Before going to sleep, I like to read for a solid hour or so. Lately, my sleepy-time book of choice has been the Joy of Cooking. This actually is really inconvenient, because it makes me really hungry and excited about recipes right as I'm trying to wind down and get to sleep. A few days ago, I actually read the entire cake chapter. This had very serious consequences. While I was able to read some recipes and then move on, others stuck in my head like obsessions of a lovesick teenager.
One particular crush was lemon poppyseed cake. Usually I am a chocoholic, but sometimes the fruity things are just too irresistible! I had to have this cake! I kept thinking about it, day in and day out. I talked about it at school to my office-mate, to my friends, and to Steve. Steve isn't even a dessert fan, but I wanted him to get excited. In reality, no one's excitement could have matched my own. Finally, on Thursday night, I had to give into the temptation and make a cake. I tried to convince myself a chocolate cake would suffice because I didn't want to go to the store just to buy a few ingredients, but eventually I realized I had to make a lemon poppyseed cake in order to feel wholly satisfied.
Steve thought the cake was too lemony. I didn't. I guess we had different expectations. I am all about doing things all the way. I loved the cake, but I can understand how someone not excited about a lemon cake could be disappointed or overwhelmed by lemon. Lesson: do not make this cake unless you want something lemony!
The recipe (from Joy of Cooking) follows. Make sure all the ingredients are room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line the bottom of the pan (I used a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan) with parchment paper.
In a small- to medium-sized bowl, whisk together 3 large eggs, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 and 1/2 cups sifted cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons poppy seeds, 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Then, add half of the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Add 1 stick and 5 additional tablespoons of (room temperature) unsalted butter (13 tablespoons total). Bust out the beater and beat on the lowest setting just until the mixture has combined so that there is no dry powder left. Then, beat on high for precisely one minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the dry ingredients are mixed in. Then, add a half of the remaining egg mixture (so 1/4 of the total egg mixture), beat for 20 seconds, add the rest of the egg mixture, and beat an additional 20 seconds. Then, scrape the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick poked into the center emerges clean. This took my oven about 45 minutes. It got a nice golden-brown crust on top.
Right before the cake comes out of the oven, heat in a saucepan on low: 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup fresh strained lemon juice. The moment the cake comes out of the oven, poke the top everywhere with a wooden skewer, then slowly pour half the lemon-sugar syrup over the top of the cake. Make sure to pour slowly that it gets a chance to soak in, rather than just running off to the sides of the cake. Give the syrup soak ten minutes to soak in, then invert the cake onto a rack, poke it everywhere, and slowly pour the remaining syrup on. Let the cake cool, store it for 24 hours so that all the juices can soak in everywhere. Then EAT and be happy!!