Cake with poppy seeds my aunt’s was always perfectly moist, but not heavy. Years later, it turned out that its secret ingredient was pudding. The first time I used her recipe, the entire pan was gone in one afternoon.
For centuries, poppy seeds have held a special place in Polish cuisine, especially Christmas cuisine. In ancient beliefs, it symbolized abundance, fertility and prosperity. Adding it to dishes was supposed to ensure family prosperity in the coming year. In folk culture, it was even poured into pockets or scattered around the house, believing that it brought protection and happiness. It’s no wonder that it found its permanent place on the Christmas Eve table in kutia or poppy seed cakes, as an ingredient bringing hope for a peaceful and abundant year.
From the culinary point of view, poppy seeds are also extremely valuable. It provides fiber, healthy fats and minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron. Its delicate, nutty flavor combines perfectly with dried fruits and honey, creating a characteristic Christmas aroma. Many people associate this scent exclusively with Christmas. Thanks to this, poppy seeds not only complement tradition, but also enrich Christmas cakes with a deep, natural flavor.
My aunt always said that a good Christmas poppy seed cake starts with patience. Both the dough and the poppy seed mass should be thoroughly cooled before baking. The only thing that needs to be done quickly is kneading the dough so that it doesn’t have time to warm up.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 160 g of butter;
- 120 g of fine sugar;
- 300 g of wheat flour;
- 2 eggs;
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Poppy seed mass:
- 1 vanilla pudding;
- 1400 ml of milk;
- 200 ml of thick cream 18%;
- 500 g of dry poppy seeds;
- 200 g of powdered sugar;
- 1 tablespoon of honey;
- approx. 200 g of dried fruit (raisins, walnuts, almonds);
- a few drops of almond flavor.
Preparation method:
First make the dough. Pour sifted flour and baking powder onto the pastry board, make a well in the middle, add eggs, sugar and chopped butter and quickly knead a homogeneous dough. It cannot be too hot with your hands. Divide them in half, form two balls, wrap in foil and put in the fridge.
Boil dry poppy seeds with a liter of milk and cook for an hour. Then cool thoroughly and turn through a meat grinder twice. The poppy seeds must be cold, because hot ones will clog them
Cook the pudding in 400 ml of milk and leave to cool slightly. After this time, mix the ground poppy seeds with the cooled pudding, add powdered sugar, honey, thick cream, extract and dried fruits. The mass should be quite thin.
Line a baking tray (24 × 24 cm) with baking paper, take one portion of the dough from the fridge, roll it out and line the bottom of the tray. Bake the base for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C. Then pour the poppy seed mixture onto the baked cake. Roll out the second part of the dough and cut it into strips, form a grid on top of the dough. Put the cake in the oven preheated to 180°C and bake for about 50-55 minutes. Then let the cake cool with the door ajar, take it out and cut it only after it has cooled completely.
Source: Terazgotuje.pl, kontakter.pl
