After nearly 2 years of blogging (my blog bday is on the 19th), it is sometimes hard to find new sweet treats to share with you guys. It is true, I tend to stick within my comfort zone of chocolate and peanut butter a lot, but every now and then it is really fun to whip up something totally different than my usual flavour combos, and that's why I enjoyed this cake so much!
I have to admit, until this bad boy came out of the oven, I had never even tasted any lemon and poppy seed sweet treats before - but I have been converted! This cake is so light and citrus flavour is so crisp that each bite addictive. And the four-berry curd in the middle - OMG! I was a little unsure while it was still hot, but once it cooled and settled into the cake.... well, let's just say it was a match made in heaven :)
I am going to be MIA again now for a while - July is gonna be a busy month - so with the exception of a couple of possible posts this week, I won't see you much next month. I am away in beautiful Quebec for two weeks, travelling home to Newfoundland for a week, getting married, and heading back to Quebec for the honeymoon... See you in August!!!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
2 1/3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seed
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup evaporated milk
5 egg whites, room temperature (keep the yolks for the curd)
1/2 tsp sugar
Steps
-Spray 13x9 inch pyrex dish and line with parchment paper (long enough so there are "handles" on each side to lift out cooled cake).
-Preheat oven to 350F.
-In a medium bowl, stir together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds.
-In a large bowl, cream sugar, zest, and butter.
-Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture in 4 additions, starting with milk and ending with flour. Beat after each addition.
-In a separate bowl, beat eggs and 1/2 tsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter.
-Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in dish for 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Cut down the middle to form to square cakes.
Four-Berry Curd
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups berries, fresh or thawed
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Steps
-Melt butter in large sauce pan.
-Add berries, yolks, and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently and mashing berries. Mixture should thicken. (Mine didn't thicken very much so I ended up with a slightly runny curd, but the flavour was great)
-Once thickened, pour through a large strainer to remove the large pieces of berry. Add lemon juice and let cool to room temperature (should thicken more as it cools).
Assembly
-Pour some curd over top of one square cake. Place second cake on top.
(There will be plenty of curd left over to add to individual servings, as desired)
