Lemon Poppy Seed Kouglof

Hello food lovers,

This week I have a delicious lemon and poppy seed kouglof with a springtime look for you.

A recipe full of freshness and indulgence. :-)

For a kouglof of 24 cm in diameter you will need:

Cake:

- 150gr butter

- 150gr icing sugar

- 6 eggs

- 4 lemons (juice and zest)

- 150gr ground almonds

- 40gr poppy seeds

- 22gr baking powder

- 225gr flour

Glaze:

- 1 jar of white fondant

- 1/2 lemon juice

Cake

For this recipe you need softened butter. To do this, take your butter out about 30 minutes before starting the recipe and leave it at room temperature.

In the mixer bowl, weigh out 150gr of softened butter.

Add 150gr of icing sugar.

Using the whisk, cream the butter and icing sugar together.

The mixture will turn pale and become fluffy.

Meanwhile, crack 6 eggs into a jug.

Once your mixture is nice and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time.

Between each egg, let it beat for a moment until the egg is fully incorporated.

Once all the eggs are fully incorporated, zest 4 lemons.

I use the microplane grater to zest my lemons — it's great. ;-)

Cut your lemons in half and squeeze them.

Pour the lemon juice into the previous mixture.

Mix with the whisk for about 2 minutes at speed 3.

In a bowl, combine 225gr of flour, 150gr of ground almonds and 40gr of poppy seeds.

Add 22gr of baking powder.

Mix everything together well with a spoon.

Preheat your oven to 180°C fan-assisted.

Pour the flour/poppy seed/ground almond and baking powder mixture into the previous preparation.

Then, still using the whisk, mix for just 30 seconds at speed 2.

Just mix until everything is combined — no need to develop the gluten for this recipe.

There you go, the cake batter is ready.

For this recipe, I use the 24 cm diameter marguerite kouglof mould.

For a perfect release, I use baking release spray — you'll see, it's magical!

Pour all the batter into the mould.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 180°C fan-assisted for 40 minutes.

Quick tip: to check if your kouglof is done, insert a knife into it. If the blade comes out clean, your cake is cooked; if batter sticks to it, leave the kouglof in the oven for another 2 minutes.

Let it cool completely before removing it from the mould.

Once your kouglof is completely cold, turn it out onto a wire rack.

Glaze

For the glaze I use white fondant. Unlike icing sugar (typically used to glaze cakes), a fondant glaze won't turn translucent and will stay looking beautiful even 2-3 days later! :-)

Squeeze half a lemon.

Pour the jar of fondant into a jug and add the half lemon juice.

Melt the fondant in the microwave for 30 seconds at 600Watt.

The fondant should be slightly thick but liquid enough to flow continuously.

Place your kouglof on a wire rack with a plate underneath to catch the fondant.

You can keep the excess in the fridge in an airtight container.

If you want to reuse the fondant later for a mini donuts recipe for example, just warm it up a little in the microwave.

Here is a fresh and indulgent kouglof. You can decorate it with a few edible flowers for a lovely springtime touch. ;-)

Perfect for an afternoon snack, this kouglof keeps for 2-3 days in a box.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, food lovers!

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.