Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Poppy Seed Snack Cake



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Poppy seed cake is one of those desserts that folks either love or hate. To be honest, I find it strangely flavorless, but because others do enjoy it, I include new recipes for it whenever I can. Almost all recipes that use poppy seeds suggest they be soaked for 30 minutes before being used. This is done to make the seeds easier to digest. It does nothing to remove the scant trace of opiates the seeds contain, so if you are going to take a drug test, avoid eating anything made from them for at least a day before the procedure. If used in sufficient quantities, poppy seeds impart a lovely nutty quality to baked goods. Unfortunately, most recipes don't use enough of them to make that evident. I've spoken to you in the past about Hannie's German kitchen. She did a great deal of baking with poppy seeds, but went further than most with their soaking. She kept them in milk for 24 hours before using them. She insisted the long soak released their flavor. I do the same, I suspect out of respect for Hannie, not because I'm convinced it makes a difference. I first had today's cake in the home of a friend who was kind enough to share the recipe with me. Good deeds should be played forward, so I'm passing the recipe on to you. Here's how this version of the cake is made.

Poppy Seed Snack Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Cake
1/3 cup poppy seeds
1 cup milk
4 egg whites
3/4 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
2) Place poppy seeds in a small bowl and soak in milk for 30 minutes. Place egg whites in a large bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3) Cream shortening and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and almond extract.
4) Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with poppy seed mixture, beating well after each addition.
5) Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.
6) Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
7) To make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter and almond extract together in a small bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Spread over cake. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 12-15 servings.








One Year Ago Today: Zuppa di Finnochio - Creamy Fennel Soup

















Two Years Ago Today: Pumpkin Butter









You might also like these recipes:
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes - The English Kitchen
Lemon Blueberry and Poppyseed Muffins - Life's A Feast
The Weekly Waffle: Lemon Poppyseed - Ginny's Kitchen
Almond Poppyseed Waffles - Jane Deere
Lemon Poppyseed Buttermilk Muffins - My Gourmet Connection

41 comments :

Ginny Hartzler said...

My daughter-in-law makes a cake similar to this, people love it!

B&B Brugge said...

Delicious look and yummy cake . really awesome posting for cake and nice detail share in the post. great idea

MissCakeBaker said...

I've never made a poppy seed cake. This looks lovely - will have to give it a try.

Rochelle said...

I'm more for chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. The once I did make a poppy seed cake, with white chocolate icing. It came out delicious. However I lost the recipe. This does look good, maybe I will try it and put a white chocolate icing, what do you think? Thanks for posting this. :)

Anonymous said...

Poppy seeds are one of the things I do not like;((Cake looks good thou;)

Debbie said...

Thank you for posting this. I love poppy seed cakes and never see many recipes for them. When I do see them they mostly all use a lemon glaze. This sounds wonderful Mary and I will most definitely give this one a try!

Sherlyn said...

I liked your blog as it says a lot about food and cooking.Poppy seeds is one ingredient I don't like use but when I have to I just do it!
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Kim said...

One of the flavors I really like in cakes is almonds... So, I'm trilled to taste a piece of this beautiful cake!

Sprigs of Rosemary said...

I've never made a poppy seed cake before . . . . so I never knew about soaking the seeds or why. I do like the almond addition to the cream cheese frosting. I think this would be a nice thing to bring to one of "those ladies things" I have to go to once in a while!

Kim said...

I don't know that I've ever seen a poppy seed cake before. It looks gorgeous, Mary!

Martha said...

I have a similar recipe and it makes a really good cake! Whether poppy seeds have much flavor or not, I love the little black seeds in things!

Priya Suresh said...

Incredible cake,looks fabulous..

Manu said...

Hi mary this cake lokks delicious and the zuppa di finocchio is so confortable!!
LOL

Vicki Bensinger said...

I love poppy seed cake and I didn't know that I'd need to be careful if I ever did have a drug test, not to eat this cake or others with poppy seeds in them prior. Good information.

I like this recipe with the cream cheese frosting. Most that I've had, have a lemon or orange glaze on top. This sounds even better.

What a beautiful blog. Thank you for stopping by my blog, otherwise I might not have found you. I'm now following you on google friend connect and by email.

I look forward to viewing more of your posts.

The Charm of Home said...

That looks delicious! Thanks for coming by! I will follow you back!
Sherry

Tracy's Living Cookbook said...

I love the idea of 'snack cake' -- reminds me of my mom, who made them for us as after school treats when we were kids. Nice recipe! Looks light and not too sweet?

PeggyR said...

This sounds really good.

Lori E said...

To me poppy seeds have to have lemon along with them. Yummy.

lena said...

i actually like chewing on those little seeds, next time i shall remember to soak them first too, thanks!

Margaret Murphy Tripp said...

Looks good to me!

Amalia said...

Mmm, this looks so good! I love poppy seeds so this is a keeper :) Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

That looks so impressive! I'd love to make this... I've just started a blog, please take a look if you get a minute http://fourteaspoons.blogspot.com/ :)

Priyanka said...

I have never made a poppy seed cake but have been thinking about it ..... and the beauty of you cake has inspired me a lot....would be trying it soon

Eliana said...

I'm the type that just loves anything poppy seed. So this snack cakes looks just perfect to me.

France@beyondthepeel said...

I love poppy seed cake. I've never tried it with cream cheese icing tho:) That sounds like a really nice combo.

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

I love the use of the phrase "snack cake." It is not a phrase I have heard before, and you use it often, Mary. It is so inviting and fun. Who wouldn't want snack cake?

How are you doing, Mary?

Fondly,
Glenda

That Girl said...

I've never heard of soaking the poppy seeds!

Alessandra said...

I didn't know about soaking the poppy seeds in milk, I want to try :-). And sometimes is good to follow these kinds of 'traditions' in the kitchen the y make cooking and baking even more special.

Thank you for the recipe

ciao
Alessandra

Juliana said...

Mary, as you mention there is not much flavor in poppy seeds, but I love the texture of it...and with the cream cheese frosting, this sounds and looks delicious!
Hope you are having a great week :-)

Crystal Kelly said...

Mary! Thank you for your sweet comments on my blog. Now I have a new friend and a new place for recipes!! I LOVE eating!! I am learning to cook so I can do more eating!! :) Any hang out with friends has to involve some type of meal or have some type of snack in the room! The night wouldn't be complete without it! haha :)

Anonymous said...

Oh how I love poppy seed cake, and would love it even more with that frosting! This looks delicious, Mary. Hope all is well. xx

teresa said...

there is no way i'd be able to stop at one, delicious!

Shug said...

I almost snatched that cake right off of the page..Love, Love, Love anything with poppy seeds...
Making this tomorrow!!
hugs
Shug

Ellen Whyte said...

I loooooooove poppy seeds! Poppy seed rolls, cakes, sweets....

Claudia said...

I do love poppy seed anything. I don't know why - I'm sure I've never actually tasted the flavor of a poppy seed. Guess it's the good recipes - just like this one.

Elizabeth @ E Motion Studio said...

Mary, thank you so much for the sweet message you left on my blog. Your blog is wonderful! So much mouthwatering food! Thank you for stopping by, I do hope to see you again soon on my blog. I am a new fan of yours as well. :) Blessings to you.

~Elizabeth

Banana Wonder said...

I would snack the hell out of this thing! ~ poppy seed lover

Unknown said...

Wow, you do have a very nice blog, with new recipes posted everyday!!! I'm happy I got to know what you do, everything looks so nice and delicious, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from you. You now have a new follower!!
Silvia

We Are Not Martha said...

Beautiful! I've never made a poppy seed cake before, but now I'm tempted :)

Sues

tender b. said...

I love desserts with poppy seeds in them. I can't wait to give this cake a try.

Dianna said...

I've made a vanilla poppyseed cake (with 1/2 cup of sherry!) for years and have never heard of soaking the poppyseeds. I will have to try this method. I use a lot of poppyseeds so it does give it that nutty crunchy texture. I love almond flavored desserts, too, and can't wait to make your recipe. Thanks for posting this and the tip about the poppyseeds. Maybe my brother might be able to tolerate eating them if I soak them (he had diverticulitis with subsequent colon rupture so seeds have given him quite a bit of problem). He loves poppyseeds, too!

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