April 2009

Orange-Poppyseed Cake

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
¼ cup finely grated orange rind
¼ cup poppyseeds
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease well and flour a 10-inch loose-bottomed tube pan.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, orange rind, poppyseeds and vanilla, and beat for 2 minutes. Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar-egg mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream in two parts. Beat well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the tube pan, and bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the outer side of the pan, leaving the bottom and center of the tube.

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and juice until the sugar is dissolved. Spoon the sugar mixture evenly over the cake.

Remove the cake from the tube when it is completely cooled.

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