Poppy seed cake (Poppy seed cake)
We know Žemlovka mainly with apples, but in Hungary it is prepared a little differently. Mákos guba combines older rolls with a generous portion of poppy seeds. Served still warm, topped with a delicate vanilla crème anglaise, it is definitely worth trying.
Ingredients · Servings 1 sheet
- 8 older rolls
- 1 l whole milk
- 250-300 g ground poppy seeds
- 200 g caster sugar
- 50 g butter
- 40 g vanilla sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- Vanilla sauce (crème anglaise):
- 200 g whole milk
- 160 g whipping cream 31–33%
- 50 g caster sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 vanilla pod
Method · 1 h 5 min
- Cut the older rolls into rounds approximately 1.5–2 cm thick and place them in a large bowl.
- Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the sugar and egg yolks. Heat the mixture while stirring constantly. Do not boil, just let it warm up well. Remove the warm milk mixture from the stove and stir in the ground poppy seeds.
- Mix the poppy seed dressing with the sliced rolls. Mix thoroughly but carefully so that the liquid reaches all the pieces. Let it soak briefly. The rolls should be beautifully soft and soaked, but they should not fall apart completely.
- Grease a baking dish with some butter and pour the prepared mixture into it. Lightly smooth the surface and top with the remaining butter cut into small pieces.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the surface is lightly golden.
- Prepare the sauce. Heat the milk with the cream, vanilla seeds and pod almost to boiling point. In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth. There is no need to beat them until foamy.
- While stirring constantly, gradually add the hot milk mixture to the yolks. Pour everything back into the pot and heat over low heat, stirring constantly, to 83–84 °C. The sauce will gradually thicken slightly and start to stick to the spatula or wooden spoon. Do not boil.
- Immediately remove the finished sauce from the heat, remove the vanilla pod and strain through a fine sieve if necessary.
- Serve the mákos gubu warm or lukewarm, and pour vanilla crème anglaise generously over each portion.
