Poppyseed Cake with Orange Glaze

The other week I found myself having a serious craving for my mother's poppyseed cake. 

Problem: Original recipe is not gluten free.

Solution: Make it gluten free...and pray that it turns out half as good as the original...

This tea bread is the stuff of legend my friends. No lie. It's incredible and it was one of my favorite treats when I was growing up.

It's not your standard, run-of-the-mill, lemon poppyseed cake. In fact, there's no lemon in it at all. Hence the lack of "lemon" in the name of this delightful concoction. The citrus flavor comes completely and wholly from the glaze - a heavenly blend of either frozen lemonade or orange juice concentrate, almond and vanilla extracts, and powdered confectioner's sugar.

The glaze is poured on top of this beauty while it's still warm, which allows the cake to soak up the sweetness and flavors. Making this the moistest, most delicious gluten-free tea bread you have ever encountered. Promise.

This cake brings back so many wonderful memories from my childhood. I think my mother may have made this more often than banana or zucchini bread - although we did eat our fair share of zucchini bread, particularly during the summers when our garden was overflowing with it. But we'll save that recipe for another time...

When I was transposing this recipe, I had to cut it in half. The original made a double loaf batch. Unfortunately, I misread the amount of poppy seeds and added 3/4 tsp instead of 3/4 Tbsp. Needless to say, there weren't quite enough poppy seeds in the loaf I made while testing this recipe. Don't make the same mistake I did. However, if you do mistakenly add too few, it will still taste delicious.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. It was actually pure luck that it turned out perfect the first time around - and I'm so glad it did!

Poppyseed Cake with Orange Glaze

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour (+ cooling)

• 1 large Egg
• 1 large Egg White
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2/3 cup Fat-free Milk
• 7.5 oz Gluten-free Flour blend
• 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 3/4 Tbsp Poppy Seeds
• 1 tsp Almond Extract

Glaze:

• 2 Tbsp frozen Orange Juice Concentrate, thawed (or frozen Lemonade Concentrate)
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a standard loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the following ingredients: egg, egg white, sugar, vegetable oil, and milk.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Add to wet ingredients and whisk together until well combined.
4. Stir in poppy seeds and almond extract.
5. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Turn out onto a cooling rack placed on top of a rimmed baking sheet, lined with a Silpat or parchment paper if desired.
7. Prepare glaze by whisking together juice concentrate, almond extract, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over top of cake with a spoon while it is still warm - this will allow the cake to soak up the glaze. Allow cake to cool completely before serving.

Nutrition per Serving (Based on 12 slices): 271 Calories; 13g Fat; 1g Saturated Fat; 36g Carbohydrate; 0g Fiber; 3g Protein

Happy gluten-free baking!