with a wooden spoon or spatula – being careful not to burn them.
  • Tip the hot seeds into a bowl containing some cold milk. Once cool, pour the mixture into a fine sieve to separate the seeds from the milk.
  • Leave the sieve over an empty bowl, press down on the seed a few times to  remove as much milk as possible.

Buns -2  – Using the traditional poppy seed filling

Making the filling  is time consuming but only a small amount is needed to make 12 buns. So what I do is to make in the full amount with 200g of poppy seeds as in an earlier post Poppy Seed Cakes and Yeast Cakes  in advance and then portion this up into 2 or 3 portions and freeze them.

IMG_20150709_070455176
Poppy Seed Mixture

 

Put the bun cases into the bun tray.

Now the next it is a bit fiddly and you have to judge the quantities by eye.

The idea is to:

  • put a spoonful of cake mixture into each bun case
  • followed by a spoonful of poppy seed mixture
  • followed by a covering amount of cake mixture.

I have found it easier to do each step for all 12 buns at a time – that is :

  • cake mixture into all the cases
  • then the poppy seed filling
  • then final cake mixture.

Bake the buns in the usual way  – GM5 – 190°C  – for around 15 to 20 minutes.

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Dust with Icing Sugar once they have cooled and before serving

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These have proved very popular!

Makowiec – Poppy Seed Cake 4

A Very Easy Method

Weighing the poppy seeds

This cake is a more modern version as soft tub margarine is used and it is an all-in-one method which is so easy to do with an electric hand whisk.

I use either Flora original or Stork for baking – both of these have given good results.

Cake Ingredients

175g soft tub margarine for baking

225g self-raising flower

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

175g caster sugar

Grated rind of 2 lemons

3 eggs

3 tablespoon milk (full fat or semi-skimmed)

100g poppy seeds

Lemon Glaze Ingredients

Juice of 2 lemons

175g caster sugar

Pre heat the oven to Gas mark 4 – 1800C.

Make this as a tray bake in a tin about 31×22 cm.

I have a selection of Mermaid Hard Anodised rectangular baking tins and they are superb.

Grease the tin and use one piece of greaseproof paper to line the base and the two long sides of the tin.

Place all the ingredients except the poppy seeds into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until they are well blended.

Add the poppy seeds and beat till they are well mixed in.

Put the mixture into the tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes.

Leave to cool for about 5 minutes and release the cake from the tin and put on a cooling rack.

Mix the lemon juice and caster sugar to dissolve the sugar.

Prick the top in several places with a thin cake testing skewer.

Dribble the lemon glaze over the cake so the top in covered.

You can dust with icing sugar before serving.