POPPY SEED CAKE

This is kind of an old-fashioned recipe. It's wonderful just served plain, with coffee or tea. It's great if you macerate some berries and serve over cake slices with whipped cream. Most recently, I cooked some blueberries with confectioners' sugar and a little lemon juice for about 20 minutes, and served it as above with the blueberries substituting for uncooked berries. Delicious!

• 4 eggs, separated
• 1½ c sugar
• 1 c butter
• ½ c poppy seed
• 1 c sour cream
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 c sifted cake flour

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and breadcrumb a Bundt pan.

Beat egg whites until almost stiff, and then gradually beat in ½ c of the sugar, until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Cream the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in poppy seed.

Combine soda and sour cream. Add to the butter mixture alternately with flour (1/4 of flour 1/3 of sour cream; mix until just smooth after each addition. Gently fold in egg whites. (You might need to do this by hand).

Turn the batter into the Bundt pan, smoothing level. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for awhile, then turn the cake onto the rack to cool completely.

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