Swedish Poppy Seed Cake with Lemon Glaze

  Isn't this a pretty cake? I got the beautiful bundt cake pan I used for this cake at Christmas from my son and daughter-in-law. It really makes a nice presentation. One of these days I will find a pretty cake plate to display such a pretty cake ~ I'm still on the look out for something spectacular!
  I've been looking for the perfect poppy seed cake for a long time. I remember one I had many years ago and I've been trying to replicate it for quite a while. This one is not exactly like the one I remember, but sometimes I find good recipes on the way to great recipes. This is one of those times.


Let me show you how to make it:

First, I mixed the sugar and oil.

 And then I added the milk and eggs and mixed again.

 I gathered the remaining ingredients; cake flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. 

I measured and added the remaining ingredients and then mixed them at medium speed for about 2 minutes.

 I heavily sprayed my beautiful bundt pan with PAM For Baking, making sure to get in to every crease so my cake wouldn't stick. 

 I poured the cake batter into my prepared pan and put it in the oven preheated to 350 degrees. I baked it for one hour and checked for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake. When no wet batter was left on the toothpick I knew it was done.

 This is what it looked like when it was done baking. It smelled wonderful! I let it cool on this rack for about 15 minutes and then I turned it over onto my cake plate to let it cool some more.

 I prepared the glaze as the cake was cooling.

 I poured the glaze over the cake and let it run down the sides.

 And finally, I decorated the cake with a few pieces of sliced lemon.

This is the official recipe for Swedish Poppy Seed Cake:

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs 
1 1/2 cup milk
3 1/3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare bundt pan by spraying with PAM For Baking.
In large mixing bowl, mix sugar and oil. Add eggs and milk and continue mixing until all fully combined. 
Add remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes until mixture is combined and there are no lumps.
Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.
Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the center. When the toothpick no longer has wet crumbs attached the cake is done.
Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.
Invert cake onto cake plate and continue to let cool.
Drizzle glaze over the top and down the sides.

For Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
2 tablespoons melted butter
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and drizzle over the top and down the sides of a slightly warm cake

What was the taste tester's bottom line?
This cake was very good. The first day it reminded me more of a coffee cake. By the second day the glaze had seeped into the cake more and it took on a whole new flavor. The consensus was the cake was even better the second day!

The bottom line: I've made this cake a few times now. Since it is better the second day I try to plan ahead and make it early. It works out great for holidays because it can be made ahead.