Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Makes 1 bundt cake

The holidays are all about entertaining - even for breakfast. Or as we say in the biz, "brunch." This is a great go-to cake for morning noshing or afternoon snacks. Make it more Christmas-y by substituting orange for lemon and add a bit of dried ground clove to the recipe. 

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cups vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup evaporated milk
1/3 milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 lemon zest and juices, divided
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, mix oil and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the evaporated milk, the milk, and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice (leave 1 tablespoon for icing) and poppy seeds.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs attached. Let cool for 20 minutes.

To make lemon icing, combine remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice with powdered sugar and whisky until there are not lumps and sugar is moist. Drizzle over cake and allow it to harden.  

Tip: Evaporated milk is a shelf stable milk product that’s had about half it’s water content removed. It is not the same as sweetened condensed milk, which has added sugar. Don’t attempt to substitute regular milk or sweetened condensed milk for this!