Orange Poppy Seed Cake

Orange Poppy Seed Cake, modified from Jeanne Lemlin's Quick Vegetarian Pleasures cookbook
From: Blue-Sighted Shadow

Cake:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt (1/2 tsp or less if using salted butter)
3 Tbs poppy seeds
1 cup butter, softened (salted is fine, just use less salt)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs (Room temperature, not cold from the fridge.)
2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt (use 1 1/2 cups if you prefer a dryer cake)
1 Tbs orange extract

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 Tbs warm water
1/2 tsp orange extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 10 cup bundt or tube cake pan. If you don't use flour, your cake will stick. Baker's Joy is fine. Mix the dry ingredients together. I usually mix everything together and then add the poppy seeds, otherwise they sink. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar, until well, creamy. Beat in the eggs, then the sour cream and orange extract. Beat in the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Scrape batter into the pan. Bake 50 - 55 minutes or until knife/toothpick/whatever comes out clean. Cool at least 15 minutes on a wire rack before turning the cake out, or it will stick and break in the pan. Cool completely before making the glaze. I usually make the cake the night before and make the glaze in the morning. If you don't wait for the cake to cool, the glaze will run and soak into the bottom of the cake. It's still delicious, just not as pretty. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, water, and orange extract in a measuring cup with a spout and drizzle over the cake. Let the glaze harden for about 20 minutes before serving.

This cake freezes well, although it probably won't last that long. This more of a decadent breakfast treat than dessert. It goes well with coffee, hot chocolate or tea. Serves 12 - 16. Or 1. I made this cake for a friend on her birthday. She set it on the kitchen counter and when she came back in with the rest of her things, her husband had eaten the entire thing.