Recipe for cloud cake with poppy seeds and almond meringue
Poppy seed cloud cake is a delicious composition of flavors, combining the delicacy of poppy seed sponge cake, a tasty poppy seed filling, and a light mascarpone cream. The whole is topped with sweet meringue with crunchy almonds, creating an extraordinary harmony of textures and flavors. This light, fluffy cake not only melts in your mouth but also provides unforgettable taste sensations. The simple recipe makes preparing the poppy seed cloud cake a real pleasure. Discover heavenly sweetness in every bite of this unique pastry!
Poppy Seed and Mascarpone Cake – Notes
I prepared this poppy seed cloud cake with poppy seeds and mascarpone for Christmas Eve, and it turned out so delicious that I absolutely had to share the recipe. Similar to the raspberry cloud cake, I opted to prepare it on a sponge base instead of shortcrust pastry. Thanks to this, the cake turned out nicely light and fluffy, and also had fewer calories. It’s worth dividing the cake preparation into stages, then everything will go smoothly and without problems. And the light sponge cake without baking powder and the meringue with almonds can be prepared even a day or two in advance. Additionally, I prepared this cake in a large baking pan, so it can be divided into many portions.
Ingredients Needed to Prepare Poppy Seed Cloud Cake
To prepare this creamy poppy seed cake, you will need a few basic ingredients, and all are widely available – especially in discount supermarkets like Lidl or Biedronka. Below is a condensed list of products with possible substitutes.
- poppy seeds – regular blue poppy seeds – preferably unmilled, in whole grains. You should add these whole grains to the sponge cake batter without grinding them beforehand.
- poppy seed filling – I used ready-made poppy seed filling from a can here – I didn’t add anything to it. You can, of course, use homemade poppy seed filling or make it yourself specifically for this cake.
- whipping cream – I used liquid whipping cream in a carton with 30% fat content here. You can also use 36% cream – then the cake will be slightly more caloric.
- almonds – I sprinkled the top of the meringue with chopped unblanched almonds. This gave the cake an additional nice color, and the larger pieces of almonds crunched nicely when eaten. Instead of whole almonds, you can also use almond flakes or slivered almonds.
How to Make Homemade Poppy Seed Filling?
Do you fancy making homemade poppy seed filling from scratch? Great! In the cheesecake-poppy seed cake recipe, I provided instructions on how to make such a poppy seed filling, but I’ll remind you about it here again.
For homemade poppy seed filling, you will need the following ingredients:
- 2 cups poppy seeds (300 g)
- 100 g butter (melted)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar (200 g)
- almond extract (optional)
- favorite dried fruits/nuts (chopped nuts and almonds, raisins, orange peel)
How to make poppy seed filling?
- Transfer the poppy seeds to a pot, steep with hot water, and bring to a boil. Cool them together with the water they were cooked in, then drain – I line a fine sieve with a muslin cloth or several layers of paper towel and pour the poppy seeds onto it. If you are using ready-ground poppy seeds, you don’t need to do the second step – grinding in a machine. Immediately add sugar to them and mix.
- Grind the poppy seeds twice in a meat grinder together with sugar (mix the poppy seeds with sugar and spoon into the grinder).
- Transfer the ground poppy seeds to a pot, add melted butter, almond extract (if using), dried fruits/nuts, and eggs, and gently heat, stirring constantly. Cool the finished filling and spread it over the sponge cake.
Method of Preparing Poppy Seed Cloud Cake
As I mentioned earlier, it’s best to divide the cake preparation into stages so that it proceeds smoothly. I recommend baking the poppy seed sponge cake first – I baked it the day before. After baking, I detached the sponge cake from the baking paper and transferred it to a large tray. I wrapped the sponge cake in foil to prevent it from drying out.
In the same baking pan, I baked the meringue, which I left in the pan until completely cooled. Bake the meringue with only the bottom of the pan lined with paper. Leave the sides empty and dry so that the foam sticks to them. This way, the meringue will not shrink after baking and will have the ideal size. If you also bake the meringue a day in advance (which I recommend), also protect it with cling film so that it doesn’t absorb moisture.
Once you have the sponge cake and meringue ready, you just need to make a simple and quick mascarpone cream with whipping cream. To assemble the poppy seed cloud cake, remove the meringue from the pan and place the sponge cake in it. I lightly soaked mine with sweetened water with a hint of almond extract. Spread the poppy seed filling over the prepared sponge cake in a more or less even layer. Directly on top of the poppy seeds, spread all the mascarpone cream.
Now for the most difficult stage. Carefully peel the meringue off the baking paper and transfer it on the paper over the cake. Slowly place the meringue on top of the cream. Mine cracked about halfway through. If this happens to you too, don’t worry. Later, while chilling in the refrigerator, the meringue will soften slightly from the cream, and the crack will not be visible.
How to Store Poppy Seed Cloud Cake?
After assembling, refrigerate the poppy seed cloud cake for several hours (or even overnight). This will not only allow the flavors to “blend” but also the meringue to soften slightly from the cream. This will allow for cutting nice pieces of cake that will not crumble or fall apart.
To keep the cake fresh for a long time, store it in the refrigerator. You don’t need to take it out beforehand to warm up. Straight from the fridge, it will be excellent! I hope this poppy seed cloud cake recipe interested you and you will be happy to use it. If so, I would be extremely pleased if you share your impressions in the comments.
Ps. I recommend following my instagram for delicious and easy recipes!
Recommended Poppy Seed Cake Recipes
Be sure to try my other recipes for delicious poppy seed cakes and poppy seed rolls. There’s a huge selection on the blog, and here I quickly recommend, among others, these three recipes:
