Poppy Seed Milk Recipes

POPPY SEED CAKE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the poppy seeds and milk. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to rest until cool, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a large loaf or tube pan by greasing it with margarine and lightly flouring the inside of the pan.
• In bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and poppy seed-milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well; remove bowl from mixer and set aside.
• Place a clean bowl in mixer, with a whisk attachment, and whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 15 minutes. When cool, dust cake with confectioners' sugar.

POPPY SEED BREAD I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
• Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and soda in a mixing bowl. Add vanilla, milk, eggs, and oil. Beat for five minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the poppy seeds. Pour batter into loaf pans.
• Bake for one hour. Cool on wire racks.

LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Lightly grease a muffin tin.
• Combine the flour, 3/4 cup white sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate bowl mix the eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil and lemon zest. Blend well and pour over the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do no overmix!
• Spoon batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 minutes.
• Combine the lemon juice with the remaining 3 tablespoons white sugar. Stir into sugar dissolves.
• Once the muffins are baked pierce the tops several times with a toothpick. Slowly pour about 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and sugar mixture over the tops of each muffin. Let muffins cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing them from the tin.

HOMEMADE POPPY SEED FILLING FOR MAKOWIEC AND OTHER CAKES

Steps:

• To get rid of any impurities, soak poppy seeds in water first. Collect any dirt that floats to the top with a slotted spoon.
• Rinse the poppy seeds and drain them on a sieve lined with gauze (cheese cloth or a muslin square). It can stay there for up to an hour if you're doing something else in the meantime.
• [Raisins] Rinse raisins under running water. Place them in a small bowl and pour 2-3 tablespoons of almond spirit or golden rum over them. Cover the bowl with a small plate and set aside.
• [Fresh Orange Peel] Chop fresh orange peel (finely) and set aside.
• Pour 2.5 cups of milk into a cooking pot (1.5 qt / litre pot should be large enough) and bring it to boil.
• Drop all the poppy seeds in. Are they fully submerged in milk? If not, pour in some more.
• Reduce the heat to 'low' and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Poppy seeds absorb the milk quite a bit, so make sure there's enough of it.
• Drain the poppy seeds on a sieve lined with gauze, cheese cloth or a muslin square. If you can, try to squeeze out as much milk as possible.
• Using a disc with the smallest holes, grind the poppy seeds 2 to 3 times.
• Separate yolks from egg whites. Whisk yolks together with 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar, set aside.
• Place chopped walnuts and almonds in a wide pot (or a deep frying pan). Add a pinch of salt and roast them for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat, not allowing the nuts to burn.
• Add in 2 sticks of butter. Add 4 tablespoons of honey and 4 tablespoons of chopped orange peel. Let the orange peel fry for a bit, a few minutes is enough.
• Add in ground poppy seeds, chopped dried fruit and alcohol-soaked raisins. Mix everything together with a spatula, gradually adding egg yolks mixed with powdered sugar. Take the pot off the heat.
• Whip the remaining egg whites until stiff, adding 5 tablespoons of powdered sugar near the end of whipping. Gently add them into the poppy mass.
• And we're done! The poppy seed filling is ready to use in 'Makowiec' (Polish Poppy Seed Roll) or another dessert.

HOW TO MAKE POPPYSEED FILLING (2 WAYS)

Steps:

• Rinse poppy seeds thoroughly in a fine mesh colander, then drain them and transfer to a medium sauce pan.
• Add 3 cups water to the pot. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. (Don't boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 minutes. Return to a simmer (don't boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes.
• Drain poppy seeds well through a colander or by keeping lid on and placing several layers of cheese cloth on lid to catch stray poppy seeds. Life is just easier when you use a fine mesh sieve.
• Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder, using the fine grinding plate. I use my KitchenAid food grinder attachment for my stand mixer. You can also use a coffee grinder and do it in smaller batches. Note: If using a meat grinder, you need to push firmly. The seeds won't grind well unless they are under pressure. P.S. I've tried putting them through a food processor and it did not work. Drain off excess liquid if any has accumulated in the bowl.
• Mix 8-10 ounces of sweetened condensed milk into ground poppy seeds. I like to add 10 oz. Add raisins if desired (depending on the recipe you're making). Store in tupperware and refrigerate until ready to use.

POPPY SEED MILK

Steps:

• Place the seeds in a 1 qt or 2 qt measuring cup, or a medium bowl. Add enough hot water to cover, about 3 cups. Allow the seeds to steep in the water for 10 minutes. A little longer shouldn't hurt.
• Transfer teh seeds and water to a working blender. Blend at high speed until very smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, arrange several layers of overlapping cheese cloth near a clan medium bowl. Spoon mixture into the cheesecloth, twist the cloth closed and squeeze over the new bowl.
• Discard the pulp from inside the cheesecloth and repeat procedure with remainging mixture in the blender. Whisk the sugar and extract into the milk, then refrigerate until chilled.