Today I want to share a recipe that requires some effort, but pays back in wonderful flavour. This time we'll prepare a cherry and poppy seed cake, made out of poppy seed sponge base, smooth vanilla pudding filling and cherry jelly filled with fruits.
Moist sponge cake brings together flavours of Amaretto, coconut and of course poppy seeds that provide a bit of texture, too. The vanilla filling is subtle and pleasantly smooth, while fruits bring extra freshness. All of it means that cake slices will find a way to your plate, as if by magic! Is it the quickest cake to make? Not at all, but its flavour pays back for all the effort you need to put in.
You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.
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List of ingredients (18 x 28 cm baking tin)
Vanilla filling
- 750 ml milk
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 3 egg yolks
- 60 g cornstarch
- 60 g wheat flour
- 150 g butter
Poppy seed sponge cake
- 60 g poppy seeds
- 30 g desiccated coconut
- 30 g ground almonds
- 30 g wheat flour
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 3 egg whites
- 50 g sugar
Cake soaking mixture
- 50 ml Amaretto
- 50 ml water
Decoration
- 250 g cherries, pits removed
- 2 cherry jellies (2 x 70 g) + 700 ml water
Method
- Prepare vanilla pudding that will be the basis of our filling. Pour around 500 ml milk into a large pot and add 100 g fine white sugar. Stir through the contents of the pot until sugar dissolves and heat them up over medium low heat until milk starts to simmer slowly.
- Meanwhile, add 3 large egg yolks, 60 g wheat flour, 60 g cornstarch and a generous teaspoon of vanilla paste to remaining 250 ml of milk. If you don't have vanilla paste at hand, you can also use vanilla extract or vanilla sugar. In the latter case, add it to the pot with the rest of sugar. Stir through the contents of the jug shortly with a whisk, until uniform liquid forms.
- Return to a cooker hob. If the milk has already started to simmer, bring heat under the pot to low and add the pudding base to hot milk, stirring constantly. Once you've got a uniform mixture, turn the heat back up to medium low and cook the vanilla pudding for a few minutes, until thick and smooth. Don't stop stirring in the process because pudding will stick to the bottom of the pot easily and it's not difficult to burn in. If it happens, it will become bitter, and you'll need to start afresh.
- Once you've got the right texture take pot off heat and pour its contents into a wide dish. Spread the pudding evenly and cover its top with plastic wrap. This will prevent a thick skin from forming. Set the pudding aside to cool completely.
- Prepare the jelly that will decorate the cake. Add 2 packets cherry jelly (2 x 70 g) to 700 ml of freshly boiled, hot water. Stir through the mixture until jelly crystals dissolve completely and set it aside until jelly starts to thicken.
- While vanilla pudding and jelly are cooling down, prepare the cake base. Put 30 g wheat flour, 60 g poppy seeds, 30 g desiccated coconut, 30 g ground almonds and, optionally, 0.5 tsp baking powder into a small bowl. Stir through the dry ingredients shortly with a whisk, only until well mixed through, and set them aside for a moment.
- Pour 3 large egg whites into a separate, large bowl and beat them with an electric mixer until they become fluffy, and mixer beaters start leaving visible marks in the foam. It is the easiest to beat egg whites at room temperature, so remember to take them out of a fridge at least an hour ahead.
- Once you've got the right texture add 50 g fine white sugar to the egg whites. Do it slowly, in batches, and beat the contents of the bowl at medium high speed until sugar dissolves before adding the next portion. Once you've added all of sugar you can set the mixer aside, we won't need it for a while.
- Add dry ingredients to beaten egg whites. Do it in two batches, a few tablespoons at a time, and combine them slowly with the egg whites with a silicone spatula. Do it carefully not to remove too much air from egg whites.
- Transfer ready batter into a baking tin, 18 x 28 cm. Line the bottom of the baking tin with baking paper first, but leave the sides clean. This will let the cake stick to the sides as it bakes, which will help it not to deflate while cooling. Batter will be quite thick, but try to spread it as evenly as possible.
- Bake the cake in an oven preheated to 180 deg C, no fan, for 12 minutes, until the cake becomes lightly golden, and a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Take ready cake out of the oven and set it aside, still in the baking tin, to cool completely. 30-45 minutes should be enough.
- Once the pudding has reached room temperature, prepare vanilla filling. Put 150 g soft butter into a large bowl and cream it with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Pudding and butter should be at similar temperature, so remember to take butter out of the fridge at least an hour ahead.
- Once you've got the right texture, start adding vanilla pudding. Do it a slowly, a tablespoon at a time, and cream the contents of the bowl together well before adding the next batch. It is worth scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula from time to time. This will ensure that everything combines as it should and that filling is smooth. It may look quite thin at this stage, but it should thicken up without issues after a night in the fridge.
- Prepare a simple mixture to soak the cake. Pour 50 ml Amaretto and 50 ml cool water into a small bowl. Stir through the contents of the bowl shortly.
- Cut off the cake from the sides of the baking tin, wash them and line them with acetate foil or baking paper. Pour cake soaking mixture on top and leave it be for about 5 minutes. Ensure that your baking tin is watertight first - otherwise the mixture could flow out the sides.
- Once the cake has absorbed the liquid, transfer vanilla filling onto the cake and spread it as evenly as possible. Arrange 250 g pitted cherries on top of the cake. You can use preserved cherries from a compote or fresh ones; compote cherries will work well if they are out of season. Put the cake into a fridge and wait until jelly starts to thicken.
- Once this happens, take the cake out of a fridge and pour jelly carefully on top. It is a good idea to do it through a spoon or using a ladle. This way you won't move cherries around or make dips in the vanilla filling. Thickening jelly shouldn't float cherries to the top. Return the cake to the fridge for a few hours or best overnight, until jelly and vanilla filling set completely.
- Enjoy!
Approximate nutritional value
100 g
- 185 kcal
- Carbs: 21 g
- Fat: 9 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Fibre: 1 g
1 slice (recipe makes 15 slices)
- 295 kcal
- Carbs: 34 g
- Fat: 14 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Fibre: 2 g
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