Raspberry, Orange and Poppyseed Cakes
Any tart, frozen berries can be used in these cakes. The warm background note from the nutmeg pairs beautifully with orange and a drizzle of icing adds a crackle of sugar to these simple but delicious cakes.
ingredients
225 grams butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, size 7
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons yoghurt
juice ½ orange
finely grated zest 1 orange
2 cups free-flow frozen raspberries
Icing
1½ cups icing sugar
juice of 1 orange
freeze dried raspberries for sprinkling, optional
Method
Grease a 12-hole x 140ml capacity mini loaf tin and line each one with a strip of baking paper, bringing it up the ends of the tins.
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until very light and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well before adding the next.
Combine the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds together. Stir the yoghurt, orange juice and zest together. Add both to the butter mixture and using a large metal spoon, fold everything together until just combined. Add the raspberries and gently mix through.
Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for about 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean and the cakes should be pulling away from the sides of the tins. Cool in the tins for 30 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Icing: Stir enough orange juice into the icing sugar to make a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle over the cakes and top with dried raspberries, if using.
Store the cakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes 12
If you don’t have the mini loaf tin you can use standard muffin tins. You will probably get 14–15 cakes from the mixture as the tin capacity is smaller.
