Poppy Seed and Orange Cake

My Mama makes this cake every year for my birthday in August. In Australia it is still winter and the oranges are in season. The original recipe, written on a typewriter and splattered in cake batter, is kept in that collection of old recipes all mothers seem to have. My godmother, Mary, gave it to her.

The many poppy seeds give it a crunch that you don’t often find in similar recipes. I like this cake best served with a big spoonful of thick, Greek yoghurt.

Poppy Seed and Orange Cake

Serves 8 - 10

1 cup (125 g) butter

1 cup (215 g) caster sugar

3 egg yolks

1 cup crème fraiche (18%) or sour cream (this recipe originally calls for sour cream but I can’t seem to find it regularly in Copenhagen so I opted for crème fraiche which worked well)

grated zest of one orange – or two if you like!

1 ¾ cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

3 egg whites, beaten until stiff but not dry

200 g poppy seeds

Orange Syrup

grated zest of 2 oranges (it works well if you coarsely grate this zest)

juice or 2 oranges

juice of 1 lemon

¾ cup of sugar

Greek yoghurt to serve

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a tube or Bundt pan well with oil or butter.

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks, crème fraiche and orange rind. Beat until light and fluffy.

Sift together flour, baking power and bi-carb soda. Then sift this into the wet ingredients and gently mix.

Using a large metal spoon, fold in a third of the egg whites to loosen the mixture, and then fold in the rest. Lastly, fold in the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Be sure not to over cook! Remove and stand for 10 minutes before turning onto a plate with a rim.

To make the Orange Syrup: combine ingredients, bring to boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. When the cake is ready pour over orange syrup, making sure the zest is piled on top.