Well this is all a bit fucked isn’t it?

I suppose some comfort baking and comforting eating are in order. So have at it. Light, fluffy sponge, flecked with poppy seeds and drenched in a citrus syrup. Eat warm. With cream. With hands. Who cares at this point? Oh and theres booze in it. Here I’d usually write optional but come on. I won’t mention the potential of the poppy seed either…

Ingredients

125 grams unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

2 cups self raising flour

zest and juice of one orange (1/2 reserved for syrup)

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons poppyseeds

Syrup

1 cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons orange liquor

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

the zest and juice of one small lemon

the reserved 1/2 orange juice and zest

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a 20cm cake tin.

In a small bowl, mix together the poppyseeds and buttermilk.

Set this aside and get on with the cake.

In a bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Oh and add1/2 of the orange zest too.

Next, plop in the eggs one at a time, combining thoroughly after each addition.

Sift in the flour, alternately with the poppy seed buttermilk mixture.

Next add the orange juice to your cake batter and combine.

Transfer your cake mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

While the cake is baking, add the syrup ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Try not to move the mixture around once it reaches boiling point to avoid any crystallisation.  You’re fine to mix it before this stage. Take a swig of liquor while you’re here.

Boil the syrup until it reduces to half its volume and set aside to cool.

Once the cake is baked, pull it out of the oven and poke some holes in it. This will help the cake soak up as much of the syrup as possible.

Next, pour the cooled syrup over the cake, drenching it.

Allow the cake to sit for 30 minutes before getting into it, or let it cool completely. It’s up to you. It’s up to the state of your mental health.

Cream not optional I’m sorry.

Stay safe, stay home and stay caked-up.

Happy Baking

Yak x