Speak Femme: Red, White and Poppy Blue: Lemon Poppy-Seed Cake

During the Fourth of July, I always get this craving for fresh lemonade. Pressed lemons sweetened with sugar, and mixed together with ice cold water. Unfortunately, I had to make due with powdered pink lemonade. Just add ice cold water! Not bad, but it never feels like the real thing.

For whatever reason, the day after, the idea to make lemon cake popped into my head. I’m not very keen on making desserts, so I usually stick to the boxed cakes and brownies. But since I’ve been getting a few more accolades on my cooking from family and friends, I thought that attempting to make one of my favorite cakes wouldn’t be a bad idea
.
I followed the recipe on Epicurious, almost exactly, and the results weren’t too bad!

First, I whisked the flour, baking powder and lemon zest into one bowl. This was my favorite part of the recipe. I love the smell of grating lemons, and the bright yellow color matched the mood.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder ,1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
I’d suggest using a smaller bowl than this, since later on I had to switch to a bigger bowl for the butter and sugar whisking, but I don’t plan very well during the cooking process so this could have been avoided.

This was the only sugar I could find in the pantry. I was skeptical. Organic Sugar…Would everything taste the same? Well, Domino’s did not let me down, the sugar was very good, and most likely, healthier for me than the non-elitist brands.

3/4 cup granulated sugar

The next step was most definitely the hardest for me. Though the recipe instructs you to use an electric mixer for the butter and sugar, I used good old fashioned elbow grease to get the job done. I couldn’t stand the idea of having more than one whisk to clean.

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened, 2 eggs (Many reviews said that 2 sticks was not needed. I have to agree. I used about 1.5 sticks of butter, and felt like I could have used less. Apparently butter is part of the crumbling texture, but for a more moist cake, I suggest less butter and a bit of milk.)

This was the end result of whisking the sugar, butter and eggs without an electric mixer.

Then I added the sugar mixture to the flour mixture, and stirred away until the ingredients were uniform.

Afterwards I added the poppy seeds. I’m not sure what this does for taste. I know it does something. But I mostly enjoy the “pop” when you chew on the little seeds! Is this why they’re called poppy seeds?

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Since I didn’t have a cake pan, I used a bread pan, which worked out fine in the toaster oven. I did have to lower the heat and cook it for about 45 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

Bake at 375°F:30 min (conventional oven) ; Bake at 350°F:45 min (toaster oven)

While the cake baked, I made the glaze using a bit more of the organic sugar and lemon juice. It wasn’t confectioner’s sugar but still delicious!

The final product from the oven! The cake turned out wonderfully with the nicely browned outside. After letting it sit and cool, I poured the glaze over it and added some blackberries for garnish and flavor.

The cake really was delicious! The flavor was all there and the blackberries definitely added to it. It was a bit on the crumble-y side for me, so next time I’ll be adding milk or using less butter. Otherwise, this cake was a perfect way to end the July 4th weekend!

I spent the 4th making fish taquitos and salsa with a side of melon for my family! Instead of watching the fireworks, which have gotten a bit less exciting as I’ve grown older, I watched the movie Unforgiven with my dad. It’s always good to spend time with him. And though he’s approved of such movies like From Paris with Love*, it’s also good to know that he has good taste in movies with this Eastwood/Morgan western.