Last weekend, our darling neighbour Michelle had a baby shower. Little Arturo (our current working title for her bump) is expected to make an appearance any day now and we’re very excited for her and Shaun!
The day before, we’d picked a bowl of lemons from our heavily laden tree, and I was keen to incorporate them into a cake to take to the party…
Early on Sunday morning, I consulted my copy of The Flavor Bible. This fabulous tome isn’t a cookbook, but rather a detailed study of how we perceive and taste food, accompanied by comprehensive lists of different ingredients and their recommended pairings. I read recently that it’s a favourite with chefs, who will often refer to it when creating new dishes.
I turned to the “lemon” listing and noted “almond” and “poppy seeds” as two of the recommended matches. From there, it was a doddle to adapt our tea cake recipe to suit…
- 250g unsalted butter
- 200g white sugar
- grated zest of two large lemons
- 4 large (59g) free range eggs
- 150g self-raising flour
- 150g blanched almond meal
- 30g poppy seeds
Icing
- 150g icing sugar mixture (confectioners sugar)
- juice of half a large lemon (or as much as needed)
1. Preheat oven to 160C with fan and line a baking tray with parchment paper (I used a rectangular 30cm x 23cm / 12″x9″ pan enamel baking pan).
2. In the large bowl of the food processor, blitz together the butter, sugar and lemon rind until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and pulse until combined, adding in a spoonful of the flour if required to stop the batter from splitting. Scrape down the sides as needed.
3. Stir together the flour, almond meal and poppy seeds, then add to the food processor and pulse until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared tray.
4. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean. Rotate the tray half way through the baking time if needed. Place on a wire rack to cool, but don’t lift the cake out of the pan.
5. Once the cake has cooled, sift the icing sugar mixture into a large bowl, and gradually whisk in enough lemon juice to form a fairly thick but pourable icing. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, and spread evenly with a spatula or butter knife.
6. Allow to cool before lifting out of the pan and cutting into neat squares…
Like the pound cake recipe, our basic tea cake formula is proving to be extremely versatile – this is now its fourth incarnation, and each one has been distinctly different to the others. Pete decided that he would have preferred a straight lemon cake without the poppy seeds, but everyone else loved this!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I used to make a poppy seed cake many many years ago and lost the recipe (and the book.. one of the first moosewood boooks.. sigh) I loved that cake. I look forward to trying this one!. c
Snap! I lost my Moosewood cookbook too – actually I know where it went, but I can’t now get it back, because the friend I lent it to lost it. Hope you like this one, darling xx
what is it with those books, they wander!,, it was the first recipe book I ever owned.. c
Cecilia I have the 1977 Moosewood Cookbook – it has a recipe for Ukrainian Poppyseed Cake. I’d be happy to type it out for you if that’s the one.
Its it the one with the drawing of a lemon wedge and fruit in a circle on the front I think? I have not seen that book in years. Just the ingredients would be great!! Oh I want the WHOLE BOOK! again. Maybe I will do a search and find another copy as a treat for myself!. Thank you.. my email is celima.g.7@gmail.com. I would love that recipe! It makes a nice big cake. c
Sending it to you now Cecilia.
thank you!!
I love the lemon and poppy seed combo…one of my fave’s! I noticed when we were in Aus…bake shops and cafes were more likely to have orange poppy seed which I feel is just WRONG :) gotta be lemon!
Couldn’t agree more, Bernice! I’m not a huge fan of orange cakes at the best of times.. :)
Mmmm! Lemon and poppy seed cake! The cake looks delicious! Will have to try it. Need to bake a cake soon for an event and I think I will make this. Thanks for sharing!
Manuela, the base cake recipe is so easy that you could really adapt it to anything you have on hand! Of the four versions I’ve now made, this one and the passionfruit and ginger one have proven the most popular!
Celia, I made a lemon poppy seed cake not too long ago, simple, with yogurt in the batter…. I think the combination of lemon and almonds + poppy seeds is hard to beat….
as usual, you did a wonderful baking job!
Yoghurt would have been great too! Pete loves yoghurt cakes, and we always have a tub of his homemade Greek yoghurt in the fridge…
Nothing beats fresh, such as pick and bake! What an abundance of lemons you got there, Celia! I envy you ;)
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Julie, it’s so nice to have them growing in the backyard, promising great things! :)
I love lemon cake! This looks wonderful. my mom used to make glaze like that but she would poke holes in the cake with a skewer so it would soak in. Yum! Maz
Maz, Pete REALLY like the glaze – these days cakes seem to be topped with buttercream frosting, but this simple old fashioned icing is really nice for a change!
Yum! Perfect for morning or afternoon tea. Also. Breakfast :)
Hehe…we did eat the leftovers the following morning! :)
Love this- I’ve been on a baking hiatus- but this will surely bring me back. My sister just had her hip replaced and I”ve been at hospitals and rehabilitation homes plus in NY for my birthday to see my little boys- so I’m not commenting or blogging much now- but his cake!!! could not go without comment! :)
I’m so glad to know you’ve been busy and spending time with your gorgeous little boys! Hope Cynthia is ok. Talk soon xx
Looks like a lovely way to use up our lemons, will definitely try this!
Gail, it’s been a great lemon season, hasn’t it?
That looks amazing! Lemon poppy seed is a great flavor. :)
Thank you! It’s a great combo, especially with the almonds! :)
lovely cake celia..as always..but particularly special because you used your own lemons (and eggs?)..x
Jane, yes! Our own lemons, and our own eggs, with their supercharged yellow yolks! :)
I adore that book, Celia, and always have it on hand in the kitchen. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve bought in the last 12 months.
Isn’t it great, Amanda? It’s been a great help when we’ve tried to work around ingredients we have on hand.
Sounds delicious!!
I love the lemon & poppyseed combination. I have a muffin recipe that I just love but is dangerous to make as I eat most of the muffins before they cool :) That book is turning into the most used one on my bookshelf. Absolutely love it. It was lined up to feature in my next IMK post ;)
Great minds, right? :) Look forward to seeing your post, Tania! :)
Celia anything with lemon in it is my thing, this one is going on my Celia List. Get out of my head with that book! I have been googling “flavour” and “taste” of late, now you’ve linked me to an entire book of what I want to know. Thank you dear girl.
Hahaha…Rose, some of the commenters below have also mentioned The Flavor Thesaurus – I don’t know anything about that one, but I’m off to look into it now! :)
Well now this sounds like a yummy combo Celia… I have plenty of lemons right now, so might just give this a crack! I love poppy seeds, always have! And that book! I am going to check ebay and the BD now!
Lizzy, you wouldn’t be Hungarian if you didn’t love poppy seeds! :)
Beautiful cake Celia, on this chilly day am inspired to get my baking mojo on! Had lost it for awhile, but my lemon tree is absolutely groaning with beautiful lemons!!! But, first to browse through book sites to find the book you show in your blog!!!!
Hasn’t it been a wonderful season for lemons! We’ve never had this many before, but our tree is STILL full!
On a cold rainy winter’s day, what could be better than the warmth of an oven and the scent of a baking lemon and poppy seed cake.
Deb, it was a freezing day too – it was a great excuse to warm the kitchen up! :)
I’m in the kitchen again Celia after having to stop working due to an accident. It’s been a long journey but I’ve now realised, after 4 years, my time is my own and I have always been an old hippie at heart. I enjoy every day like a big kid. Thank you for your blog and this beautiful recipe. Fresh cream on top! Yum.
A wise man once said, “Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time”. Enjoy your new found wealth, Marilyn! :)
What a yummy looking cake indeed Celia, I hope the baby bump loved it too :)
I use The Flavour Bible and the Flavour Thesaurus all the time- they’re invaluable! Xox
Becca, I’ve never heard of the Flavor Thesaurus, I’ll check it out, thank you! xx
Looks perfect celia and making one straight away
Hope you liked it, love! xx
Celia, I have a tip for quick lemon zesting. To save time (and to avoid scraping my fingers) I peel the lemon zest with a potato peeler and blitz in a processor with the sugar.
Great idea, especially when zesting a lot, thank you!
Celia, does your bible have a pairing for limes
Elaine, just sent you an email! :)
I can just imagine how perfect this cake was. I have a copy of The Flavor Bible but tend to use The Flavor Thesaurus more often. I must remedy that and use both :)
Tandy, that’s the second mention of the Thesaurus, I’ll have to check it out, thank you!
Ooh that looks good – a proper old fashioned cake!
Tanya, that’s what Pete said too! He liked the old fashioned icing!
Love the blue plate and the cake looks delicious.
Thanks Madge! The blue Turkish plate is one of my favourites!
Wonderful, Celia. Love fresh homegrown lemons (so fragrant!) and this cake looks simply delicious. Yum!
Thanks Jaqi! Dead easy to make too! :)
I love lemon and poppy seed as a combo – think I shall have to check the cupboards to see if I have enough poppy seeds on hand. Your flavour bible sounds like a brilliant book.
Have a super week ahead Celia.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, it’s a great book! I’m so glad to hear there are so many lemon and poppy seed fans – I think it’s a great combo, but as Pete’s not a huge fan, I’ll probably only make this again when we have company. Hope the weekend was grand, darling x
That is good cake Celia x
Thanks Jane! :) xx
What a lovely cake for a party!
JJ, thank you! It was just so easy to make – I loved that…
I just made GF lemon poppy seed muffins for a baby shower on Saturday — I’m a big fan of lemon anything, so your tea cake works for me!
Judy, serendipity! Bet your muffins were divine.. :)
Lovely looking cake and I love how you have adapted your recipe for Raspberry and Quince Jelly Tea Cake to accommodate the delicious pairings of lemon, poppy seeds and almonds. I had forgotten about the Flavour Bible and Tandy’s mention of the Flavour Thesaurus has piqued my interest. Off to Amazon to see what I can find!
Selma, me too, I’m off to check out the Thesaurus as well! :)
I am not a great lemon fan but love lemon and poppyseed cakes. I prefer the orange, almond and poppyseed combo myself but this cake looks everything a cake should be…moist, crammed with the promise of amazing flavour and texture and perfect with a cuppa. A slice or 3 would certainly be a most delicious way to spend a day holed up in the rain :)
Fran, do lemons grow in Tassie or is it too cold? Hope you’re staying warm! x
Lemons grow well here but not as well as on the mainland. Poppyseeds on the other hand grow REALLY well here but woe betides anyone trying to pilfer them! ;)
Looks wonderful Celia, I’m very partial to seedcakes, would love to try this one.
Andrea, I usually make savoury things with the poppy seeds, so it was a nice change! Hope you get to try it – it’s a very easy tray bake!
All my favourite ingredients in this cake- its on my list for when i return.
Hope your garden is full of lemons and other treasures when you get back, Francesca! :)
Celia aren’t the enamel ware pans excellent for cooking cakes? They are my go to ones now, love em’!
And could quite easily go a slab of your cake too :-)
Brydie, they’re just the best! Thanks to you and Lorraine for Tom Sawyering me into them.. :)
I love lemons and I love cake so this looks perfect, May have to give this one a try. Thanks as always
Vita, hope you like it, it’s an easy one to assemble! :)
This looks so simple to make but the texture of the cake looks fantastic!
I’ll have to make one for you.. :)
Hi Celia!!! Your cake looks delicious! It is the kind of cake I love the most: not heavy, soft and tasty! And the combo lemon almonds and poppy seeds sounds great :)! Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful recipe!
I have never heard of this book before but I think it is worth that I go and buy it now :)! Can i find it in every book store or should I buy it on the internet?
Also, I just opened my little food blog, so if you cold find the time to come and say hallo I would be more than happy :)!
Thank you :)!
Hi Ema, congratulations on your new blog, hope it goes well for you! I buy almost all my books through Amazon these days, which is where I got my copy of the Flavor Bible.
Thank you Celia! I’ll buy it on Amazon then :)!
I love the citrus and poppyseed combo. Apparently poppyseeds can be addictive, a great excuse for over-indulging :)
Hahaha…yes, apparently too many poppy seeds can lead to folks failing drug tests!
I love the sound of The Flavor Bible, wouldn’t that make for an interesting book club project. Lemon, Poppy seed and especially almond meal are my very favourite ingredients in cakes, so this one is going on my ‘have a go list’.
Jan, it’s a surprisingly good combo – hope you and Peter like it as much as I did (my Pete less so, but then he’s not a huge poppy seed fan).
I combined poppy seeds once with candied orange peel in a cake and that was delicious too. Putting this on my to-make list. Thanks!
Candied orange peel sounds like a wonderful addition, thanks for the great suggestion!
I made the basic tea cake tonight for my Stitch group – topped with homemade quince/rhubarb jam and a drizzle of maple syrup. A hit! Tried to tag you on Twitter, but couldn’t find your handle. Are you still hanging around over there?
Nancy, how fabulous! Sounds like a wonderful combination of flavours! I’m still on twitter, I’ll drop you a note.. xx
I am never disappointed when I read your blog. You may turn me into a baker yet!! xxoo
This is a good one to start with! It’s easy! :)
I haven’t had poppy seed cake in ages and this one looks delectable. But to make it from your own fresh picked lemons…oh wow!
The rise on this cake is incredible… I think it’s so cool that you were able to use the lemons from your garden to create this beauty. As a lover of lemons myself, it has always been a foreign concept to have a tree just growing in the backyard (our temps are too cold here). You are one lucky girl! Now, what do you do with your surplus? xx
I’ve been preserving them in salt! Hopefully they’ll be absolutely delicious in a few month’s time. It’s funny what we wish for – lemon trees are everywhere here, but oh how I wish we could grow apples! Too hot here though! :)
mmmmmm, i love the flavour combo of lemon & poppy seed together :-)