It's cake o'clock

After the birth of both my daughters, the nights were long and interrupted.I, like many other new mums, used this as an excuse for incorporating a daily, afternoon cake eating slot. Well i needed the energy of course, and so did my babies. In the early days i wasn't too fussy, so long as it was moist and chocolatey, or nutty,or both, or perhaps lemony, or coffee like. As a result, afternoon baking has become a regular fixture in our house partly for fun with a 3 year old but also because i love afternoon tea. The poppy seeds in this cake give a crunchy texture and while they are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids they are rumoured to have a soporiphic effect too.



poppy seed cake
130g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2 eggs
225g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
200g poppy seeds
1tbsp grated lemon rind
120ml milk
130g melted butter
2tbsp sunflower oil

• preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 23cm springform cake tin
• whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla for 4 minutes until pale and fluffy. stir in poppy seeds and lemon rind
• fold in the flour and baking powder in 3 batches alternating with the milk
• fold in the melted butter and oil
• pour into the tin and bake for 40 minutes