Prep Time ~20 mins Cooking Time ~40 mins
Approx Cost ~£4.00
Difficulty ~Easy
Freeze ~No
Serves ~6
Tip ~ Instead of making one large cake, the mixture could be put into muffin cases and cooked for slightly less time.
Ingredients
165g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, save the juice for the icing
30g poppy seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
200g self raising flour
140ml milk
3 egg whites
For the icing:
125g icing sugar
Juice 1 lemon (or 1/2 an orange)
10g poppy seeds
You will need: 16cm round cake tin, greased with butter and base lined with baking parchment.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160C, Gas mark 3.
- Place the softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, beat until pale and fluffy using an electric hand mixer.
- Add the lemon zest, poppy seeds and vanilla essence and mix through to combine.
- Add half of the flour and mix, alternating with half the milk, until all is incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage.
- Stir a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture to lighten it, and then fold in the remainder. Transfer the cake mixture to the prepared tin.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until firm to the touch and when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin, and then transfer to a cooling rack, peeling off the baking parchment.
- Place the cake on a serving plate.
- Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice to form a smooth paste. Spoon onto the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.