Hi everyone!

Today, I’m tackling the 3rd recipe from Claire Saffitz‘s book, Dessert Person.

I’m making Poppy Seed Almond Cake.

This is another simple recipe that can be made any time of year.  Like the last one, this recipe is *not* dairy-free (it uses whole-milk).

This one was really fun to make because it involved a bundt pan instead of a loaf pan.  It was my first time using the pan, and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Necessary equipment includes a digital food scale, bundt pan, stand-mixer or hand-mixer (or both), offset spatula, brush, small strainer or flour duster, toothpicks, drying rack, and a sheet pan with parchment paper.

And here are all the ingredients.

You will need…

• some neutral oil for the pan
• all-purpose flour for the pan
• 465g granulated sugar
• 17g poppy seeds
• 6g baking powder
• 3g kosher salt
• 390g all-purpose flour
• 360g whole-milk
• 288g neutral oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp almond extract

And for the glaze, you will need…

• 90g powdered sugar
• 57g orange air
• 2 tsp melted butter
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract

Okay, let’s get started.

Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare your bundt pan.  Brush it with oil, and then dust it with some flour.  Turn it over and give it a few taps to get rid of the excess.

This recipe was actually easier than the other two, because the cake itself was mixed using a stand mixer.  It was so easy!  I added all the ingredients (dry and wet) to the bowl, set it up on the mixer with the beater attachment, and 2 minutes later the batter was all done!

Then you slowly pour in the batter (a rubber spatula comes in real handy here) and pop it into the oven for 80 to 90 minutes.  85 minutes did it for me, but I did the toothpick test to make sure it was cooked all the way through.  Poke a toothpick deep into the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s done!

After it’s out of the oven, let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes. 

Then, with an oven mitt on one hand, use the offset spatula to cut down on the inner edges of the pan.  If you’re using a fancy bundt pan like mine with a lot of edges, make sure you get all of them.

Using both oven mitts, invert the pan onto a wire rack.  If it doesn’t slide right out, you can tap the rack against the counter to release the cake.

Set your pan aside and grab another toothpick.  Poke holes alllll over the top of the cake.  This is so it can absorb the glaze.  Then, set the rack on top of the pan with the parchment paper and set aside.

Time to make the glaze!  In the medium bowl, pour in the

• powdered sugar
• orange juice
• melted butter
• vanilla extract
• and almond extract

Grab your hand mixer (or a whisk) and mix until nice and smooth.

Brush the glaze all over the top of the cake.  The pan underneath will catch all the drippings.  If you want, you can collect the dripped glaze and brush it back over the cake.

Now for the hardest part: let it cool completely before testing. 

Time to test!  I don’t know if it was the ingredients or the glaze, but the cake is really tender.  The flavor of the poppy seeds and almond extract really comes out too.  If you don’t like the taste of almonds, this is not the cake for you. 

It was really fun to eat with the cool design and easy to know where to slice.  This one was my boyfriend’s favorite by far.  We shared the other ones with family and friends, but he wanted to keep this one all to our ourselves.

If you made this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments!  I’ll be back next time, with another recipe from Dessert Person.

Bon Appétit!

Katrina