Lemon cake with poppy seeds

I once spoke about Poland's signature poppy seed cake, however, it was originally a Russian, Czech and Slovakian dessert. I know that at first the name of the recipe might seem a bit strange, it's not common to use poppy seeds when you cook. But, the day that I tried this dessert for the first time, during a Polish Dinner organised in the second semester to welcome Erasmus students, I couldn't help myself. So I looked for the recipe and how to make it, and after a lot of patience and practice, like with any dessert, I was finally able to make a cake that was worth all the effort. Once you learn how to do it, it's a great way to surprise your friends and family with a typical Polish recipe. So let's get stuck in.

Before we finally do however, I'd just like to say that for me the cake has always seemed to be quite a simple dessert, like it was missing something. That's why when I make them, I usually add some strawberries, or as in the case for this particular recipe, some lemon.

Ingredients

• Yoghurt: greek yoghurt, or natural, whatever you prefer. The greek yoghurt will give it a higher fat content.
• Milk: about 50ml. Use whole milk if you want a fuller flavour. Use semi or fully skimmed if you want a slightly healthier option.
• Oil: about as much as one of the cups of yoghurt.
• Poppy seeds: although it might seem like a strange thing to want to buy, you can find them in herbalists, nutrition shops and the big supermarkets, usually in the dietary section.
• Sugar: about 125g, or if you like, 2 cups of yoghurt's worth.
• Lemon: you need the zest of a fairly large one, to add to the flavour, as well as a third of the yoghurt cup of lemon juice. Make sure you only zest the outer most part of the lemon, if you get to the white interior, the cake will be quite bitter, and we don't want that.
• Eggs: 2
• Flour: 180g, or 3 yoghurt cups. The truth is, as soon as I discovered that the yoghurt could be used for the ingredients, everything was much easier, you don't have to think about anything.
• Yeast: just a pinch. I know, I'm using the most precise measurements you've ever seen, a dash of this, a pinch of that, but although they might not seem that specific, everyone knows what they mean.
• Salt: a pinch, just as much as you can get between a finger and thumb.

Method

1. The first thing you need to do is pour the 50ml of milk into a casserole dish along with the poppy seeds. The amount you put in is up to you. If you want the cake to be packed with flavour, with a real poppy seed kick, then add a lot. If you want the opposite, a more subtle hint of poppy, a fine note running through the cake, than add less. I think it's quite easy to taste, so bear that in mind.
2. When you see the milk has started boiling, take it off the heat quickly so that it doesn't burn.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the yoghurt and the oil, the lemon juice and zest with the eggs. Then choose whatever metal instrument you have lying about and proceed to beating the mix. I used a fork, and although it took a rather long time, the result will always be the same.
4. Carefully, as it will still be hot, add the contents of dish to the rest of the ingredients. Continue stirring so that everything is perfectly mixed together.
5. One of the steps everyone forgets, but nevertheless an important one, is sieving the flour before you use it. By doing so you get a much smoother texture and avoid big lumps. The bigger the sieve, the less time it'll take. Mine is quite small, but bit by bit, I got there in the end.
6. Do the same thing with the yeast and then add the last pinch of salt. Add the flour, salt and yeast a bit at a time, and slowly, making sure everything is completely mixed together before adding the next lot. It's really important to do it slowly and never stop stirring, if you do it will ruin the cake.
7. Now you have what you need, all you need to do is put it in the oven. You should've had it preheating to 150 degrees. Find a rectangular dish to pop it in and line it with some grease proof paper and a bit of butter so that it doesn't stick to the sides. Don't forgot to put a bit of flour at the bottom too, if you don't then it will stick to the dish and you won't be able to get it out.
8. Pour the mix into the dish and leave it to cook for about 40-45 minutes. A neat little trick, to know when it's ready, is to grab a toothpick or something similar and put it in the cake. If it is clean when you take it out then it's ready. If not, just leave it 5 more minutes and check again, you don't want it to overcook.
9. Finally, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool so that all the excess moisture dries and it becomes light and fluffy.

Let's eat!

One thing I like to add on top is icing sugar. You can add anything that you want to however, some condensed milk, marmalade or a bit of chocolate for example. Just remember, it's got lemon in it so be careful not to mix too many flavours.

I hope you've fond this recipe useful and it's made you want to try and make it yourself. It's not something you see every day. It's got an indescribable taste, and you need to just try it and see for yourself.

Photo found at: www.misaborcasero.com

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