Healthy Poppy Seed Cake

I guess we never have enough of sweets. Today, to celebrate St Nicholas Day, I want to share with you my recipe for a poppy seed cake.

Have you ever wondered what benefits you might get from it? Poppy seeds are a great source of B vitamins, vitamin E and a range of minerals, like calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, or selenium. It is also rich in fiber and, since it belongs to oil plants, it provides us with many fatty acids, including omega-3 and omega-6. Thanks to all those properties, poppy seeds positively affect the process of lowering blood cholesterol and protect us against cardiovascular ailments. It is also worth pointing out that they help to improve the condition of the skin, hair and nails. If this amount of evidence is enough for you to believe that a poppy seed cake can actually be healthy, then let’s head to the kitchen 🙂

Why the poppy seeds are blanched and cooked

Ground poppy seeds straight from the packet stay gritty and slightly bitter in the baked cake. Blanching removes that bitterness, and the thirty minutes of cooking in plant based drink swells the seeds so they turn soft and creamy. Grinding them afterwards, once cooled, gives the smooth filling that makes this taste like a proper poppy seed cake rather than a seeded sponge.

Do not skip the cooling before grinding. Warm poppy seeds smear rather than grind, and the mixture turns pasty.

Two flours instead of wheat

Corn flour and buckwheat flour split the work: buckwheat brings the earthy note that suits poppy seeds, corn keeps the crumb light. The ingredient list allows six tablespoons of buckwheat alone if you have only one of them, and the cake still works, just denser and darker in flavour.

There is very little flour here for a cake this size. The structure comes from the poppy seeds, the eggs and the grated apples, which is also why it stays moist for days.

How to avoid a dry cake

Forty minutes at 180°C (350°F) suits a round tin, but check with a skewer at thirty five. This cake browns on top long before the middle is done, so colour is not the guide here.

The grated apples are what keep it moist, so weigh them rather than guessing. Four hundred grams sounds like a lot next to two hundred and fifty grams of poppy seeds, and it is meant to.

Glaze, keeping and the gluten free version

Pour the melted chocolate over the cake only once it has cooled completely, otherwise the glaze soaks in instead of setting on top. Kept in a tin in a cool place the cake holds for three or four days, and it is arguably better on the second one.

If you need it without eggs, dairy or gluten, there is a separate recipe for a gluten free poppy seed cake without eggs and lactose. For a whole December of baking planned in advance, a menu with a shopping list takes the guesswork out.

Preparation

I blanched poppy seeds in boiling water and rinsed them in running water, then I cooked them with plant-based drink for about 30 minutes and left to cool. Next, I ground them in the food processor. I beat the eggs whites with a pinch of salt, mixed the butter with coconut sugar, egg yolks and vanilla. I grated the apples and combined them with the poppy seed mixture, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder, raisins and agave syrup. I transferred the mixture into a round cake tin lined with baking paper, baked the poppy seed cake at 180°C (350°F) for about 40 minutes and left it to cool. Then I melted the chocolate and poured it over the cake, and decorated the top with walnuts.

Anna Lewandowska

Healthy poppy seed cake with chocolate glaze

A poppy seed cake made with cooked ground poppy seeds, grated apples, corn and buckwheat flour instead of wheat, sweetened with coconut sugar and agave syrup and finished with a chocolate glaze.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 12 slices

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Polish

Calories: 340

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 250 g ground poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 cups plant-based drink
• 6 eggs
• a pinch of sea salt
• 150 g clarified butter
• 150 g coconut sugar
• 400 g apples
• 3 tablespoons corn flour
• 3 tablespoons buckwheat flour or simply 6 tablespoons of buckwheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of cinnamon
• a pinch of vanilla
• 2 handfuls of raisins blanched
• 4 tablespoons of agave syrup
• 1 bar of chocolate
• 1 handful of walnuts

Method

 

1. Blanch the poppy seeds in boiling water and rinse them under running water.
   
2. Cook the poppy seeds with the plant-based drink for about 30 minutes, then leave them to cool.
   
3. Grind the cooled poppy seeds in a food processor.
   
4. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt. Separately mix the clarified butter with the coconut sugar, egg yolks and vanilla.
   
5. Grate the apples and combine them with the poppy seed mixture, both flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, raisins and agave syrup.
   
6. Transfer the mixture into a round cake tin lined with baking paper and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 40 minutes, then leave it to cool.
   
7. Melt the chocolate, pour it over the cooled cake and decorate the top with walnuts.
   

Notes

Calories and the number of slices are approximate, estimated from typical ingredient amounts. The photographs show the cake finished with flaked almonds and cacao nibs, while the recipe calls for walnuts.

Frequently asked questions