Recipe: Lemon Poppy Buttermilk Mini-Loaves

Lemon Poppy Buttermilk Mini-Loaves
from Light Jewish Holiday Desserts
Makes four 3x5-inch mini-loaves or one 12-cup Bundt cake

Perfect for Purim mishloah minot (gifts), this classic Jewish dessert has two-thirds less fat and three-quarters less cholesterol than its traditional counterpart. For the perfect texture, make the cake at least four hours in advance. If you like a bitter edge to your lemon cakes, add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract and/or one teaspoon of grated lemon zest. Serve on: Purim, Sukkot, Shabbat, Yom ha-Atzma'ut

Lemon Glaze and Soak
1 cup 10x powdered sugar
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons), room temperature
2 teaspoons water

Cake
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
(68 to70 degrees F)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (300 grams) sifted cake flour, lightly sprinkled into a measuring cup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 cup nonfat, or lowfat buttermilk, room temperature
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), room temperature
1/4 cup pear baby food (less than a 3-ounce jar), at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, with an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Spray-grease and flour four 3x5-inch loaf pans or 1 Bundt pan.

2. In a small bowl, make the glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and water. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

3. To make the cake, in a large mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium speed, until creamy. Add the brown sugar, and beat for 2 minutes.

4. In another bowl, whisk together the egg and egg whites. On medium speed, beat the eggs into the butter mixture a little at a time. Beat on medium-high until the mixture is smooth, thick, and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in the poppy seeds.

6. In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, lemon juice and baby food. On low, in 3 additions, alternately stir the flour and buttermilk mixtures into the batter, mixing only until no flour is visible.

7. Divide the batter among the pans. Rap them on the counter to remove any large bubbles. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes for loaf pans, and 35 to 45 minutes for a bundt pan, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with no moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and set the pans on a cooling rack. Immediately use a skewer to poke about 2 dozen holes into each of the cakes (8 dozen in the tube pan), making sure the skewer goes all the way to the bottom. Spoon 3 tablespoons of glaze over each mini-loaf (the whole thing over a tube pan). Cool completely before removing from the pans.

8. Cakes can be wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature for 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months (defrost in foil at room temperature. (Individual slices defrost nicely in the microwave).

Variation: Orange juice makes a great substitute for the lemon. The poppy seeds can be omitted or replaced with finely chopped nuts.