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As a child I hated layered, butter-cream, traditional birthday cakes. I suffered whenever I went to other children’s parties and were given a huge slice of an extremely sweet and nauseous cake. My mum’s cake was the only exception and a complete outsider in this category. Everything about it was different. First of all, it wasn’t overly sweet. Secondly, the cake basis was not spongy, but very moist and made not with flour, but with soaked and ground poppy seeds and a bit of bread crumbs. You have probably seen or tasted many sweets with tasteless and dry poppy seeds, but soaked and ground they acquire an unusual nutty flavour enhanced by walnuts pieces. As for the cream, even though it was the traditional butter type, it was loaded with bitter cocoa and was never nauseous thanks to the lemon juice my mum always added. I remember I loved this cake so much, I would practically live on the rests of it for the two days following my birthday party (it was very big, so there was always at least a half left).<\/p>\n
Dexterity, patience or love of details, necessary to make such elaborate pastry, are not really my qualities, so even though I have been missing its extraordinary taste and have been planning to prepare this cake for years, I was simply too scared to try it. This year, as my birthday was approaching, I felt a bit nostalgic about the years passing by and desperately needed something to cheer me up. This is how I decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n
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Just in case I would be able to devour as much as I did as a child, I took two important decisions. First, I reduced the cake’s size by half and, secondly, I substituted the butter cream with chocolate ganache (e.i. a mixture of chocolate and cream), slightly less disastrous in consequences (I hope). Of course – as you can see above – I have totally messed up the aesthetic and technical side. My cake resembled a big, unequally shaped ball, the layers were not very neat and the decoration clumsy, but the taste and the texture were extraordinary.\u00a0I was very proud to see I had managed to make the poppy soft basis exactly like my mum’s: moist and deliciously original. As for the chocolate ganache, it was a perfect substitute for the butter cocoa cream. It was still very rich, heavenly good, but made me feel a little less guilty when, traditionally, I was finishing the cake the following day. It was simply the adult version of my beloved birthday cake.<\/p>\n
If you want a traditionally-sized, big cake, double the amounts of both the cake and the cream. This cake keeps perfect and delicious for at least three days.<\/p>\n
Before I pass to the recipe I would like to express my gratitude to Kelly from Inspired Edibles<\/a> for doing something every food blogger dreams about, e.i. testing one of my recipes, namely\u00a0my Eggless Applesauce Cake<\/a>. Those who haven’t seen her Thursday post, should click here<\/a> and admire the complex and elaborate, fabulous\u00a0Apple Streusel Cake<\/a> she has made, adapting my simple and humble Applesauce Cake.<\/p>\n I would also like to thank Stefanie from A Dash of Sugar and Spice<\/a> for the Liebster Blog Award, she has given to the blogs which have less than 200 subscribers and which, according to her should have more of them. Thank you, Stefanie, I feel honoured and very proud you appreciate my blog so much!<\/p>\n I would like to pass this award to the bloggers who, I think, deserve much much more followers, subscribers or visitors. I am not sure if the bloggers I have chosen have less than 200 subscribers, but I certainly wish them more popularity:<\/p>\n Arudhi from A Box of Kitchen<\/a><\/p>\n I know that Charles from\u00a0Five Euro Food<\/a> has already received this award and also from Stefanie, but I thought I would say I totally agree with her \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Jeno from\u00a0Weeknite Meals<\/a><\/p>\n Jessica from Green Skies and Sugar Trips<\/a><\/p>\n Mr. Three-Cookies, whose\u00a0Easily Good Eats<\/a> merit at least as much followers as his other blog, Three Cookies<\/a><\/p>\n Ping from\u00a0Ping’s Pickings<\/a><\/p>\n Shannon from As A Delish<\/a><\/p>\n