Poppy Seed Cake with Raspberry Puree Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 c. sugar

2 lg. eggs

1/2 c. sour cream

1/3 c. poppy seeds

1/4 c. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp. grated orange rind

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

Powdered sugar, sifted over the top of the cake

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the removable inside of a tube cake pan and dust it with flour. Shake out excess flour.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in, one at a time, beating well after each egg is added. Beat into the mixture the sour cream, the poppy seeds, the orange juice and orange rind and vanilla. Sift the flour and other dry ingredients together and add to the batter mix, incorporating well. Pour into the tube cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the inside tube section of the pan so that the cake can cool completely. At that time, transfer to a cake plate and sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake.

Raspberry Puree: Allow frozen raspberries to thaw, then pulse in a blender until liquified. You may wish to add 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar or 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier liqueur. Force the puree through a fine sieve to remove the berry seeds.

Place 2 tablespoons of raspberry sauce on each dessert plate. Top with a slice of poppyseed cake and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Yield: 8 Servings.