Polish Poppy Seed Cake (Makowiec)

Now, I am not of polish descent. But a family friend used to make this every Christmas, and bring around a slice or two, always a treat. So when I saw a recipe for this in a Jamie magazine, it was only a matter of time until I gave it a shot. And with Christmas coming up, what better excuse?

This filling is made of blended poppy seeds, nuts, lemon and vanilla, all rolled into a yeasted cake. It's not too sweet, not too heavy, and the perfect tea or coffee cake.

Now, lets talk poppy seeds, because you're going to need a lot of these. And I mean a lot.

Don't even think about buying those little packets from the supermarket. You'd need an insane number of them, and this is definitely the expensive option. Do yourself a favour and head down to a wholesale store like Moore Wilson's or Toops, and get a bulk packet. I got a 1kg pack for something like $10, which will make two large (or 4 smaller) cakes.

Makowiec - Polish Poppy Seed Cake (makes one large or two smaller cakes)

For the poppy seed filling500g poppy seeds250ml milk50g butter250g caster sugar110g almonds, finely chopped110g walnuts, finely choppedZest of 1/2 lemonVanilla extract3 egg whites

For the cake500g all purpose flour

1T dried yeast110g butter, softened150g caster sugar3 egg yolks250ml milkSalt

For the glaze220g icing sugarJuice of 1 lemon

Start by putting the poppy seeds and milk in a pot and simmer gently for 20 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool in the pot.

Next, and start on the cake. Heat the milk in the microwave for a minute or so until warm (no hotter than is comfortable putting a finger in). Sprinkle the yeast on top, and leave for 5 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar for a few minutes until they are light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one by one, beating between each addition. Stir in the milk mixture, which should now be foamy on the top. Add a pinch of salt and the flour, and stir together until combined. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour or so.

While the cake is rising, blend the poppy seeds in a food processor until they break down a bit. You want to crack them open and form a coarse paste. If you're getting something more akin to coffee grinds than a paste, that's ok, just add a little more milk once they're ground down. You want the texture to be something like wet sand. Melt the butter, and stir it into the poppy seed mixture with the sugar, chopped nuts, lemon zest, and 1/2t vanilla extract into the poppy seeds. Turn the oven to 180 C.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the poppy seed mixture.

Now roll out the cake on a floured board, roughly 1cm thick. Spread the poppy seed mixture over the dough, leaving a half cm or so on the edges. Gently roll up the cake lengthwise, like a Swiss roll. Pinch the ends together and tuck under, to stop the filling coming out when it cooks.

Wrap the whole thing up tightly in baking paper, making sure the opening is on the bottom. This will stop it rising in the oven - you want it to hold its' shape and keep all the filling inside!

Pop on a baking tray in the oven, and bake for 45 minutes or so.

While the cake is in the oven, make the glaze by combining the icing sugar and lemon juice, and enough water to make a thick icing.

Once the cake is done, pull it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then drizzle over the glaze while it's still hot.

Best eaten with a cup of earl grey tea!Posted 12th December 2011 by With Love, Mags Labels: Cake Sweet things 8

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1.

Her Worldly Pleasures December 15, 2011 3:45 PM

Just found your blog and love it!This recipe looks so good, will definitely give it a try. Will this recipe be less spectacular if I omit nuts? I am allergic to them.

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2.

Mairi@Toast December 17, 2011 8:32 PM

This one looks beautiful....I have never eaten anything with so many poppy seeds. The filling sounds wonderful :)

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3.

With Love, Mags December 18, 2011 11:03 AM

@Her Worldly PleasuresThank you! I'm sure you can omit the nuts - the poppy seeds give a nutty flavour anyway. I'd only suggest replacing with something similar for texture - maybe some sunflower seeds or glace fruit, just to break it up a bit

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4.

With Love, Mags December 18, 2011 11:05 AM

@Mairi@ToastThanks Mairi! I never knew anything USED so many poppy seeds until I tried this cake. Many of my friends looked dubiously at my 1kg bag of poppy seeds, and said I'd need to make a LOT of hamburger buns to get through them. But I'll tell you what, they all loved this cake!

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5.

AnonymousDecember 20, 2011 11:37 PM

do you drain the milk before processing poppyseeds or process together? really looking forward to trying your amazing recipe!

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6.

With Love, Mags December 21, 2011 9:59 PM

Most recipes I read asked me to drain the poppyseeds. But honestly, when yhey'd finished cooking there wasn't any liquid left! So I just processed them together. If you have a puddle of liquid after cooking them, i'd recommend draining them.

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7.

AnonymousMarch 29, 2012 10:42 AM

When do you put the butter into the filling?

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8.

AnonymousDecember 9, 2012 5:26 AM

How long before Xmas can I make this? Or rather, how long will it remain edible?

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Using oranges as the base for a savoury dish may seem a bit odd. But when this is part of a BBQ salad spread, it adds a punchy, fresh note that lightens up the whole table. Think of it in a similar vein to a cucumber salad.

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1.

Shirleen @ Sugar and SpiceNovember 22, 2012 12:37 PM

This comment has been removed by the author.

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2.

Shirleen @ Sugar and Spice November 22, 2012 12:38 PM

Beautiful looking salad, Mags! :-)

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