Poppy Seed Loaf

This is a cake that Shri really likes and which I I baked a lot before the kids began to have the first – and often the ruling – say over what we eat.

He is very fond of the slightly crunchy texture that this cake gets from the poppy seeds; and he loves the candied cherries that go in to it, too. So this year I decided I’d make it for his birthday, and never mind what the girls would say, for once.

Poppy Seed Loaf

2 eggs

1/2 cup of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1 and 1/4 tsps of lemon juice

2 cups of All purpose flour (I often mix all purpose and whole wheat flours, or add a tbsp of wheat germ to the all purpose flour)

2 and 1/2 tsps of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of chopped candied cherries

1/4 cup of poppy seeds

3/4 cup of milk

Warm the milk very slightly and mix with the poppy seeds in a bowl. Leave this mixture to stand for 20-30 minutes.

In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cherries so that the cherries are well-coated with the flour (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom).

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the sugar, butter(softened a little; to do this, put the butter in the microwave for just a few seconds) and beat together until smooth.

Add the lemon juice, and then the poppy seeds mixture. Now add the flour mixture, and stir it in.

Bake for 45-60 minutes at 180degreesC. Leave the cake in the pan for half an hour after you take the pan out of the oven, then turn it out gently on to a cake plate.

As it turned out Noor seems to like the taste and has readily had a slice for gouter more than once since I made the cake last week; so one out of two is not too bad.

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