Poppy Seed Bundt Cake (Maková Bábovka)

Traditional Czech poppy seed bundt cake. It’s moist and airy, and at the same time, pleasantly dense and rich.

In Central Europe, where I grew up, using poppy seeds in desserts is as common as pumpkin purée or cream cheese in the States. 

And I’m not talking about adding a teaspoon to a muffin batter here or sprinkling some on top of a bagel there. 

Poppy seeds are the main attraction, the key ingredient, and the reason that drew you to eat that particular item in the first place.

Across Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Slovakia, you can easily buy delicious baked items with speckled, denim-colored poppy seed fillings, in various shapes (cakes, individual rolls, crescents and spirals), and made from all kinds of dough (brioche, phyllo, Danish). 

What are Poppy Seeds?

• Tiny, dried, blue-denim/grey seeds that come from the poppy plant
• They measure about 1/16-inch in diameter and you would need close to 900,000 to measure one pound.
• Poppy seeds have a crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
• They have a high oil content and go rancid very quickly—store them for up to 6 months, in an airtight container, and in the fridge or freezer.

Forget the tiny, one-ounce jars of poppy seeds in the supermarket spice section. You would need a lot of those, and it would cost you a fortune. 

Instead, buy your seeds in bulk. Many online sources sell high-quality, organic seeds. 

Grind Your Poppy Seeds in a Coffee Grinder

Because ground poppy seeds are not typically sold in bulk in America, you will probably have to do it yourself. But fear not: All you need is a coffee grinder (electric or manual). 

• Place 3–4 tablespoons of poppy seeds into a coffee grinder
• Grind until their color changes to dark blue, and the texture feels like wet sand (see photo above).
• TIP: shake your coffee grinder, up and down, like a shaker, so that seeds grind evenly.

Process only the quantity used in the recipe, because they become stale very quickly.

How to Make Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

There’s nothing worse than making a perfectly moist and springy cake, and having a hard time getting it out, because it’s stuck to the bottom of the pan, or its sides.

I use a non-stick bundt pan, spray it with vegetable oil (or grease it with 1 tablespoon of butter), and flour it thoroughly.

To make the poppy seed cake batter, start by creaming butter, sugar and egg yolks together. This adds lightness to the batter, as air gets whipped into the butter. Then, add in the poppy seeds, flour, baking powder, and milk. 

You’ll beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the batter. This step makes the cake light and airy. Then, pop it in the oven for 45–50 minutes and you’re good to go.

How to Serve Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

Let the bundt cake cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before inverting it. And last but not least, give it a dusting of powdered sugar and dig in! 

If you’re having it with tea or coffee, sip it in style. I sell beautiful, hand-thrown Czech ceramic cups, mugs, and tea pots that will totally complete your coffee cake experience.

Keep Your Oven On. More Delicious Recipes:

1. Vanilla Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake with swirls of chocolate and vanilla batter. Divine!
2. My friend Ben’s old family recipe for Walnut Cinnamon Bundt Cake
3. Paleo, keto, gluten-free, and so easy to make: Chocolate Banana Paleo Cake
4. Chocolate and apples shine in this fun and quick Rocky Road Apple Chocolate Cake
5. Upside Down Cranberry Cake is perfectly sweet and sour.
6. Dense and delicious: Banana Cranberry Nut Bread
7. My favorite Czech pastry are Kolache.

Discover other scrumptious, vegetarian Czech recipes that I learned from my mom and my grandma—click here.

And if you’re short on time, and only have 30 minutes to cook, I have a collection of recipes that could help.

Now you.

Are you a fan of poppy seeds? Did you make this bundt cake? What’s your favorite coffee cake?

Tell me in the comments.

Print