Almond Orange Poppy Seed Cake

Several years ago, Holly and I were home during a quiet Sunday afternoon. We got out our mother’s worn cookbook and turned to the sweet breads section. We wanted something sweet and soft – homemade sweet bread would do! We soon settled on traditional poppy seed bread. You know the kind – with about 3 cups of sugar and oil and then topped with a sugar sweet glaze frosting (often with a nice squeeze of orange juice). Sounds utterly divine, doesn’t it?! And it was.

A similar afternoon, not too long ago sparked a similar bread. This recipe ended up being so sweet and moist, it was soon called by what it really is – a cake! It’s a good day when you walk away with a cake in hand filled with sweet poppy seeds and almond orange flavor. Thanks to a beautiful green baking dish given to me by a very sweet friend, this is a small batch cake for quite weekend afternoons.

This almond cake is completely sweet, light and has such a lovely crumb! It is satisfying as most other bread recipes. And just like traditional poppy seed recipes, it has a nice glaze. Thanks to xylitol, this bread has a beautiful shimmer sparkle once the glaze is added. It’s delicious warm from the oven or at room temperature and be sure to enjoy it served with more fresh citrus slices on the side!

Almond Orange Poppy Seed Bread  
Print Recipe

Cake:
1 1/3 cups White Wheat Flour  (like Trader Joe’s brand)
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
3/4 cup Organic Butter, melted or Earth Balance Butter
3/4 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
2 Large Organic Eggs
1 cup Powdered Honey or Maple Sugar
1/3 cup Organic Sour Cream or Vegan Sour Cream
1/3 cup Water
2 teaspoons Orange Zest

Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the oil, extracts, eggs, sweetener and mix. Add the sour cream with the water and orange zest. Mix until just combined. Pour into one 9-inch bread pan or similar sized pan. The batter should fill almost the top of the pan.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 34-36 minutes or until the top is starting to crack and brown. While bread is cooling, whisk the following ingredients together in a small bowl:

Vanilla Orange Glaze:
3 Tablespoon Orange Juice
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
3/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Xylitol

Drizzle or spread the glaze over bread while it is still warm and allow to cool completely before slicing.