Orange And Poppy Seed Sheet Cake Recipes

ORANGE AND POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, poppy seeds and orange zest. Stir briefly to combine.
• In a separate bowl, add orange juice, oil, eggs and vanilla. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, along with the yogurt and milk, and gently mix until combined - but be careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into prepared tin.
• Bake cake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and continue to beat until smooth.
• Add orange juice and mix until frosting is creamy. Taste and add extra orange juice if needed. Generously frost the top of the cake. Scatter over fresh orange zest.

ORANGE & POPPY SEED CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm springform cake tin or line a similar-size cake tin with baking paper. Using an electric mixer, combine 200g butter and 200g sugar in a large bowl. Beat until light and creamy, about 2 mins, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after you add each one. Tip in the flour and baking powder, mix for a few secs, then add the orange juice, zest of 2 oranges and poppy seeds. Stir everything together, then pour into the cake tin. Bake for 50 mins, then remove from the oven. Cool completely in the tin.
• Meanwhile, make the candied orange zest by combining the remaining zest (finely sliced), 25g sugar and 100ml water in a small pan. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins until thick. Remove the zest with a slotted spoon onto a sheet of non-stick baking paper.
• For the sauce, heat the cream in a small pan until nearly boiling. Put the chocolate and remaining butter into a bowl, then pour the hot cream over it and leave for 1 min to melt. Stir together until smooth, then let it sit until the cake is cool (if it hardens, just reheat gently). Drizzle the sauce over the cake, sprinkle with the candied zest and serve.

TOM'S ORANGE & POPPYSEED CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Thinly slice the unpeeled oranges then put them in a saucepan with 400ml/14fl oz water and the sugar. Stir everything around and poach the oranges, covered, over a medium heat for 20 minutes until the pith feels soft when tested with a sharp knife. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin and arrange the nicest poached orange slices (about seven) in the bottom. Strain the remaining orange slices, keeping the poaching liquid. Purée 100g/4oz of the oranges together with 75ml/21⁄2 fl oz of the liquid, to make a smooth mixture (a hand blender is great for this).
• To make the cake, mix the flour, baking powder, almonds and poppy seeds together and put aside. Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar until the mixture looks like softly whipped cream. This will take 5-7 minutes. Immediately fold in the orange purée very gently using a spatula, so you don't knock out all the air.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the foamy orange mix, stopping as soon as it's combined. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Test with a skewer - if it comes out clean from the centre, the cake is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool, turn the cake out so the orange slices are uppermost.
• While the cake is cooling, make the curd. Beat the eggs with the orange and lemon juices, then strain into a bowl. Add the sugar, butter and orange and lemon zest, then place the bowl over a pan one-third full of boiling water. Stir over the heat until the mixture thickens - it's ready when it thickly coats the back of your spoon (this could take up to 30 minutes, so be patient). Leave to cool.
• Cut the cake across twice, into three sections. Brush middle and bottom layers with some of the leftover syrup. Divide the curd between the layers and spread it out, then sandwich all three sections together. Brush the top with more syrup. Let the cake sit for a few hours to allow flavours to develop. It keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge