Poppy Seed Cake

Submitted by Dee514

"This is an old Czech recipe for Poppy Seed Cake that was given to me by a dear friend's Czech grandmother."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 40mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 1 Cake

ingredients

• 1 cup poppy seed
• 1⁄3 cup honey
• 1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, scant
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

directions

1. In small sauce pan cook poppy seed with honey and 1/4 cup water for 5-7 minutes.
2. Cool.
3. Cream butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add cooled poppy seed mixture to creamed mixture, and egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Blend in sour cream and vanilla.
6. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
7. Gradually add poppy seed mixture to dry mixture, beating well.
8. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter.
9. Pour batter into a lightly greased and floured 9-inch tube (or bundt) pan.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
11. Cool in pan for 5 minutes.
12. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Reviews

[ciao4293]

Outstanding cake, Dee! It's like a buttery poundcake. Very easy to prepare, and easy to put together. A nice addition to my cookbook. I'm having a piece right now with my morning coffee. Great combo! Thanks Dee!

 

[Wicked Creations]

I wanted to try another version of poppy seed cake and I am a little disappointed. It did not turn up as well as my SOLO recipe. I did exact to the directions and not as flavorful as it should be. The filling just not quite right..the process of making and the ingredients in the filling did not bring out the flavor of Poppy Seed should be. The cake tasted different with the seeds not at their potental since they didn't open up and the honey..changed it all..I would next time, just them soak in hot water, grind them and make simple syrup (sugar and water) adding vanilla extract to bring out their flavor and not to cover up if I ever need to. The seeds weren't soft at all, they were crunchy. The cake itself was too salty, I guess because the baking powder. Thanks, but no thanks, I'll use my trusted SOLO recipe that is more flavorful and decadent, true to its form.

 

[Dorel]

My DH and I enjoyed the cake very much. My DD ate 3 large pieces of it and said excellent. We had never tasted poppy seeds before so it was a complete new taste for us. I didn't have 1 cup of butter so I used part shortening and part butter. I didn't have quite a cup of sour cream so I had to add some plain yogurt to make up the difference. I added the flour mixture gradually to the poppy seed mixture as that was the bigger bowl. I used a bundt pan sprayed with Pam and dusted with icing sugar. I baked for the recomended time. I will make this again.

 

[David A.]

What got "lost in translation": 1) In Czech baking recipes, always use unsalted butter. This would explain why some people complain about saltiness. 2) You need to grind the poppy seeds for step 1. In order to use the whole poppy seeds you would have to soak them, which this recipe does not call for. Note for step 1: I replace the water with milk (same amount) and I do not cook the mixture (using ground poppy seeds, of course)

 

[bteeple25]

Loved this cake!!! I agree that it is well worth the effort. I made this for my mom's birthday because it's her favorite and my grandma use to make poppy seed cake for her on her birthday, she loved it and it came out just like grandmas.