Recipe: Poppy, Berry + Cream Cake

Hi, it’s Liz and I’m so glad to be here today because I'd like to take you on a little trip to delicious food for celebrations starting this month on decor8! It feels like spring just took off this weekend where I live after an endless winter (at least it felt endless!), and all of a sudden green is everywhere! People are simply longing for the sun — they’re sitting on benches and on the grass eating their lunch, turning their faces towards the sun. At our market, the stands are filled with the first local plump red strawberries of the season. Isn’t this when you enjoy inviting people over again? Last weekend I kicked off the BBQ season and had friends stop by for a spontaneous evening of food and drink. Why not start planning some nice get togethers of your own to celebrate spring or even a birthday, or anything else that feels good and gets you together with those you love? I’ve started the celebration theme by making a multi-tiered cake with poppy seeds for you today and I've filled it with layers of yogurt, cream and berries. Yum! This should get your inspired to invite over some friends!

Berry & poppy seed cake (8 inch diameter)

Cake 3 tablespoons poppy seed 1 cup unsalted melted butter 1 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

Filling 2 cups crème fraîche 1 cups yoghurt 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar 1 cup whipping cream 1/4 lb raspberries 1/2 lb strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the dough, roast the poppy seeds in a pan (without oil) and let them cool. Melt the butter and allow to cool. Mix the flour with the baking powder. In a bowl, mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the melted butter, poppy seeds and flour and mix. Lightly grease a silicone baking pan and pour a third of the dough into the pan. Bake in the oven until golden, approx. 25 minutes. Repeat twice more with the rest of the dough.

For the filling, mix the crème fraîche with the yoghurt and vanilla sugar. Whip the cream until stiff and fold under the yoghurt mixture. Hull the strawberries and slice into halves. Place one of the cakes onto a plate and place some berries on top. Spread some of the filling over the berries. Repeat with the other cakes. Decorate with some berries. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

(Photo: Lisa Nieschlag ("Liz"). Recipe from "DAYlicious" authored by Lisa Nieschlag, Julia Cawley, Ulrike Dittloff, Jessica Hesseler, Daniela Klein and Susanne Schanz.)