The Prairie Cookbook
Poppyseed Cake
Makivnyk or Poppy Seed cake was another favorite of mine growing up. I love anything with poppy seeds so I was in a bit of withdrawal living in the Middle East for years. This is the recipe my aunt was able to get from my grandmother. It's a bit skimpy on detail. I've done a second recipe with a recipe from my mom that is slightly different. Neither have the icing sugar glaze I remember so well but that is easy enough to make.
Ingredients
1 package dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
¼ cup lukewarm water
½ cup lukewarm, scalded milk – brought to boil, then cooled slightly
½ cup sifted flour
¼ cup butter
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon rind
3 cups sifted flour
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Filling:
½ pound ground poppy seeds
1 tbsp lemon rind
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp orange juice
½ cup sugar or honey
Preparation
Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in lukewarm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Add the milk and ½ cup flour. Blend together butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 eggs, salt. Add to yeast mixture. Stir in vanilla, lemon rind and remaining 3 cups of flour. Knead 10 minutes. Dough will be soft. Place in greased bowl, cover with cloth and leave in warm spot until double in bulk.
Punch down and let rise again. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Brush with beaten egg white. Combine all the ingredients to make a smooth paste. When cool spread on roll. Roll into a roll. Place on greased baking sheet and let rise. Bake 10 minutes at 350 F, then reduce to 300 F for 50 minutes.Just before roll is done, brush top with remaining egg yolk.