Sweet Melissa Sundays – Whole Orange Poppy Seed Cake
This week Melissa of Lulu the Baker picked Whole Orange Poppy Seed Cake for us to make and what a great selection it was. This was actually one of the recipes that I thought of selecting for a couple of reasons. FIRST – I’m obsessed with anything lemon-poppy seed and was curious if that would carry over to something orange-poppy seed, which I had never had. SECOND – as the title describes, this recipe uses the entire orange. And by entire orange I mean the first step in the recipe is to cut an orange into 8 segments and put it through a food processor until the entire thing turns into pulp.
I’ve always known that citrus zest is incredibly flavorful, more so than juice. But with zesting they (aka the baking powers that be) always say never to take away any of the white pith below because it’s very bitter. Well, there was nothing bitter about this wonderful cake. Not only did it take like 10 minutes for me to measure and put together the cake but the flavor is phenomenal. The night I made it, my apartment was beautifully scented. And when I cut into it the first word out of my mouth was WOW. It has just the right balance of moisture, citrus and sweetness that would go perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee. And three days later (tightly wrapped in plastic wrap) it still tastes absolutely delicious. The recipe also calls for a glaze to pour over the cake while it is still warm. But since I’m usually not a glaze fan I opted out of it and the cake was STILL incredible.
Yet another winner from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. If you still don’t have a copy, go out and get it or click here for the recipe on Melissa’s blog.
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How To Eat A Cupcake — July 19, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
I've never baked with poppy seeds! This looks so yummy!
Jaime — July 19, 2009 @ 4:28 pm
I need to make this cake!! too bad I forgot about it and ran out of time…
Joy — July 19, 2009 @ 4:48 pm
Oh, Eliana!I am seriously at a loss for words- THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for the unbelievably sweet and thoughtful compliment you gave me with that award. It really touched my heart… It just made me feel so happy to know that someone else is enjoying my blog. As you know, I just got started, but so far, the experience has been amazing. The absolute best part, however, is meeting fabulous people like you. I so admire the work you do on A Chica Bakes, and it truly is a pleasure baking with you for SMS. I hope with each week, we can talk and get to know each other better- I already know we have one huge passion in common
Question for you- would you mind telling me how to insert the award icon on my sidebar. I would be so proud to post it, if possible!Oh, and by the way, your Whole Orange Poppyseed Cake looks delectable. I'm so glad you enjoyed it… it was too funny reading your post, because I thought many of the same things! Especially how the lovely scent filled the entire house as it was baking!Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend, and I look forward to talking to you again soon. And don't forget, I still would love to hear about your site design, as I think it is just ADORABLE!-Joy
spike. — July 19, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
I left off the glaze too- totally didn't need it!
Paris Pastry — July 19, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
I love orange cakes! It was one of the first thing I ever baked from scratch. Yours looks delicious!
The Bahens — July 19, 2009 @ 6:02 pm
It was so delicious! I just ate the last piece, so now I have to go make another! I was so happy that it was such a fast, delicious recipe. Thanks for baking with me this week!
Every Day Blessings — July 19, 2009 @ 9:38 pm
Yours looks delicious. I was afraid of the taste too but with the lemon version it was just moist and delicious.
dani — July 19, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
what an unusual sweet bread (to me anyways… in a very good way)! i will def have to give it a try
Flourchild — July 19, 2009 @ 11:15 pm
Wow your bread looks so tasty! This was a wonderful recipe. Thank you too for the nice award. How thoughtful and sweet of you to think of me. I love these blog awards!
Pamela — July 20, 2009 @ 12:23 am
Yeah…where is my cup of tea??
) Looks wonderful and sounds fantastic.
Hanaâ — July 20, 2009 @ 3:25 am
Your cake turned out great. I'm glad you liked it. Although I loved the flavor, the texture of my cake was a bit on the dense side.
Snooky doodle — July 20, 2009 @ 5:36 am
this cake looks so so good!
burpandslurp — July 20, 2009 @ 5:51 am
yum yum yum! I'll have several slices with a hot cup of coffee, please!
Katiecakes — July 20, 2009 @ 9:09 am
That looks mouth watering! I ate my whole cake with a giant cup of tea. MmmmmmmmKatie xox
k.a.r.e.n — July 20, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
Your cake looks yummy!
Karin — July 20, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
It looks delicious Eliana! I'm definitely going to have to give this one another try sometime soon.
pinkstripes — July 20, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
Your cake looks wonderful. I love the way the cake smelled. YUM!
Teanna — July 20, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
Wow! Just WOW. I LOVE LOVE LOVE any kind of poppy seed cake, and this looks so moist and delicious.
Patrizia — July 20, 2009 @ 6:29 pm
Can I has a piece? I need to check out this blog and book!
Hornedfroggy — July 20, 2009 @ 8:10 pm
Yummy! I'm going to have to try the orange next time… it looks so great!
Megan — July 20, 2009 @ 9:49 pm
I would LOVE this… I can just tell. Looks so moist and the orange must add a ton of flavor.
Madam Chow — July 21, 2009 @ 1:12 am
This cake looks so good – I love seeing what the Sweet Melissa group is up to. I have the book, but haven't made anything from it – YET!
margot — July 21, 2009 @ 1:35 am
Gorgeous cake! I loved the way this smelled when it was baking.
Basically, Baby Boots — July 21, 2009 @ 2:10 am
Smart lady you are, baking at night. My only worry is that if I bake at night, I'll fall asleep & burn what I'm baking. Maybe I'll invest in a nice timer. I'm glad that your cake remained moist days later, even without the glaze. Enjoy your week!Raeann
Ingrid — July 21, 2009 @ 2:24 am
Yum, would love to have a slice of that right now. It sounds heavenly and looks even better!!I haven't baked in more than a week.
~ingrid
birthday cake pictures — July 21, 2009 @ 3:55 am
Glaze no way, I just love how it is without it, soft and delicious. Its one of those cakes that goes perfectly when dipped in tea or hot chocolate.
Barbara — July 21, 2009 @ 4:07 am
That looks like a slice of heaven, Eliana. I've had lemon-poppyseed cake but never orange. (Note to self: add to "to bake" list!)
Donna-FFW — July 22, 2009 @ 3:20 am
I must try this. It looks so moist and delicious!!
Tracey — July 22, 2009 @ 3:50 am
Your cake looks perfect! I love your photos. You described the cake perfectly – it was fragrant and so delicious!
Michele — July 23, 2009 @ 10:21 am
Your cake looks wonderful!!
Apples and Butter — July 23, 2009 @ 7:28 pm
I am a big fan of the lemon poppy seed combination as well! I will have to give orange poppy seed a try – thanks for sharing!
Jamie — July 23, 2009 @ 8:46 pm
Eliana- Your cake looks amazing! Great photos!
Juliana — July 23, 2009 @ 9:05 pm
Such a nice cake…orange and poppy…yummie! Great pictures as well.
Mermaid Sweets — July 27, 2009 @ 5:29 am
Nicely done, I can't wait to make this again.
momgateway — July 29, 2009 @ 10:57 pm
Poppy cake is so good with or without glaze. Yummy!
Emily — July 30, 2009 @ 9:11 am
This looks incredible! I adore poppy seed breads and cakes.
ABowlOfMush — July 30, 2009 @ 1:34 pm
I love the Sweet Melissa on Court street in Brooklyn! This cake looks so yummy!
Half Baked — July 30, 2009 @ 6:17 pm
I love orange poppyseed muffins so I know this would be tasty, but I've never made a recipe using the whole orange. This cake looks really great!!
Liliana — July 31, 2009 @ 3:05 pm
These are my favourite type of cakes. It looks so good…I definitely have to make it.
The Food Librarian — August 1, 2009 @ 4:57 pm
This looks delicious! The whole orange…yum! I tested positive for opiates on a drug test after eating three pieces of bread with poppy seeds!
Marta — August 7, 2009 @ 1:30 am
I love citru-poppy seed loafs!!! they are my moms favourite so I always bake them with extra love
This looks great, i'm glad it wasn't bitter and it was quick to assemble.
OLGUIS — September 4, 2009 @ 12:47 am
what a yummy and delicious cake looks.Great your blog.Regardsolga.
Valerie — September 4, 2009 @ 10:12 pm
I have copied it to my to-try soon file! The pics are great!
Valerie — September 4, 2009 @ 10:14 pm
Those pics are great and make me drool! I copied it to my to-try soon file. Thanks!