I’m a fairly confident baker and I’ve made a few cakes in my baking life, ranging from simple to the very complicated. There is one cake however, that I return to again and again because it’s easy to make , with accessible ingredients and it’s super delicious. I’m talking about the Orange and Poppyseed Cake. I must confess that I’m a little bit biased here because I love anything citrus-lemon,oranges,mandarins and a special mention to the Filipino lime called calamansi, and naturally it makes its way into my cooking.

Orange Poppyseed — Golden Moist and Delicious

There is a reason why orange and poppyseed flavour combination never gets old. It’s golden, moist and with the surprise nuttiness of the poppyseed, it’s utterly scrumptious. I first tried this slice of sunshine at a cake stall at the Kew Gardens in Richmond. Never had poppyseed in anything before, so it was a delicious surprise.

Since then, I’ve been hunting for a recipe that taste the same as the one I had in Kew Gardens and for a long time it was a fruitless search until I tried a poppyseed roll from a a Polish bakery. I realised that the missing nuttiness was because the poppyseed wasn’t ground. So now when I make this cake, I bruise the seeds in a mortar and pestle and the difference is amazing. The resulting cake is so much more nuttier and more moist.

My version is lightly iced with Orange and Cream Cheese frosting and dusted with more orange zest. There’s an overload of juicy orange ness in this cake , so if you love oranges you’re in for a treat. And lets not forget that oranges are rich in Vitamin C and anti-oxidants, as if I need another reason!

Before I forget, this recipe is very versatile. Substitute orange juice/zest with lemon juice/zest and viola, you’ve got yourself a Lemon Poppyseed Cake. Blood orange is also a wonderful substitute. Simples!

What you need to make it…

Oranges – We use the juice and finely grated zest of oranges. Substitute with any citrus you like.
Self Raising Flour for convenience. The recipe calls for plain flour with baking powder and baking soda added. If you use self raising flour, omit the baking powder and baking soda.
Eggs – room temperature
Butter – unsalted or salted and room temperature
Poppyseed – lightly bruise the poppyseed in a mortar and pestle to release the flavour
Cream Cheese – Full fat cream cheese please
Icing Sugar – to use in the icing

Let’s get to it…

Start by creaming the oil ,butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated.
Mix in orange juice , zest and milk to the “wet ingredients “.
Add the flour and use a spatula to fold the mixture in until just blended. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into baking paper lined baking tin and bake in a preheated 160°C oven for 20 minutes. I normally bake this cake in 3 6inch diameter cake tins because that’s what I have. You can also bake this in a larger baking tin, just adjust the baking time. You also have to cut the cake in half if you want layers.
Let the cake cool. Fill and ice the sides and top of cake with orange cream cheese icing
If the icing is too soft, place in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up a bit.
Garnish with orange slices or shredded orange rind and orange sanding sugar if desired.

Orange and Poppyseed Cake

Recipe by acmowlai

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: DessertCuisine: GermanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

Orange Poppyseed Cake
125g butter, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
4 eggs,room temperature
2 1/2 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons poppy seeds, lightly bruised in a mortar and pestle
3/4 cup milk
Juice of 1 orange (1/2 cup)
grated Zest of 1 orange
Cream Cheese Icing
1 x 250g Cream Cheese, room temperature
100g butter, room temperature
2 cups icing sugar,sifted
Shredded Orange Rind, optional for decoration
Finely grated zest of 1 orange

Directions

Orange Poppyseed Cake
Preheat oven to 160°C (320F). Line the bottom of 3 by 6 inch cake pans with baking paper. Spray bottom and sides with cooking oil. Or you can use one 9 inch cake pan.
Place butter oil vanilla orange zest and sugar into the bowl of electric mixer and mix on low to combine. Increase speed to medium high and mix until butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy about 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then mix in milk and orange juice.
Sift together plain flour baking soda and baking powder into a bowl.
Add the flour mix , poppy seeds, salt and use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix until just combined.
Divide batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes or until done. If baking in one larger baking tin, adjust the time.
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out into a cooling rack to cool completely.
Orange Cream Cheese Icing
Place cream cheese orange zest icing sugar and butter into a bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on slow to combine then mix again on medium high until pale and fluffy about 3 minutes. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
Cake Assembly
Place one cold cake on serving plate. Spread some icing on top of the cake just enough to cover a very thin layer.
Get the 2nd cake layer and place on top of the bottom layer. Spread a thin layer of icing on the top. Place the third cake layer on top.
Spread a thin layer of icing on top and sides of the cake. Use an angled spatula or knife to smooth the icing. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
Use left over icing to pipe decorative swirls on the cake if desired. Decorate with sliced oranges . (I used blood orange in the photo). Store in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before serving.

Notes

Will keep for a few days in the fridge. Serve at room temperature.