Maková Bábovka - Poppy seed cake

• 250 g butter or margarine
• 190 g granulated sugar (vanilla if poss)
• 1 sachet of vanilla sugar / few drops vanilla essence (or just use vanilla sugar above)
• 6 eggs, separated
• 150 g ground poppy seeds (this requires a special grinder to squash the seeds - do not attempt in liquidiser!!)
• 180 g plain flour (wholemeal or coarser flour to be encouraged)
• 1 sachet baking powder
• 200–250 ml milk
• icing sugar to dust

1. Preheat oven to 180, fan oven 160 ˚C. Thoroughly grease medium size cake tin (ideally a ring mould, with a hole in the middle) and dust with flour. 

2. Cream butter/marg and sugar, add vanilla and egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy. Add the poppy seed mush and the baking powder. Mix, and add enough milk to obtain a dropping consistency. Whisk the egg whites until standing in firm peaks and fold into the mixture. Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Check that the cake is completely done: stick a cake tester in in a few places! It has a tendency to be a bit sticky in the middle. When convinced, take it out of the oven and cool for 3 minutes in the tin, then carefully turn the cake out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Variation: At the egg white stage, add two handfuls of fresh or frozen cherries (hlaved, stones removed).