My first cake in probably 35 years! Don’t ask what got into me. I just remember scrolling through Twitter one night (when I should have been asleep) and this caught my eye because I had recently, and inexplicably, bought some poppy seeds. I don’t know what I was thinking (re: poppy seed purchase). Perhaps that I would try some kind of savoury biscuit with them? Anyhow, this recipe also appealed because LEMONS. And it also looked like something nice to have for breakfast.

Full disclosure. I don’t really like cake. Or sweet things in general. I mean, I don’t hate them, I just don’t seek them out, let alone make them at home. I think I stopped baking sweet things back in Toronto, where my Christmas shortbread was legendary. If you were lucky enough to be my friend back then, you know exactly what I mean. But even many many years before that, when I would bake this or that, I always cut down the sugar, often as much as by half. And guess what? The finished product was always perfectly sweet, at least for my taste.

Off piste ramble… I also remember back then that diet soft drinks were the same drinks with half the sugar. And they tasted way better to me. Then they came up the cancer-inducing artificial sweeteners that made the drinks taste way too sweet. That was also when I stopped drinking soft drinks (late 1980s?).

Anyhow, in this case I cut the sugar by a third, from 225 grams to 150 grams. I also used greek yoghurt instead of regular plain yoghurt. I suppose sour cream would also work well. And can I tell you? I was so thrilled with the result. My plan was to make it as a “breakfast cake” option and it was perfect. Tasty, lemony, not too sweet, lovely and moist with a bit of a crust. Also POPPY SEEDS. So hell yeah, will be making this a lot now.

Ingredients and instructions below…

• • 60 ml milk
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 125 gr natural greek yoghurt
  • 80 ml sunflower oil
  • 150 gr sugar (225 gr if you prefer a sweeter cake)
  • zest of 3 lemons
  • 60 ml lemon juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 200 gr pastry flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • butter for greasing pan

   

Grease and flour a 25 cm baking tin and preheat oven to 180ºC (heat top and bottom).In a saucepan, heat the milk with the poppy seeds until it comes to a boil. Set aside and let it infuse while it cools and you prepare the batter.

In a bowl, mix the yoghurt, sunflower oil, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs and milk with the poppy seeds. Whisk together until well blended.

Add the flour mixed with the baking powder and salt a bit at a time, mixing well with each addition.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until when a toothpick it comes out clean. I actually turned the heat to bottom only after about 25 minutes and took it out at 40 minutes, but your oven may vary.

Leave for five minutes to cool in the tin and then transfer to a wire rack.