Poppyseed lemon loaf

After making the delicious cranberry orange loaf the other day, I realised I needed to invest in a slightly larger loaf tin. It’s just that the one I had until now was a very small one, and although the cranberry loaf raised to the occasion, I could see that it was struggling for space. So I got a larger one from Tesco that looks sturdy and solid enough to last me for a while. This poppyseed lemon loaf was the first cake to be baked in my new loaf tin.

A recipe from the ‘White Christmas’ special issue of Estonian family journal Pere ja Kodu (December 2001). This indicates that it’s highly suitable for Christmas table (we’re supposed to have seven different cakes on Christmas table traditionally). However, I cannot think of a single reason why it wouldn’t be a nice addition to any other coffee table. The lemony tartness is universally tasty, even in the middle of the summer.

Poppyseed lemon loaf
(Sidruni-moonikeeks)
Serves 10



Cake:
125 grams of butter, room temperature
250 ml sugar
2 eggs
350 ml plain flour, sifted
3 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp baking powder
0.25 tsp salt
50 ml milk

Lemon syrup:
75 ml sugar
5 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Cream the softened butter with sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating them into the batter by whisking.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, poppy seeds, lemon zest, baking powder and salt.
Add milk and dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture.
Stir into a dough, pour into a buttered and floured (I use semolina for this purpose) 2 pound loaf tin.
Bake at 160˚C for 60 minutes.

For the syrup, heat the sugar, lemon juice and zest in a small saucepan on a low heat until boiling. Stir, until sugar dissolves and you get slightly sticky syrup.

Test if the loaf is baked, using a wooden stick. If it’s done, take out of the oven.
Now make ca 12 holes into the cake with the wooden stick, all the way to the bottom. Pour over the lemon syrup. Leave it to cool for half an hour.



Remove the cake from the tin and let it cool completely. Wrap in a foil and leave it for at least overnight, so the flavours could develop.