Tag: Poppy seed cake

Cake with Poppy Seed Filling

  • Today is the 11th year anniversary of my blog.
  • I started on 4 July 2015.
  • This will be my 725 post.
  • I used to have several recipes per post but have realised that is too much and I now try to have 1 recipe per post.
  • I thought I would use a very Polish ingredient in this post – that is poppy seed.
  • This is really a large version of my small buns with poppy seed filling.
  • I had some poppy seed to use up and wanted to make a simple cake.
  • I used a large cake liner in a 20cm diameter loose bottomed tin.
  • I used a 3 egg version of my sponge cake.
  • I had around 50g of poppy seeds – you can use a bit more.

INGREDIENTS

  • Cake
  • 3 eggs – weighed in their shells
  • Equal weighs of the eggs for – Sugar, Butter and Plain Flour
  • 1 teaspon baking powder for each 100g flour
  • *
  • Filling
  • 50g or more of poppy seed
  • Milk to cover these in a pan
  • 2-3 tablepoons of runny honey
  • 1 tablespoon of semolina – optional

METHOD – filling

  • Simmer the poppy seeds in the mix for around 20 minutes.
  • Using a fine sieve, sieve the poppy seeds to remove the milk.
  • Get the poppy seeds as dry as possible.
  • Put them back in the pan and heat gently to remove any move liquid.
  • Add the honey and stir this in well.
  • Stir in the semolina if using.
  • Leave to cool completly.

METHOD – cake

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190o C.
  • Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Cream in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour and baking powder mixture.

METHOD – to assemble the cake

  • Put the cake liner into the tin.
  • Add just over half the cake mixture and spread to the edges.
  • Put all of the poppy seed mixture on top and stir a little into the cake mixture.
  • Put the rest of the cake mixture on to and spread to the edges.
  • Bake for around 50 minutes – maybe more – until the top is golden and a tester comes out clear.

Serve on a Royal Doulton Sonnet tea plate.

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.

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.

Little Poppy Seed Cakes

Christmas is coming up and I have been thinking of making an easier version of makowiec – the Traditional Poppy seed cake.

I have posted versions for larger cakes and for little buns with the traditional poppy seed filling.

Several years ago I got an Austrian cookery book which has many similar recipes to Polish ones and I made some babeczki  or buleczki – little cakes, with a yeast pastry & poppy seed filling for Wigilia from it.

 

I thought I would have another go at these but with some changes.

The poppy seed filling I have changed quite a bit and it is easier than my traditional one. The recipe for the dough I have changed slightly and the shaping method quite a lot.

Poppy Seed Filling

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
  • *
  • * 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.

 

Yeast Dough

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 4-5 tablespoons of milk (full fat or semi)
  • 250g of strong 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 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.

You could drizzle with runny lemon icing instead.

Served here on Duchess – tea plates – Poppies from the 1960s.

 

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.

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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.

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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.

 

Poppy Seed Cake 3 – Lighter on the Seeds

Poppies in my garden

  • This photo is taken from a very old slide and the plant was growing in my garden and most years looks as good as this.
  • However this year it has not done so well.  I think it must be a combination of the alternating  very dry days and the cold wet days this summer.
  • It is a good job I am not relying on this as my source of seeds.  My best source of seeds is an indoor stall in  Leeds Market.  The stall sells dried fruits and nuts which are weighed out on request from large jars as well as other aids for baking.
  • On my first visit to Poland  I went to stay with my mother’s sister  and her family who had a small farm in the Masurian Lakes in the North East of Poland.  This was still in Communist times.
  • I saw there was a huge field of large headed purple flowered poppies.  My auntie had a Government contract that year  to grow these poppies for the production of morphine for  hospital use.
  • Poppy seeds of superior quality for culinary purposes are harvested when they are ripe, after the seed pod has dried.
  • Seeds for the production of morphine are harvested while the seed pods are green and their latex is abundant and  when the seeds have only just begun to grow.

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

  • This Poppy Seed cake is inspired by one I had when I was in America.  It is  like a lemon drizzle cake with fewer poppy seeds than in my other recipes.
  • This can be made with butter or block baking margarine.  I find that with many flavoured cakes margarine is as good if not better than butter.
  • To get the most zest from the lemons I use a fine Microplane Zester – It is the best!

  • IMG_20150707_200251743
    2 Graters & 1 Fine Zester

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Fine Microplane Zester

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Lemon Zest

Cake Ingredients

  • 60g poppy seeds
  • 125g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 100g butter
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • Grated zest of 2 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons of warm water

Glaze Ingredients

  • 80g caster sugar
  • Juice of 2 lemons

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 1800 C
  • Grease and line a 20cm square tin or 25 x16cm rectangular tin.
  • Beat the butter and sugar together till they are light and creamy.
  • Stir in the lemon zest.
  • Mix the baking powder with the flour.
  • Sift the flour mixture.
  • Lightly beat the eggs together and then beat them into the mixture, a little at a time, adding a little of the flour with the last of the eggs.
  • Using a metal spoon, fold in the remaining flour and the water and then fold in the poppy seeds.
  • Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake the cake for about 35 minutes, or until it starts to shrink from the sides of the tin.
  • In a small pan dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice over a gentle heat.
  • When the cake is baked remove it from the oven and leave for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.
  • Put a plate underneath, prick the cake all over with a fine skewer whilst it is still warm and spoon the lemon glaze over it. If any runs through spoon it back on.
  • When the cake is cold dust it with icing sugar before serving.

Poppy Seed Cake 2

Makowiec – Poppy Seed Cake 2

 

There are many versions of Polish poppy seed cakes and many of them use yeast pastry.

This one does not have a yeast based pastry and is much easier to make as it does not take as much time as the more traditional roll.

I often make this one now for Wigilia – Christmas Eve.

The original recipe used twice this amount but I often found it would sink in the middle which did not look as nice so now I always make this smaller one.

This version has a lemon glaze followed by lemon icing – this is my favourite but you could just dust the cooled cake with icing sugar or use the glaze then dust with icing sugar before serving.

Ingredients

125g caster sugar

1 egg

5ml vanilla extract

100g poppy seeds

Grated rind of 1 lemon

65g self-raising flour

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

60ml milk

65g melted butter

15 ml sunflower oil

Lemon Glaze & Icing 

Glaze – Juice of 1 lemon & 50g caster sugar

Icing – Juice of 1 lemon & 200g icing sugar

Method

Pre heat the oven to Gas mark 4 – 1800C

I find this easer to remove using either a loose bottom or spring form tin –  Grease a 20cm diameter tin.

or

grease and line with one piece of greasproof  for the 2 long sides and base -so you can remove the cake from the tin easily – a 16 x 27 cm tin.

 

 

 

 

Whisk the egg, sugar and vanilla extract until they are thick and creamy.

Stir in the poppy seeds and lemon rind.

Sift the flour and add the baking powder and salt.

Fold this into the egg and poppy seed mixture alternating with the milk – do this in about three batches.

Fold in the melted butter and the oil.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for around 30 to 35 minutes.

 

Leave to cool for about 5 minutes and release the cake from the tin and put on a cooling rack or remove using the 2 ends of the greaseproof.

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

Lemon Glaze

Mix the lemon juice and caster sugar to dissolve the sugar, dribble this over the cake so the top in covered. Leave till nearly cool then put the cake on a plate or stand.

Lemon Icing

The amount of icing sugar you need will vary depending on the size of the lemon and the dampness of the sugar. (If you want less icing use a small lemon or half a large one and 100g of icing sugar)

Place the lemon juice in a bowl and slowly add the sugar mixing it with a wooden spoon is best, use more or less sugar to make a soft runny icing which will coat the back of the spoon.

Pour this over the cake.

You can aim for just the top covered or to have drips down the sides.