Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients for cake:

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) dry poppy seeds
• ¾ cup (180 ml) milk
• ¾ cup (175 g) butter, at room temp
• 1½ cups (360 ml) sugar
• 2 cups (480 ml) flour
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 stiffly beaten egg whites (4 if eggs are large, else 5; keep yolks for filling); Frank adds ¼-½ teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the unbeaten egg whites, to help stiffening and stabilizing [Cream of Tartar or potassium bitartrate, also potassium hydrogen tartrate, is a component of baking powder: baking powder comprises baking soda and cream of tartar]

Ingredients for cream filling:

• ½ cups (4 table spoons, 60 ml) sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1½ cups (360 ml) milk
• 4 slightly beaten egg yolks [4 if eggs are large, else 5]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• best when made a day ahead

Instructions:

• soak the poppy seeds in the milk for 1 hour
• cream the butter
• add the sugar gradually, creaming until fluffy
• blend in the milk & poppy seed mixture, and the vanilla
• sift together the dry ingredients
• stir into the creamed mixture
• fold in the egg whites
• pour into two greased & floured cake pans (8 inch, round)
• bake in 375 °F (190 °C) oven for 20-25 minutes
• let cool for 10 minutesremove from pans and cool on rack
• split the cake layers
• spread cream filling between layers
• chill 2-3 hours
• dust with powdered sugar just before serving

Instruction for filling:

• in saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch
• in a bowl, mix milk with egg yolks, and gradually add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture,
• stirring well
• cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and bubbles
• cook 1 more minute
• stir in the vanilla
• allow to cool before filling cake layers [Christine Dörenberg]