Hunkered down and making poppy-seed cake
I dredged up the poppy-seed cake recipe from memory.
Hi there!
It has been awhile, and I can’t say that I’m back at blogging for Small Plates, but today I made a cake that has been in the family files since 1972. It was a recipe that my mother-in-law used after her sister sent it to her from Virginia.
Hunkering down to avoid COVID-19 is making me think of food and days gone by. I knew I had everything on hand. I had made this poppy-seed cake so many times in the 1970s that it was etched in my memory.
That’s a good thing: I looked for my handwritten recipe, and when I couldn’t find it, I gave it a try from memory. No. 2 son said the result was just as he remembered. I used whipping cream as the topping, maybe better than a cream cheese frosting, and I happened to have a few raspberries in the fridge.
All this is making me want a cup of coffee. Stay safe and healthy, Small Plates readers.
Aunt Claire’s poppy-seed cake
2 sticks of softened butter
1-1/2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 jar of poppy seeds
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth. Throw in the vanilla.
Sift together the baking powder, salt and flour. Add the poppy seeds. Alternate the flour and the sour cream, beating at low speed.
I poured the batter into a 13- x 18-inch pan and baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I think I should have used a 9- x 9-inch square pan. My cake was pretty thin. As I recall, you can use a bundt pan or two 8-inch round cake pans, but adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Janet Cleaveland
What happens when a retired journalist spends a lot more time in the kitchen than in past years? She tries new dishes and jumps at the chance to write a blog about food, family and good times. My kids are grown now, but I'll be looking back at how they learned to cook, what recipes my husband (the Intrepid One) and I are experimenting with, and how food and conversation make for happy times in the kitchen. I worked for The Columbian for 15 years as a copy editor and another 10 elsewhere, though I didn't start out as a journalist. I thought I wanted to teach English literature. My husband grew up in Clark County, and I've lived here since 1983. My kids have grown and left home. Like my husband of 52 years, our adopted chocolate Lab would never pass up a chance for a tasty meal.