Orange and Poppy Cake

I hope that I never truly grow old, you know. Child-like candidness, joy, and lightness have always been a part of me. Baking is a dear hobby of mine, and it has been the perfect excuse to act a bit childishly! It’s really not that big of a deal if the result looks different from the book’s picture or that photo on Pinterest you saved. The most important thing is that you enjoy the process.

When it comes to decorating, there are no limits. I rarely make exact plans, especially in the kitchen. I want to leave room for creativity. This time my cake turned out a bit outrageous and I loved it!

CHRISTMAS CAKE

2 oranges (peel and juice)
30 g poppy seeds
100 ml of milk
200 g of room temp butter
175 g of sugar
3 eggs
300 g of flour
1 tsp of baking powder

Frosting:
2 dl of powdered sugar
1 tbsp of water
1 tbsp of lemon juice
2–3 tbsp of unflavored cream cheese
A splash of Amaretto

Decoration:
Fresh figs
Almond chips

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Place the poppy seeds and milk together in a bowl. Mix the butter, orange peel, and sugar in a separate bowl, using an electric mixer until the mixture is light in texture. Whisk the eggs in and add them gently into the mix. Use a strainer to add the flour and baking powder and finish off by adding the poppy seed/milk mix. Mix well and pour the dough into a prepared bread form.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Once you take the cake out of the oven, let it cool before removing it from the form.

Pour the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp of the lemon juice, and slowly add the rest whilst mixing gently. Add the cream cheese and mix well. You determine how thick you want the frosting to be: if the frosting seems too runny, add powdered sugar; if it’s too thick, add water.

Use a palette knife to spread the frosting on the cake. Decorate with fresh figs, almond chips, and some edible flours.