My mouth has been watering over some blog posts featuring Lemon and Poppy Seed cake recently (Boo and Maddie, and ) and it inspired me to seek out my old recipe for such a cake.

I’ve not seen this recipe online, where the poppy seeds are soaked in double cream and lemon juice before folding in to the cake mix, so I thought I should share it. I can’t remember where I found it originally, but I think I copied it out of a Sunday newspaper.

Apologies for the state of my hand-written recipe, but it is at least 20 years old, and has been well used!:

 

 

Still legible, just! And resulted in this cake:

 

 

I brought it in to work as it was a colleague’s birthday today, and it disappeared fast. I don’t eat much cake now as avoid flour and sugar in general, but by the end of a long busy day my resolve waivered, and I enjoyed the second-to last slice alone in the office. Ah!

 

 

Here is the recipe typed out:

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

 

Ingredients:

55g (2oz) poppy seeds

1/4 pint (142 ml) double cream

2 tbsp lemon juice

170g (6oz) caster sugar

110g (4oz) soft butter

3 size 2 eggs

170g (6oz) self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Grated zest of a lemon

 

Method:

Allow the poppy seeds to soften by soaking them for 45 minutes in the cream and lemon juice.

Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

Fold in the flour, baking powder, lemon zest and poppy seed mixture.

Spoon into a greased 1 1/2 lb loaf tin and bake in a pre-heated over 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 for 45-50 minutes or until well-risen and when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool on a rack before storing in an air-tight tin.

Thanks to Lins and Pearl for inspiring me to get baking again. It’s another birthday in the office tomorrow and I have an apple shortbread in the oven, but that’s for another post …