Mom's Poppy Seed Cake

My grandmother used to make this every year at Christmas time; she glazed it with powder sugar frosting and would make a sprig of holly with candied fruits on the top of it. I miss making the cake with her but keep the tradition. Her cooking really made the holidays.

Poppy Seed Cake

1 can Solo poppy seed FILLING (if unable to find filling in your area, see the recipe below)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. butter or margine
1 c. sour cream
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soca

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add poppy filling. Add eggs yoks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in vanilla and sour cream. Sift together flour, soda and salt, add gradually to poppy mixture, beating well after each addition. Fold in stiffly bean egg whites. Pour into greased 9 or 10" tube pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Cool about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

I will be attempting a "clean" version of this cake this year so here are the changes I will make. Thanks to Lisa at Gluten Free Goodies http://www.glutenfreefoodies.blogspot.com/ for the following suggestions:

This sounds wonderful. I think you might need all of the eggs for this. I understand why you want to cut the yolks out. You could always use a Gluten Free egg replacer (I will be using this now that grocery store has stocked it) or flaxseed and water.

For the sour cream, maybe consider Turtle Mountain's Coconut Kieffer (Cultured Milk)
http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/cultured_coconut_milk_landing.html
use 3/4 cups or Coconut plain yogurt use equal amounts 1 cup.

I like Earth Balance non dairy butter. (I use this already so no problem there)
I don't use agave but love honey or palm sugar. (I use agave primarily but will try palm sugar for this recipe).

Paulissa's note: I will use King Arthur gluten free flour for this recipe. I hope the results are good. I'll blog about this experiment, good or bad, once I've tried it.

Original Recipe Yield 2 cups of filling

SOURCE: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/hungarian-poppy-seed-filling/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

1/2 pound poppy seeds, if not already ground
1 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of cloves

Directions

1. Grind the poppy seeds in a mill or coffee grinder.
2. Combine the milk, margarine, and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on low heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Gradually pour about half of the hot milk into the beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Return the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan.
3. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a metal spoon. (Run your finger down the coated spoon: it should draw a clear line.) Add the poppy seeds and spices, stir well to blend.
4. Remove from heat; cool before using. Store unused filling in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Footnotes

• A half pound of poppy seeds equals a little more than 1 1/2 cups. Cream or evaporated milk may be substituted for the milk in this recipe.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 152 | Total Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 24mg