To me the best cakes are the type you can enjoy sitting at home or in a café with a cup of coffee. There seems to be a tradition in England of serving cakes covered in cream or ice cream as a “pudding” - great for your palate, not so good for your waist line.
This simple poppy seed cake is delicious and really easy to make. We’ve used vanilla sugar but real vanilla will (of course) work just as well if not better. We hope you like it as much as we do!
Oh - and don’t forget that we’re still running a competition with Hotel Chocolat to win some free chocolate easter eggs!
Poppy Seed Cake Recipe - Ingredients
- 200g Plain Flour
- 250g Butter
- 200g Icing Sugar
- 200g Poppy Seeds
- 4 Free-range Eggs
- 15g Vanilla Sugar (A scraped out vanilla pod will work just as well if not better)
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 150g Raisins (optional)
Poppy Seed Cake Recipe - Method
- Soak poppy seeds in warm water for 2 hours. Drain and leave on kitchen towel to roughly dry - they don’t have to be perfect.
- Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Separate egg yolks from whites; egg yolks into a bowl with the butter.
- Grind butter with egg yolks until softened; add poppy seeds and vanilla sugar and stir until combined.
- Whip egg whites to soft peaks.
- Slowly add the flour and egg whites to the bowl with butter, poppy seeds and sugar. Gently fold in the ingredients while adding them, being careful not to over-mix. The idea is to put air in, not out.
- Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin.
- Bake for 40 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 180 degrees until golden and risen. Check if cooked through (as we do) by poking a cocktail stick through the centre - if it comes out clean and dry, the cake is ready.
That’s all. Now go an enjoy a piece with a nice cup of coffee. Enjoy!
Jeanne
Y
Lil
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
peabody
Katie
Coffee and Vanilla
We Are Never Full
Kalyn
mycookinghut
March 7th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
love poppyseed! and love the new design… very smart! i have been meaning to do a proper design ever since i launched my blog almost four years ago and still havn’t got round to it, maybe i need to take some lessons with you
March 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
There’s something comfy about poppy seed cakes, isn’t it? Love the photo!
March 8th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I love poppy seed cake
I made once with lemon, good too 
March 9th, 2008 at 12:47 am
johanna: Thank you very much - it’s simple but I like it. Still a little rough around the edges though - I’m no designer so it might take some time!
Lore: Thanks. I get lucky on occasion!
mycookinghut: I’ve never made it with lemon. It might be nice to try, though
March 9th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
…poppy seed cake - not something you see often and that’s a shame. I dont think i’ve ever had this in a deli/coffee shop/bakery - great recipe.
March 9th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
leigh: It seems to be more popular in other countries (Poland, for one). No idea why though - must just be an “out of fashion” thing over here?
March 12th, 2008 at 4:12 am
so. many. poppy seeds. that’s one fun looking cake.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I have seen great poppy cakes in a local polish cafe in Hammersmith-
I like the texture when you eat it.
Great recipe which we will be trying out.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
michelle @ TNS: Fun is the name of the game, isn’t it?
Great Big Veg Challenge: Yep - this one direct from my Polish wife. Well worth a try, too.
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
It’s the simple things in life, isn’t it? I love poppyseed cake and would pick it over any creamy extravaganza any day. By the by, do you think it’s noticeable, whether you soak the poppyseeds or not?
March 23rd, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Y: I haven’t tried without. My wife (who is a far better baker than I’ll ever be) says that it is noticeable. I’d be tempted to try without anyway
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Yeah! Pfft! Who needs to soak, when you’ve still got teeth to chew!
;-D
April 11th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Hey - look at you and your great blog makeover!! And sharing such a great recipe too. I love poppyseed cakes & pastries because they’re not too sweet. This would be the perfect accompaniment to a sneaky mid-afternoon coffee
April 11th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Y: Haha. Still, poppy seeds stuck in the teeth isn’t a great feeling.
Jeanne: I wouldn’t call it great - but it’s the best I can do
Sneaky coffee sounds just fine to me!
June 14th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Hi, I’m having big problems actually buying poppy seeds. Even Holland and Barratt don’t sell them now due to drug related problems.
Anyone let me know where I can get the seeds or if my home grown poppies can be used for bread and cake mixes? Cheers.
June 15th, 2008 at 9:57 am
alison: I’ve done a quick Google search and come up with this online shop which sells poppy seeds:
http://www.thebestpossibletaste.co.uk/search.asp
June 15th, 2008 at 10:00 am
alison: Sorry to be a pain, but I just had a quick search one using seeds from your own poppies. Came up with this one:
http://growingtaste.com/herbs/poppy.shtml
June 18th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
i bought my poppyseeds from Asda, their own brand, it was with all the baking ingrediants
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
bluelampshade: A simple solution to a simple problem! Thanks for that, I’m sure it will be appreciated!