Coffee Poppy Seed Cake

Here comes one for all the coffee lovers. Beware, this cake is rather rich, so cut it in thin slices when you serve it. Its flavour is wonderful, not to speak of the texture! The poppy seeds, soaked in sour cream, and the coffee-sugar-glaze make this cake very moist. A total winner! And there is a way to make it even better: with the addition of coffee liquor (thanks for the idea Alex!). Just drizzle a bit of it over your piece of cake. Next time I bake it, I will probably add some Kahlua to the glaze already.

Recipe
(from: here)

100g poppy seeds
80g sour cream
150g butter, softened, plus a little more for greasing the tin
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
40ml espresso

For the icing:
50ml espresso
125g icing sugar, sifted

Soak the poppy seeds in the sour cream for two hours or overnight.

Heat the oven to 170°C. Lightly butter a loose-bottomed 22cm cake tin (I baked it in a 20cm tin and it worked out perfectly), line the base with baking parchment and butter the paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition (add a spoonful of flour if it looks as if it might separate). Mix in the vanilla and coffee. Fold in the flour, alternating with the sour cream and poppy seeds, mixing until just combined. Do not overbeat.

Spoon into the tin, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out on to a rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, beat together the espresso and icing sugar until smooth, and pour over the cake. (I did that while the cake was still warm.)