Polish poppy seed cake consists of yeast-based pastry and a layer of sweet poppy seed mixture rolled together to form a log. This cake is traditionally eaten at Christmas as well as Easter.
See also my Polish babka recipe!
Polish poppy seed cake has been part of festive traditions as well as everyday life in Poland for centuries. It is an essential Christmas dessert, also popular at Easter and sold year-round in patisseries throughout the country.
The word 'makowiec' (pronounced 'mak-ov-yetz') comes from 'mak' meaning 'poppy' (the flower) as well as 'poppy seeds'. Poppy seeds have traditionally been associated with prosperity and happiness (as well as the underworld in pagan beliefs) and have remained an integral part of Polish Holidays (in the form of makowiec cake as well as kutia - wheat berry pudding).
Also, contrary to what you may have heard Polish makowiec will not drug you or make you sleepy!
Polish poppy seed cake ingredients and substitutions
- Flour: plain/all-purpose.
- Poppy seeds.
- Instant yeast.
- Milk: it should be lukewarm, not hot.
- Sugar.
- Honey.
- Eggs: use yolks in the dough, 1 egg white in the poppy seed mixture and a little to brush the pastry (see Instructions).
- Butter.
- Raisins: or sultanas.
- Candied orange peel: or mixed fruit peel. You can omit this ingredient altogether and use more raisins instead.
- Orange zest.
- Vanilla extract.
- Almond extract.
- Ground almonds/almond flour: help absorb excess moisture in the poppy seed mixture.
Why do you have to cook poppy seeds before baking
It is necessary to inject moisture into each little seed so that they can be then grinded and turned into a delicious paste. This is why some recipes recommend soaking the poppy seeds as well as boiling them briefly before using. Another reason for soaking the poppy seeds might be to remove their (potential) bitterness but in this poppy seed roll recipe the honey solves this issue.
I find that poppy seeds absorb water during cooking quite quickly so for this recipe you do not need to pre-soak the seeds.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
Make the dough
Preheat the oven to its lowest temperature.
1.To a large bowl add the milk, sugar, pinch of salt and yeast and stir thoroughly (using either a wooden or silicone spoon). Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract and melted butter stirring all the time until thoroughly combined.
2. Gradually add the flour stirring until it’s no longer visible and the dough starts to form (it will be quite soft).
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and glossy (the dough shouldn’t feel dry but it shouldn’t stick to your fingers either – if it does add about 1 teaspoon of flour, no more).
4. Dust the dough very lightly with flour, place in a bowl and cover with a cloth. Switch the oven off (very important!), place the dough in the centre for about 2 hours until doubled in size. After 1 hour turn the oven on again to its lowest temperature for 2 minutes then switch off (do not open the oven door).
Make the poppy seed filling
1. Place the poppy seeds in a saucepan, add a generous amount of water, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes stirring often. Remove from the heat, drain and rinse the poppy seeds in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water. Drain as thoroughly as you can.
2. Place the poppy seeds in a blender and process for about 10 minutes stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. The poppy seeds should become a little sticky.
3. In a saucepan melt the butter, add the honey, sugar, poppy seeds, raisins, orange peel, zest and almond extract and cook over a low/medium heat for 10 minutes stirring often. Set aside to cool completely. Once cooled stir in the ground almonds, then beat one egg white until very firm and stir in as well. Set aside.
Assemble Polish poppy seed cake recipe
1. Remove the dough from the oven and place on top of a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle approx. 4-5 mm/1/5’’ thick (approx. 25x33 cm/10’’x13’’) and brush with a little egg white (do not use the entire egg white).
2. Cover the middle of the pastry with the poppy seed mixture approx. 2.5 cm/1’’ away from the edges.
3. Roll the pastry to form a log folding the ends downwards.
4. Wrap the makowiec roll loosely in parchment paper twice (leaving about 1 cm/1/3’’ of space between the roll and the paper). Do not tuck in the ends.
5. Place the log (with the end bit down) on top of a baking sheet in a warm place to proof for 45 minutes (I like to keep it on top of my stove). In the meantime preheat the oven to 330 F/ 170 C/ fan-assisted 160 C/ gas mark 3.
6. Bake the poppy seed roll in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside for 5 minutes then place along with the paper on top of a rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment.
7. To make the icing stir together 4 tablespoons of icing sugar with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until smooth and drizzle over the cake. Scatter some candied orange peel or orange zest on top. Allow to set before cutting and serving the cake.
How to store poppy seed roll
This poppy seed log cake is deliciously moist, but in order to preserve this moisture it is important to keep the cake in an airtight container (otherwise the pastry might start becoming dry). Unless you consume it within 2 days keep the leftover cake refrigerated (for up to 6 days).
Top tip
Cool the cake completely before placing in an airtight container.
Top tips
- I recommend weighing the ingredients (especially for the dough) rather than using measuring cups.
- The dough should be quite soft and almost creamy in texture (I do not recommend adding extra flour as your cake may not be as soft).
- It’s important to allow the dough to double in size before making the cake. I like to proof it in a warm oven (as per recipe instructions), but if you have another warm place in the house you can use that. If using the warm oven method don’t forget to switch it off before placing the dough inside.
- The poppy seed mixture can be prepared ahead and once cooled, refrigerated (overnight). Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before making the cake.
- If you roll out the dough quite thinly (approx. 4-5 mm) the poppy seed mixture will be well distributed throughout the cake.
- Freeze Polish poppy seed cake (without the icing) in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and decorate with the icing at least 30 minutes before serving.
Related recipes
- Polish Gingerbread Loaf Cake (Piernik)
- Traditional Baked Polish Cheesecake (Sernik)
- Polish Rogaliki (Rugelach) Crescent Cookies
- Traditional Polish Apple Cake (Szarlotka)
You might also like these other traditional Polish recipes!
Keep in touch!
If you make this Polish makowiec recipe I’d love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)
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Recipe
Polish Poppy Seed Cake (Makowiec)
Equipment
- Blender
- Rolling Pin
- Large baking sheet
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1⅔ cups (210 g) all-purpose/plain flour (7.41 oz) plus a little more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) instant yeast
- ¼ cup+1tbsp (70 ml) milk lukewarm
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 egg yolks room temperature, reserve the whites
- ½ stick+1tsp (60 g) butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
For the poppy seed filling
- ¾ cup+1tbsp (120 g) poppy seeds (4.23 oz)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ⅓ cup+1tbsp (50 g) raisins (1.76 oz)
- ¼ cup (40 g) candied orange peel (1.41 oz) chopped, or mixed citrus peel
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons almond flour/ground almonds
- 1 egg white room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to its lowest temperature.Start by making the dough. To a large bowl add the milk, sugar, pinch of salt and yeast and stir thoroughly (using either a wooden or silicone spoon). Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract and melted butter stirring all the time until thoroughly combined.
- Gradually add the flour stirring until it’s no longer visible and the dough starts to form (it will be quite soft).
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and glossy (the dough shouldn’t feel dry but it shouldn’t stick to your fingers either – if it does add about 1 teaspoon of flour, no more).
- Dust the dough very lightly with flour, place in a bowl and cover with a cloth. Switch the oven off (very important!), place the dough in the centre for about 2 hours until doubled in size. After 1 hour turn the oven on again to its lowest temperature for 2 minutes then switch off (do not open the oven door).
- In the meantime make the poppy seed filling. Place the poppy seeds in a saucepan, add a generous amount of water, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes stirring often. Remove from the heat, drain and rinse the poppy seeds in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water. Drain as thoroughly as you can.
- Place the poppy seeds in a blender and process for about 10 minutes stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. The poppy seeds should become a little sticky.
- In a saucepan melt the butter, add the honey, sugar, poppy seeds, raisins, orange peel, zest and almond extract and cook over a low/medium heat for 10 minutes stirring often. Set aside to cool completely. Once cooled stir in the ground almonds, then beat one egg white until very firm and stir in as well. Set aside.
- Assembling the poppy seed cake recipe. Remove the dough from the oven and place on top of a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle approx. 4-5 mm/⅕’’ thick (approx. 25x33 cm/10’’x13’’) and brush with a little egg white (do not use the entire egg white).
- Cover the middle of the pastry with the poppy seed mixture approx. 2½ cm/1’’ away from the edges. Roll the pastry to form a log folding the ends under.
- Wrap the makowiec roll loosely in parchment paper twice (leaving about 1 cm/⅓’’ of space between the roll and the paper). Do not tuck in the ends.
- Place the log (with the end bit down) on top of a baking sheet in a warm place to proof for 45 minutes (I like to keep it on top of my stove). In the meantime preheat the oven to 330 F/ 170 C/ fan-assisted 160 C/ gas mark 3.
- Bake the makowiec cake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside for 5 minutes then place along with the paper on top of a rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment.
- To make the icing stir together 4 tablespoons of icing sugar with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until smooth and drizzle over the cake. Scatter some candied orange peel or orange zest on top. Allow to set before cutting and serving the cake.
Notes
- I recommend weighing the ingredients (especially for the dough) rather than using measuring cups.
- The dough should be quite soft and almost creamy in texture (I do not recommend adding extra flour as your cake may not be as soft).
- It’s important to allow the dough to double in size before making the cake. I like to proof it in a warm oven (as per recipe instructions), but if you have another warm place in the house you can use that. If using the warm oven method don’t forget to switch it off before placing the dough inside.
- The poppy seed mixture can be prepared ahead and once cooled, refrigerated (overnight). Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before making the cake.
- If you roll out the dough quite thinly (approx. 4-5 mm) the poppy seed mixture will be well distributed throughout the cake.
- Freeze this poppy seed roll (without the icing) in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and decorate with the icing at least 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
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