Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy plant. The seeds are used, whole or ground, as an ingredient in many foods, and they are pressed to yield poppyseed oil.

Poppy seeds, from my experience, do not add any flavour to the actual cake, it just adds a bit of a crunch. Some people say that poppy seeds have a nutty texture but I cannot taste it.

In this recipe I will show you how to bake a lemon poppy seed cake.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• zest of 2 lemons or zest of 2 oranges
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 Celsius
• Butter and flour a loaf cake tin
• Add all your ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes
• When ready, leave the cake in the cake tin for 5 minutes before turning it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Dust with some icing sugar and serve.

Variations

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins