Poppy Seed Cake
Updated February 20, 2024
Linda Xiao for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 90 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 cup poppy seeds
1 cup milk or soy milk
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter or pareve margarine, plus more for greasing pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting pan
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
56 grams carbs; 87 milligrams cholesterol; 437 calories; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 204 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 36 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a small saucepan, combine the poppy seeds and milk. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to rest until cool, about 20 minutes.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a large loaf or tube pan by greasing it with margarine and lightly flouring the inside of the pan.
- Step 3
In bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter or margarine and granulated sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and poppy seed-milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well; remove bowl from mixer and set aside.
- Step 4
Place a clean bowl in mixer, with a whisk attachment, and whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
- Step 5
Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 15 minutes. When cool, dust cake with confectioners’ sugar.
Private Notes
Comments
I always find reader notes so helpful. Definitely skip the egg separation steps. I used 1 cup of sugar and find it plenty sweet. I used a Bundt pan and baked for an hour; the batter filled to just under half the pan, but the cake rises significantly. Happy accident: I applied a lemon glaze, but didn't wait before the cake had entirely cooled down, so the glaze melted into the cake...it's still delicious.
First time I made it, came out too dense. The second time, I beat the eggs (not separated) for about 5 minutes. Came out so much lighter. I added the zest of 2 lemons, 2 tbsp lemon juice. Super yum!
I halved the sugar for this recipe and can not imagine using 2 cups! For the health of your readers, suggest cutting it down. :) I also did not separate the eggs, added zest from 2 lemons and the juice from 1. All together it was one of the most amazing cakes I've ever baked!! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
I am astonished that no one else picked up on this: my mom taught me early on to always whip the egg white first - remove from bowl. It saves cleaning the bowl when whipping the yolks. If you do it the other way round and don’t clean the bowl thoroughly to remove the fat from the yolks, your whites will not stiffen.
Perfect as is. Used butter. Separated eggs. Made in 9x5 loaf pan. Will definitely make this again.
Made with suggestions from others and a small tweak for altitude: didn’t separate eggs, one cup sugar, juice from one lemon, zest from two lemons, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract, and 2 teaspoons baking powder