The Christmas bake-a-thon has begun and I've been fairly overwhelmed practising my bakes for both my boyfriend's and my families. This bake is for my boyfriend's family. I adore Polish baking, and I honestly think it's not appreciated well enough in the UK. This poppy seed cake is a delight - a sweet (but not overly sugary) bread (although it's called a cake, it is bread, odd but yummy) dough, filled with a sweetened poppy seed paste with walnuts, raisins, and homemade candied orange and lemon peel. It's served at Christmas, so it's a perfect bake for me to test my bread-making skills and bake something different for the holiday season.
Traditionally this is served as a log, with swirls of filling inside. This is delicious, however, I decided to take a step away from tradition and shaped my bread like a couronne, which is like a crown where the filling sort of spills out of the bread. I've seen it done before with apricot fillings and the like, so I figured, why not try it with this bread.
I think it turned out pretty well - the only step I now wish I'd taken would be to brush a little sieved apricot jam over the bread after it comes out of the oven - this would give the bread a lovely shine.
Makes 1 large couronne
Ingredients:
For the bread:
- 7g pack of dried fast-action yeast
- 30g (2 tbsp) caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 160g (1 & 1/3 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1/2 tbsp vodka (I used a lovely Polish vodka called zoladkowa gorzka, but any should work fine)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract/paste
- 2 egg yolks
- 60ml milk (1/4 cup) (I used skimmed milk), lukewarm
- 50g butter (1/4 cup) - melted then cooled until it is lukewarm
For the filling:
- 160g (1 & 1/3 cups) poppy seeds
- 60g (1/3 cup) light soft brown sugar
- 75g (1/2 cup) raisins/sultanas
- 50g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp honey/maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp softened butter
- 50g (1/2 cup) candied oranges/lemons (see below)
- 2 egg whites
For the candied oranges and lemons:
- 1 large orange
- 1 lemon
- 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
- 100ml (2/5 cup) water
- 50g (3 tbsp) apricot jam, boiled, then sieved
Method:
1. Firstly, make the dough as it needs a long time to prove. Sift the plain flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl, and the yeast to the opposite side. Briefly, stir.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour, and add the vodka, lukewarm milk, vanilla, and egg yolks. Bring the dough together. If it is very sticky add a little more flour. The dough should slightly stick to your hands but should be manageable.
3. If you have a stand mixer at this stage, use the dough hook attachment to work the dough for 6 - 8 minutes, until it is smooth and bounces back when lightly pressed.
If you're working the dough by hand, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes.
4. Slowly pour over the lukewarm butter and knead until the butter has all been incorporated.
5. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave for at least 4 hours, until it has doubled in size.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the candied oranges and lemons. Wash the orange and lemon under hot water (in case they have a wax covering), then slice as thinly as possible.
7. Place the orange and lemon slices in a saucepan and cover with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 - 15 minutes, until the white pith is starting to turn translucent.
8. Remove the slices from the syrup and leave to dry on greaseproof paper.
9. To make the poppy seed filling, pour the poppy seeds into a large bowl and cover with freshly boiled water. Set aside until the water has completely cooled down.
10. Drain the poppy seeds well, then place in a blender (or use a pestle and mortar). Blitz/grind briefly to break down the seeds. Pour into a large bowl and add the brown sugar, raisins/sultanas, almond extract, honey/maple syrup, cinnamon and softened butter, and beat well.
11. Chop the candied orange and lemon slices finely, and add 50g to the poppy seed mix. Stir to incorporate.
12. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted from the bowl. Fold into the poppy seed mixture.
13. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn out onto lightly floured baking parchment. Roll the dough until it is a 35 x 25 cm rectangle. Turn the dough so that the long edge is facing you.
14. Spread over the poppy seed filling, as evenly as possible, leaving 1/2 cm border bare.
15. Roll the dough like a swiss roll (rolling up from the long edge), as tightly as possible.
16. Use a sharp knife to cut down the roll lengthways, leaving a cm or so uncut (imagine a pair of jeans). Twist these "legs" over each over, turning the dough to make a circular crown. Gently press the bottom and top of the dough together to seal.
17. Cover lightly with cling film, and leave for an hour to prove.
18. Preheat the oven to 190c (170c fan)/375f/gas mark 5.
19. Remove the clingfilm and place the baking parchment with the bread onto a baking tray. Cover loosely with another layer of baking parchment (the bread browns very very quickly before the dough is cooked if you don't do this). Bake for 20-25 minutes - until the top is brown and when you lightly press the centre of the couronne, it feels firm.
20. Take out of the oven, and brush over the apricot jam. Leave to cool.
21. Enjoy!
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