Freshly Baked

Poppy Seed Cake for a Birthday Cake!  (Last year's thumbnail blip!)

Poppy Seed Cake
Yields: 14 servings
Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:
2 ⅔ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks - USA) unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided use (1½ + ¼)
5 eggs, separated (whites in their own mixing bowl)
1 cup buttermilk
⅓ cup poppy seeds -  *see note 2
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind  - * see note 3

Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  
Grease and flour a 12 cup (10 inch) Bundt pan.
2.  Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
3.  Beat butter and 1½ cups of the sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.
4.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk to the egg yolk mixture, starting and ending with dry ingredients, beating well after each addition until smooth.
Beat in poppy seeds and grated rind.
Set aside.
5.  Beat eggs whites until foamy.
Gradually beat in remaining ¼ cup sugar until meringue forms soft peaks.  
Fold into batter until no white remains.
Pour into pan.  
6.  Bake in preheated oven for 55 minutes or until top springs back lightly when touched with a fingertip.
Let stand 5 minutes.  
Loosen cake around tube and sides with a spatula.
Invert onto wire rack.  
Cool completely.

This tasty recipe was from Eleanor Grillo of Brooklyn, NY. It's from a large-quantity version that was adapted by Eleanor’s nephew, who cooked at a Vermont Inn.

Note 2:  Use only 3 Tablespoons of poppy seeds, it will still get lots of crunch per bite!

Note 3:  If I have it on hand, I always add 1 Tablespoon of grated orange rind to the grated lemon rind.

Note 4:  Just before serving, dust with sifted 10X sugar if you wish.