Poppyseed Plum Cake

MAKES 1 TRAY

For the dough: 6 eggs, 2 egg whites, ¾ cup + 2½ tbsp (180 g) sugar, 2 ¾ oz (80 g) freshly ground poppy seeds, zest from 1 organic lemon, 1 pinch salt, (30 g) ground almonds, 4 cup (90 g) flour

For the filling: 7 oz (200 g) plum jam, rum as desired

For decorating: 1 organic lemon, ¼ cup (50 g) sugar, ½ cup + 1/3 cup (100 g) powdered sugar

Additional: parchment paper, sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C), unless you have a convection oven, in which case preheat to 320°F (160°C), or a gas oven, in which case preheat to level 3. Separate 4 eggs. In a bowl, beat 2 eggs, 4 egg yolks, and ½ cup + 1 tbsp (110 g) of sugar until creamy. Mix in poppy seeds, lemon zest, salt, almonds, and flour. Beat the remaining 6 egg whites with the rest of the sugar until stiff peaks form, and then fold in gently. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the dough out so it covers approximately two-thirds of the tray. Place into a preheated oven (middle rack), and bake the dough for about 15-20 minutes, until it is light brown. Take out of the oven, sprinkle sugar on a kitchen towel, throw the kitchen towel over the dough, and let cool completely.

For the filling, bring the plum jam to a boil in a pot and stir in rum to taste. Cut the cake down the middle horizontally using a sharp knife. Coat one half of the sheet of dough with the plum jam and place the other half of the dough on top. With a sharp knife, cut into ¾ in. x 1 in. (2 cm x 2½ cm) pieces.

For the decoration, rinse the lemon in hot water and cut very fine pieces of zest from it. Squeeze out the juice from one half of the fruit and set aside. In a pot, bring the sugar to a boil with 50 ml of water, add in the zest, and let cook for 12-15 minutes, until tender. Remove from the pot and drain using a sieve. In a small bowl, mix the sifted powdered sugar with a little lemon juice to form a spreadable glaze. Spread the pieces of cake with the glaze and garnish with lemon zest.

Those who would prefer something not quite as sweet can leave out the frosting and lemon zest and instead lightly sprinkle the cake slices with fine sugar.

 

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