So decision made, and because any recipe is just a suggestion I decided to mix and match.
My cake is going to be 2 tier thingy, bottom made of chocolate sponge and top of a poppy seed one. Where I came from poppy seed cakes are essentials for Christmas and Easter, so given my birthday is just a week from Easter - why not. Both cakes will be layered with white chocolate ganache and blackcurrant jam made by my friend. And maybe some of my raspberry curd (homemade of course).
So chocolate sponge:
6 eggs (separated)
150g caster sugar
115g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
40g melted butter (cooled)
pinch of soda bicarb
Vanilla (paste, extract or whatever you want)
All ingredients must be in a room temperature (not straight from the fridge- eggs, or boiling hot- butter).
Whip the egg whites till stiff, in separate bowl whip the yolks with sugar till creamy and light in colour, add melted butter top yolks and keep mixing. Add yolks with butter to whites and gently mix, add flour, cocoa and soda. Mix until smooth but still with lots of air. Prepare the baking tin, line it with paper or parchment. Put the mixture in a tin and bake @180C (gas mark 5) for about 30 min (or till stick comes dry). Then cut it into 3 layers. Et Voila.
Poppy seed sponge
5 eggs (separated)
150g caster sugar
2 tbs ground almonds
120g fine sponge flour
2 tbs corn or potato flour
1 tbs of baking powder (I give 1 heaped tsp of soda)
200g dry poppy seeds (blue ones)
Whip the whites till stiff, add the caster sugar, make sure its properly mixed. Add the egg yolks, keep mixing. Sieve the flours, powder and almonds, add poppy seeds, mix gently not to knock out the air from egg whites. Put in a baking tin (lined again) and bake for 45 min (or till stick comes dry) @180C (gas mark 5). When baked cut it into 3 layers again.
Then, spread jam on the chocolate cake, then put cream on it, and next layer.
And again, and again until you use all the cake layers, or cream, or it will get too high to fit in your fridge. Then spread cream on the top layer, decorate it the way you want and can. Enjoy.
ps. Poppy seed cake can be very dry,so it would do it good if you moisten it with alcohol of some sort (brandy is good) or lemon juice mixed with water and maybe some syrup.
pss. My ganache is definitely my take on recipe, as everywhere they say that you should melt chocolate in cream and the whip it when cool, with white chocolate it was always dieseaster. So I whip the cream until firm then add melted chocolate. At least it keeps its shape.
