Bitter Orange and Poppy Seed Cake

My ideal weekend would be doing something that doesn't require my brain to work.  I can be very energized during weekdays but when it comes to weekend, my brain suddenly switches to off mode.  I actually looking forward to Friday afternoon when I know I will be done with chores and obligations.  Saturday is usually spent at church and baking activities, this is the day when I want to be busy in the kitchen.  Sunday is family time, whether we go out to eat, swim, hike, or bike.  Don't we all love the weekend?

Sometimes even having game night during the weekend is too much for me.  I see it as an exercise, i.e. I have to use my brain and I have to interact with people.  I'm just about done with people after church :)  I want to decompress and stare at nothing.  So don't be offended if I say no to anything on the weekend.  It's just my way of saying I want to spend time with family and stay at home.

Speaking of doing baking on the weekend, this easy loaf is one of things I love to make.  It's simple and quick but yet it's tasty and keep for a few days for afternoon treats.  When I made this, I wanted to eat a poppy seed cake and I found a recipe that used Seville orange marmalade and poppy seed.  I love citrus, both in food and as a fragrance.  It's fresh and uplifting which cheers up my mood right away.  Anyway, this cake is moist and delightful!

Bitter Orange and Poppy Seed Cake

Makes 1 loaf

For the cake:

3 tablespoons Seville orange marmalade

150 g plain Greek yogurt

3 large eggs

175 grams sugar

200 g self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

175 g unsalted butter, softened

Pinch of salt

Zest of 1 orange

2 teaspoon poppy seed

For the glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice

5 tablespoons Seville orange marmalade

Heat oven to 325F.  Butter a 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, then line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper.

Put the marmalade into a small pan, heat gently until melted.  Beat in the yogurt, then let cool for a few minutes.

Put the remaining cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a hand held mixer until smooth.  Quickly beat in the yogurt and marmalade mix, then pour into the prepared pan.  It will be quite runny.  Leave the mix mounded in the middle of the tin rather than leveling the top, to help it rise.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes until golden and well-risen; a skewer should come out clean.  Take a look at the cake after 45 minutes; if it browns too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.  Meanwhile, heat the orange juice and marmalade in a small pan over a gentle heat until the marmalade melts.  Set aside to cool, stirring now and again, until you have a thick, but still runny glaze.  When the cake is ready, cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack.  Spoon the topping over the cake while it's still warm.  

The cake is best served the day it's made, but will keep for up to 3 days tightly wrapped in an airtight container.

Source:  adapted from BBC Good Food, by Jane Hornby

Poppy Seed Cupcakes

Continuing my post about lemon curd on my old food blog, I have one more to share with you here.  This idea of making cupcakes filled with lemon curd occupied my mind while I was working.  I was trying to figure out what kind of cake I wanted to make and how could I incorporate the curd in the cake.  Something small would be better since I didn't want to make something elaborate.  My thought went to Chockylit who made a variety of cupcakes with different kinds of fillings on the inside of the cupcakes.  So bingo!

I also browsed my baking books and found a recipe of poppy seed layer cake with lemon curd-whipped cream as the filling in Martha Stewart's Christmas Cookbook.  Since I love flavored whipped cream, I thought that's it, I was off to make these cupcakes right away.

For these cupcakes, I filled them half with lemon curd-whipped cream and the other half with just lemon curd.  Preferably, the lemon curd needs to be thicker to stay in the cupcake, and usually cornstarch is  added when making it but since I only had that curd, I just had to use it.  It only became visible that when it's cut into two, the curd started to flow and wouldn't stay put for the photograph!  I had fun doing this project and the combination of poppy seed and lemon curd were sweet!

Poppy Seed Cupcakes

Makes about 22 cupcakes



1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 lemon

1 cup milk

1/3 cup poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups lemon curd, homemade or store-bought

1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream



Preheat oven to 350 degree F.  Line cupcake pan with liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt two times into a bowl; set aside.  Grate zest of lemon into a small saucepan and add milk and poppy seeds.  Heat over high heat until steaming; let cool to room temperature.  Add vanilla extract.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until soft.  Gradually add sugar; beat on medium speed until very fluffy, about 5 minute, scarping down sides of bowl several times.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; continue beating on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.

Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture and beginning and ending with flour.  Beat on low speed until just combined. Divide batter evenly for the cupcakes, about 2/3 full each.  Bake until tops are golden brown or until a cake tester inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed.   Let cupcakes cool completely on wire racks.  Cakes can be made a day ahead before serving if desired.

Cut out a cone from each cupcake and trim the ends of the cones.  Fill the hollowed cupcakes with lemon curd-whipped cream.  Replace each top.  Frost cupcake tops with more lemon curd-whipped cream and sprinkle some poppy seeds.

Source:  adapted from Martha Stewart's Christmas Cookbook