How do you celebrate your birthday? For me, it varies from year to year, but there’s never been a year without dessert. I’ve always been a pie over cake kinda’ girl and have often asked for pie for my birthday. But when I was a child, first my grandmother and then my mom would make the most amazing cake I’ve ever had – Poppy Seed Cake.
I have not had that cake in many, many years. As I thought about what I wanted this year, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Yes, I want this rich, whipped cream smothered Poppy Seed Cake for my 60th birthday.
My parents and siblings circa 1960. That’s me in the front seat – far left – I would have been 3 1/2. My grandmother is on the porch and some neighborhood girls are in the background.
Several years ago my sister did the most amazing thing. She created a book for our family with recipes that my grandmother, mom, and aunts had prepared over the years. If not for that, I’m afraid that the Poppy Seed Cake recipe and many others would be lost forever.
It’s ma’ birthday and I’m gonna’ eat sugar, but I did take care to adjust the recipe so that it contains less sugar than the original. I’ve made a few other adjustments to make it a little healthier and I used pastured butter, eggs, and cream, and organic ingredients. What a totally amazing cake!
“A Party Without a Cake is Just a Meeting” – Julia Child
The childhood celebrations of my birthday made me feel special. It wasn’t every day that we had cake. And they were all homemade with love by my mom. I treasure those memories.
I personally have no problem including something with sugar on special occasions. Because sugar isn’t an everyday thing in our home, these treats say “this is special”. That’s why I love Quinn Veon’s approach to cake in her Reformation Acres cookbook, Cake Stand: Fresh From the Market Farmstead Cakes.
Quinn has a healthy attitude about the place of cake in our lives. She says, “It’s not so much the piece of cake that will matter to your overall health and well-being, but what you eat the rest of the time.”
With recipes like Strawberry Chamomile Cake and Sweet Potato Molasses Cupcakes, Cake Stand: Fresh From the Market Farmstead Cakes is creative cake baking at its best.
Interested in poppy seeds? Check out these other posts for growing them and using them:
How to Grow, Harvest and Use Poppy Seeds
Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cream Cookies
Kale Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Dandelion Scrub Soap with Poppy Seeds
Other Desserts You’ll Love
Ube Cake (Filipino Purple Yam Cake) from The Unlikely Baker – this one caught my attention because we have Filipino neighbors and we love everything they make. I have to ask them about this.
Homemade Parsnip Cake with Orange Whipped Cream
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1/3 cup poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup to soak seeds, 1 cup for cake
- 4 egg whites stiffly beaten
For the cream filling
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup cream
- 4 egg yolks slightly beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- For the whipped cream icing
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream cold
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup cold
Instructions
For the cake
- Soak the poppy seed in 1/2 cup of water for 2 hours. Drain.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add poppy seeds to creamed mixture.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and sea salt in a separate bowl.
- Alternate adding 1 cup of water a little at a time, and flour mixture to creamed mixture, stirring with each addition.
- Carefully fold in egg whites.
- Line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment circles. Grease with butter and dust the bottom and sides with flour, tapping out the excess.
- Pour batter into the 2 cake pans.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 - 35 minutes.
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
For the cream filling
- Mix sugar, arrowroot, sea salt and cream in the top pot of a double boiler.
- Place the pot on direct medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.
- Remove from heat. Pour a little of the hot mixture over the beaten egg yolks to begin pre-heating them. Blend the yolks into the hot mixture. Now place the pot into the bottom pot of the double boiler and cook over boiling water, stirring until thick, about 3 - 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract. Chill until the cream filling sets.
- For the whipped cream icing
- Beat heavy whipping cream with the maple syrup until stiff peaks form. Be sure that the cream, the syrup, the bowl and the beaters are all very cold to insure success.
- To assemble cake
- Place one cake layer on your serving platter. Spread the cooled cream filling on top of that layer. Top with the second layer of cake. Frost the entire cake with the whipped cream icing.
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
Renee Kohley says
This is so beautiful! Happiest of birthdays to you!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you so much, Renee. We really enjoyed the cake!!!
Kim Hislop says
Happy Birthday, Susan! Thank you for the wonderful story of your birthday celebration, the recipe, and pictures. Have the most wonderful of days and brand new year. I am sure that we will all be celebrating you tomorrow.
Susan Vinskofski says
You are so sweet, Kim; thank you so much!!!
carolyn says
Happy Birthday Susan YAY.
Enjoy the cake 🙂
Loved the picture of you in the car…happy days.
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Carolyn. That’s always been one of my favorite pics!!!
Mary Truitt says
Happy b’day, Susan!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you so much, friend!!!
Courtney says
Happy birthday! This is such a lovely cake!!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Courtney. It tastes even better than it looks!!!
Devona says
Happy Birthday! your cake is simply beautiful.
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Devona. It’s soooo delicious; I want it to be my birthday more often. 😉
Barbara Murphy says
I too am 60 years old and poppy seed cake was an important part of my childhood!! My mom used the recipe off the solo poppy seed can and dusted the cake with powdered sugar…..loved it. Your recipe brings back such great memories and I am dying to try this one. I am following a low carb/keto diet and I think I can tweak this somewhat using stevia and a mixture of low carb flours. Happy Birthday.
Susan Vinskofski says
Yay for 60, Barbara! I’d love to hear how the cake turns out if you tweak it!!!
Emily Boyles says
That looks so yummy! I will be trying this soon!
Susan Vinskofski says
I can’t wait for you to tell me how you love it, Emily! lol.
Kathy Lee says
A belated Happy Birthday to you!
Thank you for the recipe! I am going to make it for my mother-in-law on her next birthday, 84th!
She loves to get Poppy Seed kolaches, so she will be so surprised when I come up with this cake!
Many blessings!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Kathy. That sounds like a wonderful idea. I grew up on poppy seed kolache – so delicious!!!
Quinn says
It was such fun seeing your childhood photo! Sweet happy little girl! You look very much like your beautiful mama. Happy, happy birthday Susan!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you so much, Quinn!!
Kathi says
Ooooh, I love poppy seed muffins, I bet this cake is amazing. Thank you for sharing the recipe.