French Vanilla Poppy Seed Cake Food

POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
• Cream together butter and 1 1/4 cups of the granulated sugar. Stir in 1/4 cup milk and vanilla.
• Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in poppy seeds. Set aside.
• Alternately add the flour mixture and the 3/4 cup milk, a little bit at a time, stirring gently after each addition, starting and ending with flour.
• Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until they stand in soft peaks and then beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Fold egg whites into cake batter.
• Pour batter into greased bundt pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the bundt pan before inverting on a wire rack.
• Sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake before serving.

VANILLA & POPPY SEED SWIRL CAKE

Steps:

• Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, milk, eggs and ½ tsp salt in a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix for 5 mins, or tip into a large bowl and mix with your hands for 10 mins - the dough should look quite sticky at this stage. Add the butter, bit by bit, mixing after every addition, until it is all fully incorporated. Mix for a few more mins until smooth. Transfer to a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film and leave to rise for 3 hrs at room temperature (somewhere cool, otherwise the butter in the dough will start to melt), then transfer to the fridge and leave overnight (you can use the dough straight away but the flavour will not be as good).
• Tip the almonds into a large frying pan and toast for a few mins until starting to brown, then add the poppy seeds and toast for a few mins more until aromatic. Leave to cool completely.
• Tip the cooled seeds and nuts into a food processor with the butter, vanilla and honey, and whizz to a smooth paste.
• If using dough from the fridge, remove at least 3 hrs (or until it reaches room temperature) before using. Generously grease a large Bundt tin with butter (ours has a 2.5-litre capacity). Tip the dough onto your work surface and gently knead to knock out the air bubbles. Roll the dough to a rectangle, roughly 35 x 45cm, and spread the poppy seed butter all over the surface. Starting from one of the long sides, roll the dough up tightly. With the seam side facing up, place the dough into the Bundt tin in a ring shape, tucking one end into the other. Cover the tin with oiled cling film and leave to rise for 30-40 mins, or until it fills roughly ¾ of the tin. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Uncover and bake for 35 mins until golden brown. Meanwhile, for the glaze, mix the icing sugar and vanilla with 2 tbsp water. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and brush all over with the vanilla glaze - keep layering it on until it is all used up. Cool for 10 mins before serving.

FRENCH VANILLA POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Combine all ingredients into large mixing bowl.
• 2. Beat for 5 minutes.
• 3. Pour or spoon into greased and flour bundt pan. I use baking spray with flour in it.
• 4. Bake 325 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• 5. Cool for 40 minutes and turn onto cake plate.

LEMON POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

• Pour the buttermilk into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, stir in the poppy seeds, and set aside at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly spray the inside of a Bundt pan with the baking spray and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, the vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the lemon juice to the buttermilk mixture. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is well mixed. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup of lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a baking rack set over a large plate. Spoon the warm lemon syrup slowly over the cake, allowing it to be absorbed into the cake. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to cool.
• For the glaze, whisk the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl, adding a little more sugar or lemon juice to make a smooth, thick, but pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Transfer to a flat cake plate and serve at room temperature.

POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

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

POPPY SEED TEA CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Place the pan on 2 stacked baking sheets or an insulated baking sheet.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Put the sugar in a large bowl, add the lemon or tangerine zest, and rub together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the eggs, one by one, whisking each vigorously before adding the next. Whisk in the juice and vanilla, and then whisk in the heavy cream until smooth.
• Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, using the whisk to gently stir the dry ingredients into the batter. When the flour is incorporated, add the butter in 2 additions, again stirring gently with the whisk. You should have a thick, smooth, shiny batter. Switch to a flexible spatula and stir in the poppy seeds. Scrape the batter into the pan.
• Bake until the cake has risen and cracked along the center and, most important, a tester inserted deep into the cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Take a look at it after about 45 minutes and tent it loosely with foil if it's getting too dark too fast.
• Transfer the pan to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, and then run a table knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold the cake, then turn it right side up onto the rack. Cool to room temperature.
• Make the glaze, if you like: Stir together the confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth. If needed, add more juice, a drop at a time, until you have an icing that falls slowly from the tip of a spoon. Spread it over the cooled cake to coat evenly, sprinkle with poppy seeds and let stand until set. Wrapped well, the cake will keep at room temperature for about 4 days; unglazed, it can be frozen for up to 1 month.

VANILLA POPPY SEED CAKE WITH RASPBERRY TOPPING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F Generously grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.
• For the Cake, mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Gently stir in poppy seed. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• For the Glaze, mix confectioner's sugar, water, butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract in small saucepan. Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 1 minute. Remove cake from oven; pierce cake surface deeply with a fork, about every inch. Spoon half of glaze over hot cake in pan. Let stand 10 minutes; invert onto serving plate. Spoon remaining glaze over cake. Cool completely before serving.
• For the Topping, mix raspberries and 1/4 teaspoons vanilla. Spoon sauce over each slice of cake before serving.

VANILLA POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer.
• Add egg yolks and beat until combined.
• Add sour cream and beat again.
• Mix baking soda into flour.
• Mix flour, vanilla and poppy seeds into butter mixture.
• Beat egg whites until stiff.
• Fold gently into butter mixture.
• Pour batter into ungreased bundt pan.
• Bake about 1 hour or until tester inserted into cake comes out clean.