Makowiec (Polish cake)

Here is a Polish poppyseed cake my grandmother and mum often make for occasions. I tried to make it for the first time the other day…now’s your turn!

The Ingredients (for 8-10 people)

The pastry

– 200 g flour (1,6 cup)

– 80 g butter (1/3 cup)

– 25 g fresh yeast (that you buy at your local bakery)

– 1/2 glass of milk

– lemon’s zest

– salt

– 1 egg

– 1 egg yolk

– 2 tbs sugar

The filling

– 200 g poppyseed

– 100 g raisins

– 50 g candied orange peel

– 50 g almonds

– 80 g butter (1/3 cup)

– 2 eggs

– 100 g honey

– 100 g sugar (1/2 cup)

– 1 vanilla pod

– 1/2 L milk (2 cups)

– 1 tbs cognac or rhum (optional)

The Recipe

Preparation – 40 min

Cooking time – 1h40

Clean the poppyseed. Cover it with 1/2L of hot milk, and heat it for 30 minutes. Drain the seeds and crush them in a mortar or in a coffee grind.
In a saucepan, place the honey, crushed vanilla pod, butter for the filling, raisins, crushed almonds, orange Dans une casserole mettre le miel, la gousse de vanille pilée, le beurre pour la farce, les raisins, les amandes hachées, poppyseed and orange peel. Mix all those ingredients.
Cook for 20 minutes at low heat.
Beat the 2 egg yolks with the sugar, and add them in the saucepan that will be off fire. Beat the eggwhites until stiff and add them to the mixture.
Prepare the pastry. Dilute the fresh yeast into some hot milk. Put the flour into a bowl and make a well.
Put the butter in, the egg and egg yolk, sugar, some salt, lemon zest, and the yeast in the middle.
Mix those ingredients thoroughly with a knife, and then shape it until it is soft and shiny.
Spread the pastry down with a rolling pin (flour helps!), in a 5mm thickness and rectangle shape.
Put a thick layer of poppyseed filling on it. Roll it delicately and put it into a buttered cake mold.
Put in a warm place for 1 hours, then glaze it with egg yolk and bake at 220°C (th 6/7) for 50 min.

20/10/2010
Makowiec (Polish cake)