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World’s Easiest Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

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Poppy seed cake on a blue plate.

Easy to make at home, this is the world’s easiest poppy seed cake! With a jam filling and topped with whipped cream, the poppy seed cake is rich, nutty, and delicious! 

World’s Easiest Poppy Seed Cake Recipe – Must Try!

Poppy seeds have been added to desserts for centuries. Many Central European desserts such as kolache, makowiec, kutia, hamantashen, kluski z makiem, mohnstrudel, and more, all include poppy seeds. 

But why add poppy seeds to cake? Because the poppy seeds give the cake a nice nutty flavor and rich aroma. 

Will the poppy seed cake get you high? No, not like the cakes of the past!

Back in the past, poppy production wasn’t as strictly controlled as it is. So any type of poppy was used for cakes and desserts. But nowadays, only poppies with less than a government-specified amount can be harvested for use in food. 

Anyways, apart from the traditional dishes made with poppy seeds, one of my favorite poppy seed desserts is the world’s easiest poppy seed cake!

A little prep time, then you leave it alone on the stove before a bit more prep and baking, and your family is in for a sumptuous treat!

How To Make The World’s Easiest Poppy Seed Cake?

Step 1 – Prepare The Poppy Seed Mixture

Skip this section if using a canned filling.

If making from scratch, rinse and drain the poppy seeds. Then cover them with milk or water and cook for half an hour.

While it’s cooking, you can dice apricots and grind walnuts.

Once the poppy seeds have cooked, drain them, and grind in a food processor or mixer. Do it a few times till smooth.

Add the honey, butter, diced apricots, other dried fruit, and ground walnuts, and mix well.

Cake mix in the bowl.
Ingredients for the cake mix in a bowl

Step 2 – Prepare The Cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Line the cake pan with parchment paper. 

Separate egg yolks from whites, and beat the egg whites with salt.

In another bowl, mix the poppy seed filling with the egg yolks and semolina. Once that’s done, use a spoon to add the beaten egg whites very slowly. Don’t mix too much!

Pour the dough into the cake pan and bake for about 55-60 minutes.

Egg white being added to cake mixture
Add the egg white to the cake mixture
Baking paper lined pan.
Pan lined with parchment paper
Cake dough in pan.
Cake dough in pan
Spread out the cake dough evenly.
Spread out the cake dough evenly

Step 3 – Assemble The Cake

Once baked and allowed to cool, cut the cake in half horizontally. You can do this by hand or use a cake leveler.

Spread the jam on one half of the cake. If you want something different, use kajmak instead of jam. 

Cake cut horizontally in two pieces.
Cake cut horizontally in two pieces and topped with kajmak
Spread the jam or kajmak evenly.
Spread the jam or kajmak evenly

If you want a moist cake, soak the other half of the cake with your favorite sweet liquor or sugar syrup. You can also use non-alcoholic syrups with different flavors such as almond syrup or vanilla syrup

Cover the lower half of the cake with the upper half of the cake. Decorate with whipped cream before serving!

Poppy seed cake topped with whipped cream in a blue plate.
Top the poppy seed cake with whipped cream before serving!
Slice of poppy seed cake on a blue plate.
Best poppy seed cake!

Tips For Baking World’s Easiest Poppy Seed Cake

Rich and cooling poppy seed cake.
Rich and cooling poppy seed cake!

FAQs About Making The Easiest Poppy Seed Cake

Which Jam Should I Use?

Use any jam of your choice. Blueberry jam, strawberry jam, blackcurrant jam, and apricot jam are good options. 

Is It Safe To Eat Poppy Seed Cake?

Yes, the poppy seeds used for baking or cooking have the lowest amount of opium according to food regulatory standards. It is safe to eat!

What Other Desserts Can I Make With Poppy Seeds?

Other Polish desserts you can make with poppy seeds include:

How To Store Poppy Seed Cake?

Store the poppy seed cake in the refrigerator and consume it within 4 to 5 days. 

If you have leftover poppy seed filling, that can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a few months. 

World’s Easiest Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

Yield: 20 servings

World's Easiest Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

World's Easiest Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

Easy to make at home, this is the world's easiest poppy seed cake! With a jam filling and topped with whipped cream, the poppy seed cake is rich, nutty, and delicious!  

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Baking Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

Poppy Seed Dough

  • 2 cups of poppy seeds
  • 2 cups of milk (or water)
  • 1 cup of chopped dried fruits and nuts
  • 4 tbsps of honey
  • 4 tbsps of butter
  • 10 tbsps of semolina
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 5 eggs
  • a pinch of salt

Others

  • 10 oz (300g) of jam
  • 8-10 tbsps of syrup or sweet liquor (optional)
  • whipped cream to decorate

Instructions

You can use canned ready-to-use poppy seed filling. If you have it, go to step number 2.

Step 1 - Prepare The Poppy Seeds

  1. Rinse and drain the poppy seeds.
  2. Cover the poppy seeds with milk or water and cook for 30 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, dice dried apricots and other dried fruit.
  4. Drain the poppy seeds then grind them once or twice.
  5. Add honey, butter, ground walnuts, and dried fruits. Mix.


Step 2 - Prepare The Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
  2. Oil the 9x13" cake pan or put the parchment paper inside.
  3. Separate egg yolks from egg whites.
  4. Beat the egg whites with a bit of salt.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix poppy seed mixture with semolina and egg yolks.
  6. Using a spoon, carefully add beaten egg whites, stirring in one direction only.
  7. Pour the dough into the cake pan and bake for about 55-60 minutes.


Step 3 - Assemble The Cake

  1. When the cake is cold, cut it in half horizontally.
  2. Spread the jam on one half of the cake.
  3. If you want your cake to be moist, soak the second part of the cake with syrup or your favorite sweet liquor (this step is not necessary).
  4. Cover lower cake with upper cake. Decorate with whipped cream before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 430Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 140mgCarbohydrates: 81gFiber: 4gSugar: 48gProtein: 6g

These data are indicative and calculated by Nutritionix

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