Wednesday 30 March 2011

:: Orange & Poppy Seed Tea Cake ::

Orange & Poppy Seed Cake
:: Megann’s  Kitchen ::

:: orange & poppyseed cake with orange vanilla cream cheese frosting ::

This cake is refreshing & delightful. I decided to gather the best aspects from a few recipes to make a dense cake perfect for an afternoon tea. I love the texture of the cake - it originally was meant to have a syrup poured over it. The cake isn't light & fluffy at all, but full & wholesome. I also adore that the seeds "pop" in your mouth as you bite into it adding a fantastic textural element.
Last time my friend Heidi & her mother came for afternoon tea they had this cake & enjoyed it so much that they asked for the recipe, so when it was time to bake for her baby sprinkle it wasn’t even a question! I also knew that the neutral colours of the cake would be ideal for my theme.

cake
¼ cup black poppy seeds
¾ cup full cream milk
200 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 orange rind, zested with a microplane
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
½ cup orange juice
¾ cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 cups of plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder

icing
250 grams cream cheese, softened
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
1½ - 2 cups of soft icing sugar, sifted
  (taste for sweetness)
1 tbs orange rind


Preheat oven to 160°C. Pre-prepare a 20cm round, lined cake tin. Put the poppy seeds & milk into a jug, stir, then set aside on your workbench to start on the other ingredients. Place the butter, orange rind, vanilla paste & sugar into a bowl, then beat with an electric mixer/beaters until light, creamy & pale in colour. Add eggs, one by one, mixing between each one. Add sifted flour & baking powder, milk poppy seed mixture, orange juice, & mix until ingredients are just combined. Pour into prepared cake tin & bake for 50-60 mins, or until cake tested with a skewer.
Whilst the cake is cooling, prepare your cream cheese icing. Beat the cream cheese, butter & vanilla paste until smooth with electric mixer/beaters. Add icing sugar ½ cup at a time so you don’t end up with one big ‘poof’ of sugar in your kitchen. Finally, add orange rind. Combine.


:: orange & poppyseed cake for Heidi's baby shower ::


Party Style
:Use a palette icing knife to spread out the icing from the centre. You can either add a sprinkling of extra poppy seeds or orange rind on top, but this time I went for baby booties made of icing instead. Choose a ribbon the colour of your theme to go around the cake, it is such an easy touch but speaks volumes.


:: edible booties as a cake topper ::

Source
:Baby booties are from Cupids Cake Decorating Supplies
:I discovered a tutorial online for piping roses! It is by Australian Good Taste & I found it very helpful for piping iced roses onto a large cake.


:: orange & poppyseed cake with piped on flowers ::


Quick Kitchen
:To make a quick orange syrup to pour over the top instead of the icing, place 1 cup of Orange Marmalade Jam into a small saucepan with 1/4 cup of water. Heat til warm & well combined. Remove cake from cake tin, top-side up, onto a wire rack. Spoon half the syrup over a hot cake then allow to cool. Serve cake with double cream & remaining syrup.


26 comments:

  1. Could you explain how you did the piped on flowers look? That is really beautiful.

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    1. Absolutely Kathy - It was my first attempt so I thought I didn't have the skills available for a tutorial just yet! I made a stiff cream cheese icing & placed it into a piping bag with a x-large star nozzle. I piped the "roses" on first, starting from the centre & working my way out to make a large circle. I repeated this around the cake & another for the centre. I filled in any gaps & smoothed the sides with a palette knife or you could continue on with more roses. Simple really! I found this on youtube for you (there are many)... I hope it helps!
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6_0ZkJ19_k&feature=related

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  3. Do you have the recipe for the syrup that goes over the cake?

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    1. Syre thing! Sorry - I was away on holidays & unable to reply promptly.
      ORANGE SYRUP
      1 cup caster sugar
      3/4 cup orange juice
      1/4 cup cold water
      Combine sugar, orange juice and 1/4 cup cold water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low until it thickens slightly. Remove cake from cake tin, top-side up, on to a wire rack. Spoon half the syrup over a hot cake then allow to cool. Serve cake with double cream and remaining syrup.

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  4. Thanks Aimee - A beautiful cake with either the delicious cream cheese frosting or orange syrup (see above comment). Enjoy.

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  5. Is vanilla bean paste just what you scrap out of the vanilla bean or another product? I'm probably over thinking this.

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    1. In Australia, we have a product by Queens called "Vanilla Bean Paste" which is a vanilla bean impulsion in sugar syrup. You could easily substitute this with seeds from a vanilla bean or essential Vanilla Essence. Good luck.

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  6. Featuring your gorgeous cake as this week's Food Porn Friday recipe on my blog's sidebar. Oh and pinning! Thanks for the awesome recipe. I can't wait to try this.

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    1. Thank you so much! Good luck with the recipe, I hope that you like it as much as I do.

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  7. I featured this recipe over on my craft blog!

    http://www.allthatglitterscraft.com/2013/02/pinterest-picks-022613.html

    I'm currently baking it right now, and I can't explain how amazing my house smells! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!

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    1. Thanks Jessica! I am so glad you like it & nothing like an orange cake to fill the house with beautiful citrus freshness. Mmmmmm.....

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  8. hi megan, i tried this recipe yesterday and it came out devine! thanks for sharing it

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    1. Oooooohhhh! I am so glad. I love hearing about when things go well in the kitchen for my readers!!! What topping did you use? The cream cheese frosting or the syrup? Thank you for your feedback - I appreciate it. Good luck with more MK recipes in your kitchen.

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  9. I just made this for the first time today because it looked irresistable. but am i the only one who thinks that is a LOT of butter?! the finished product (with no frosting or glaze) has a delicious flavor but way too greasy in my opinion. Theres got to be another way to make it moist without so much butter. Any ideas?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the feedback Ashley,

      If you found it a little greasy, try pulling back the butter amount to 180 grams... I haven't tried this yet, so let me know! Recipes are great to play with & I often "tweak" them to my personal tastes or dietary needs. I don't think it should effect it too much with the 3 eggs for moisture. I shall also try it next time I make it.
      Another Orange Cake to try with NO butter or OIL is my Deliciously Moist Orange Cake - I have even made it with 2 cups of almond meal & 1/2 cup plain flour (I had run out of almond meal) & it worked beautifully. This is one of my favourites.

      Good luck in your kitchen at home!

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    2. Hey thanks for the reply, I need to add that a day later the consistency was just about perfect! It didn't seem too greasy after it sat for a while. Strange. Also what is almond meal, i don't think I've heard of it before.

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    3. You are right Ashley. The butter creates moisture while allowing the cake also to have a unique density. If reducing the butter, it reduces the texture slightly.
      ALMOND MEAL is simply finely ground almonds. It can me found in the baking or nut/seed section of your supermarket. I always buy it on "special" & have it in my pantry. You can make many great & also easy recipes with almond meal, especially for friends who have a gluten intolerance.
      ENJOY!

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  11. Do you use the juice from the orange you've zested for the recipe, or orange juice from a carton? I can't wait to try this recipe tomorrow!

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    1. Hey Liz, I usually use the juice from the orange that I have zested. However, if you have troubles making up the quantity you can always use the juice from a carton! Either option is fine. Good luck :)

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  12. Hey Megann!

    Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe with us! I just made it today and it's heavenly :) Have shared a link to your blog from mine (acheerychicken.blogspot.com) so my readers can enjoy it too.

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    1. Thank you so much Fiona!!! It is one of my favourites - poppy seeds add an element to a cake that are like biting into little black jewels. Love it! Enjoy :)

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  13. I just finally got around to making this off Pinterest and it is AMAZING. A definite keeper. Thanks for posting this!

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  14. It was my pleasure - it was posted a while ago but Pinterest has kept it alive! Thank you so much for taking the time for writing a response. I have been on "maternity leave" but shall have the blog back up and running soon! Yay!

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  15. Have you ever made this into cupcakes, and if so, how many does it make

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