Poppy Seed Almond Cake
This has been one of those weeks. We have returned to a full “return to to the work place” and I am mourning the loss of flexibility. Although I have been going into work this whole pandemic, no longer having the flexibility to take morning meetings at home has made managing my schedule a struggle. Work is also extremely busy, and these week I have found myself leaving the house at 5:30 am, not to return until 7:30pm. After a long, busy day at work, what to do with the short remainder of your day? Bake a cake of course!
This cake is extremely quick to throw together and contains only pantry staple ingredients. It is an easy, one bowl recipe, the longest part is just waiting for the cake to bake. Of note- I didn’t have orange juice for the glaze, so I substituted lemon juice. This may have impacted the flavor profile. I also baked the cake for 71 minutes, which was less than the 80-90 minutes suggested in the book. I think I may have slightly over baked the cake actually, even with this shorter baking time, which may have negatively influenced it’s texture.
I knew Mark would love this cake, as he absolutely adores almond poppy seed anything. I have made him many poppy seed loafs and muffins. This loaf is tasty. It tastes more like a giant muffin than a cake, and has that muffin-y texture. My favorite part is the crisp top that forms that adds a delicious texture to the cake. It tastes like a breakfast pastry, and is not overly sweet (despite the addition of what seemed like a ton of sugar :) ). Would I make this again? Yes if I wanted to make an easy one bowl recipe. It is by not my favorite poppy seed cake I have made. I found it sort muffin-like which was not my preference. I think the almond flavor is a little artificial tasting with so much extract being used. Almond extract is my absolute favorite, and I have a really nice bottle but I might tone it down just a tiny bit if I make this cake again, or maybe find a way to incorporate some almond paste or something.
Result? Mark absolutely loved the cake! He is obsessed with it, and said he wanted the whole thing to himself and is thrilled by it. Mission accomplished! Give it a try and see what you think.
Recipe can be found in Claire Saffitz cookbook Dessert Person