citrus and poppy seeds cake

A little idea, perfect for a Saturday afternoon: a moisty cake flavoured with orange, lemon and lime, and enlivened by those little seeds that - for how small as they may be - can make the difference. I thought it would have lasted the weekend - well, at least until  Sunday breakfast! But hey, baked a couple of hours ago, already it's almost all gone. Better hurry up and post the recipe then, before any trace of human memory disappears…  

Ingredients:

2 oranges

2 lemons

2 limes

100g butter

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

100ml yoghurt

150ml milk

250g self raising flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbs poppy seeds

    Zest the citrus fruits. Beat the butter until creamy with 100g of sugar, whisk in the eggs, the zest, the yogurt and milk. Mix in the flour, to which you will have already added the baking soda, and the poppy seeds.

    Butter a loaf tin and line with parchment paper.

Pour the mixture in the tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180C° for about an hour, or until the surface is golden and the cake passes the 'toothpick test' (ie: a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and dry).

    Meanwhile, squeeze the oranges, lemons and lime and strain the juice. Pour it into a small saucepan with 100g of sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is not dissolved. Remove from the heat.

    When the cake is ready, remove from the oven and prick all over the top using a toothpick or a thin skewer. Gently pour the citrus syrup over the cake and sprinkle with a pinch of poppy seeds. Allow the syrup to soak through for a few minutes before removing the cake from the tin.