Tangerine Poppy Seed Cake

This cake is love at first bite.  It's moist and citrusy, and the poppy seeds give it this amazing light crunchy texture.  Then there's the glaze, it's sweet and tangy.  And best of all, this cake actually tastes like fresh tangerine.  

Not only is this cake wonderfully delicious, but it's educational. I learned so many things while making it. 

I learned that orange extract is fabulous.  It really does taste like fresh orange and it gave my cake that little extra citrus ooomph.  It's now a staple of my spice cabinet, and I liked it so much that I went out and bought lemon extract, too.

I learned that poppy seeds actually have a flavor.  I thought they were just pretty and crunchy, but when you get enough of them together they have a kind of peppery scent and subtle taste.  Scalding them in the milk first helps release some of that flavor by breaking down their outer casings.

I learned that non-stick bundt pans, like milk, mascara, and those jeans from college, have a life span.  Don't wait for the inevitable to happen, replace yours while you still can.

The cake release gods weren't listening to my prayers.

I learned that a good glaze can hide a multitude of sins.  (So can careful cropping)

And I also learned that something can look like a train wreck, and still taste divine.

Tangerine Poppy Seed Cake   (adapted from Junglefrog Cooking)

(oven to 350)

• 13 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup buttermilk 
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 16 Tbsp (two sticks) room temp butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• the seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• zest of 1 tangerine
• 5 Tbsp tangerine juice
• 1/4 tsp orange extract

Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• juice of 1 tangerine
• a few drops orange extract
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Spray and flour a bundt pan (or a tube pan with a removable bottom) Heat the poppy seed in the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling.  Add the buttermilk, juice, zest and vanilla beans and set aside to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between. Mix the flours, baking powder, soda and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the wet.  Beat just until blended with each addition. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool for about 15 minutes and then carefully turn it out onto a rack. To make the glaze, add just enough of the tangerine juice to the sugar to make a fairly thick glaze.  Add the poppy seeds and extract and stir well. When the cake is cool, go to town with the glaze.

Note: I do plan to make this again soon and I will probably make it in my angel food cake tube pan with the removable bottom.  Even with a new bundt pan, I'm wondering if the moistness of the cake isn't a good match for the intricate design of the bundt, with all the nooks and crannies for the cake to get stuck in.