Marbled poppy seed & semolina cake

Name: Marbled poppy seed & semolina cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 500 ml baked milk kefir or natural kefir yogurt; 200 g semolina; 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 50 g poppy seeds; 2 eggs; 200 ml unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 unwaxed lemon, zest; 160 g plain flour; Crème fraîche or whipped cream, to serve (optional); 200 g golden caster sugar; ½ tsp salt

Oia Hercules says; "This cake is light and not too sweet. Crushing the poppy seads teases out the flavour, and a touch of vanilla and lemon complement their earthy, nutty character. In Ukraine we eat it plain, perhaps with coffee for breakfast, but my British husband Joe insists on serving some kind of cream alongside which transforms it into more of a pudding."

4 out of 5 stars(4) Rate this recipe

Serves10
CourseCake
Prepare25 mins
Cook1 hr 10 mins
Total time1 hr 35 mins
Plusresting + cooling

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Ingredients

500ml baked milk kefir or natural kefir yogurt
200g semolina
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g poppy seeds
2 eggs
200ml unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 unwaxed lemon, zest
160g plain flour
Crème fraîche or whipped cream, to serve (optional)
200g golden caster sugar
½ tsp salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 170ºC, gas mark 3. Grease and line a 20cm round springform cake tin. In a large bowl, mix the kefir (or natural kefir yogurt), semolina and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda together and leave to stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly toast the poppy seeds, then tip into a mortar (or a coffee or spice grinder) and use a pestle to grind them as finely as possible. You may need to do this in batches.
Add the eggs, sugar, salt, melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest and remaining 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda to the kefir mixture. Mix together, then fold in the flour. Transfer ¼ of this mixture to a small bowl and fold in the ground poppy seeds. Tip ½ the remaining batter into the prepared tin, then dot over ½ the poppy seed mixture. Use a palette knife to swirl it into the mixture to create a marbled effect. Repeat with the remaining batters on top.
Bake for 55 minutes - 1 hour 10 minutes, covering with foil after 40 minutes, until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving