Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

This is a white cake made only with egg whites, so it contrasts nicely with the black poppy seeds.

Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and cut off the tips.
In a small saucepan, scald the milk with the vanilla bean.

In a small bowl, combine the scalded milk, vanilla bean and poppy seeds.
Let cool to room temperature. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the milk mixture and discard the pod.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, two minutes. Gradually add 1 cup of the sugar and continue to beat until very light and creamy, about 5 minutes.

Sift in one-third of the flour mixture; stir to combine. Beat in half of the milk-poppy seed mixture. Repeat 2 more times with the remaining dry ingredients and milk.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add a pinch of salt and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, increasing the speed to high before adding the last 2 teaspoons. Beat until the meringue is stiff and shiny, about 1 minute. Fold one-fourth
of the meringue into the cake batter. Fold in the remaining meringue.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool
in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool, right-side up, on the rack.

Using a long serrated knife, trim off the crusty top of the cake.
Slice the cake horizontally into 3 even layers; set aside the middle layer to use as the top. Place the bottom layer on the serving plate. Spread 3/4 cup of the Cream Cheese Icing over the bottom cake layer. Repeat with the second layer. Top the cake with the middle layer. Frost the sides of the cake with a thin layer of icing.
Refrigerate for 10 minutes, then frost the sides again with enough Cream Cheese Icing to cover completely.