Prior to tasting this cake, I wasn’t a fan of poppy seed flavor anything. I guess I’d never tried a good one, before. This recipe changed all that. It’s delicious! It’s rich and buttery, with a zippy citrus flavor, and I was surprised to learn that all the citrus is in the glaze. Also, it’s orange, not lemon. FUN!
This recipe was given to me in the early nineties. I got it from a friend, who had received it many years earlier from an elderly lady at church. At that time, the sweet little lady had already been making it for many years. That’s as far as I can trace the origins of this cake. I don’t know how old the recipe actually is, but I know it’s a good one. Some of the measurements are odd, but I haven’t changed them. Why mess with a good thing?
I make it as a Bundt cake, but the original recipe says to use two loaf pans. I’ve done it both ways. Two loaves are convenient if you want to give one away, but the Bundt is more elegant. It’s nice to have options.
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, butter, and sugar, and beat several minutes until light and fluffy.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and poppy seeds.
- Then combine milk, vanilla, and almond extracts in another bowl or 2 cup measure.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg/butter mixture, and mix completely. Add ½ of the milk mixture, and mix in. Alternate back and forth with another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then the other ½ of the milk. End with the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
- Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a pick or knife into the center. It’s ready if it comes out clean.
- Let cool 15 minutes in pan, then invert onto serving plate.
- Immediately drizzle with glaze.
- As soon as cake comes out of oven, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, and heat to dissolve the sugar.
- Drizzle over hot cake.
- Allow to cool completely.
Grease and flour a Bundt pan. (I generously coated it with non-stick spray, sprinkled about a tablespoon of flour on top, and shook the pan until the flour had coated all the spray. Then I dumped out the remaining flour.) … OR … use 2 loaf pans.
Melt, and allow to come to room temperature:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
In a large mixing bowl, combine, and beat several minutes until light and fluffy:
3 eggs, room temperature
2 ¼ cups sugar
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together:
3 cups flour
1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
In another bowl or a 2-cup measure, combine:
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg/butter mixture, and mix completely.
Add ½ of the milk mixture, and mix in.
Alternate back and forth with another 1/3 of the dry ingredients …
… then the other ½ of the milk mixture …
… and end with the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
Be sure to mix thoroughly between additions.
Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan, (or 2 loaf pans) and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.
Test for done-ness by inserting a pick or knife into the center. It’s ready if it comes out clean.
Let cool 15 minutes in pan.
During that time, make the glaze.
Combine in a small saucepan, and heat to dissolve:
¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Do not boil.
Now, invert the cake onto a serving plate.
GORGEOUS!
Immediately drizzle warm glaze on the hot cake, and …
… allow to cool completely.
Slice and serve.
YUM!
