michelle picker cooks

This is for those of you who love both poppy seeds and chocolate!

To make this cake first separate 4 eggs and with an electric mixer beat the yolks with 100g (3½ oz) of softened butter and 50g (1¾ oz) of icing sugar until thick and smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 100g of melted dark (70%) chocolate and mix well. Next, add 240g (8½ oz) of poppy seeds and up to ½ a cup of buttermilk or milk soured with a little lemon juice until the mixture is the consistency of a thick batter. Lastly beat the egg-whites until frothy and then continue to beat while adding 50g  of caster sugar a little at a time until thick and glossy. Combine the two mixtures gently then pour into a prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated 170C (335F) oven for 60-70 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin.