Lemon poppyseed cake

Another product of yesterday's cooking marathon. The poppyseeds added a pleasing crunch to the cake. If you wish, you could poke holes in the cake after taking it out of the oven, and pour in lemon or orange syrup for added moistness. I've done it that way before, but this time I wanted a simpler cake with a lighter calorie load. The older I get, the simpler I want my food preparations to be.

Lemon poppyseed cake
Adapted from Nick Malgieri's Orange poppy seed cake

For the cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 lb/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup poppyseeds
zest of 1 lemon (2 lemons if you prefer a stronger lemon flavour)

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 F

Butter a 9-inch springform pan. For additional insurance you can line the bottom with buttered parchment or wax paper.

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Mix.

In a larger bowl beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until soft and light, about 5 minutes. You can use a heavy0duty mixer; I used a handheld and it worked a treat. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each addition.

Switch mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Then beat in the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture.

Use a rubber spatula to give the batter a final mix. Fold in the poppy seeds and lemon zest. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake on a rack to room temperature. Remove the pan sides and slide the cake onto a platter. Run a sharp knife between the cake and paper, and pull out the paper.

Storage: Keep under a cake dome at room temperature.