MOHNKUCHEN

[JHZR2]

Hello,

Ten years ago and before, there was a great baker on Bustleton Ave. in NE Philadelphia. It was called Bauer's Bakery. They had the best mohnkuchen, as well as butter cake and other treats.

They had a fire and never rebuilt. The German population of NE Philadelphia died and went elsewhere, and the Russians and now the Brazilians have since moved in.

Theirs was so good... with a frosting drizzle on top and plenty of filling, not too much dough.

THe best I can do these days is go into the Jewish section of our supermarket, where they sell a poppy seed swirl cake. You can see it here:

http://www.babka.com/prod_Poppy_Seed_Swirl_36_2.html

Its good, but not as I remember. I see a lot of recipes on the net, but dont really know which are good. Any of you food experts care to recommend a good starting point to make a good mohnkuchen?

Thanks

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Any of you food experts care to recommend a good starting point to make a good mohnkuchen?



1-800-the-mori

There are plenty of recipes on the web. Was it looking like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/312442121/

 

[JHZR2]

not quite like that picture, but thats getting closer... I think with that many sweet poppies, Id go into sugar shock...

Ive never ventured beyond making cookies before, my wife does the desserts. I really want to try to make something soon though...

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
sweet poppies


What are "sweet poppies?" Poppy seed cake is not supposed to be particularly sweet. If you find a German cake recipe, increase the sugar content by 75% to please the average American taste.

I only know blue and black poppy seeds. If you can't buy ground poppies, you need a poppy seed mill.

 

[moribundman]

I prefer a poppy stollen over poppy seed cake. I think I showed this one last year:

It's not sweet at all. I also don't put a glaze on it. If anyone wants it sweeter, they can dump powdered sugar on it.

 

[JHZR2]

well most recipes Ive seen ask for 500g of poppy seeds and 1cup of sugar. Id call that "sweet".

THat is the main reason I want to make my own. It is, from my recollection, a desert, there was a small drizzle of frosting on it. Youre right, it wasnt terribly sweet, but it wasnt a poppy seed bagel either.

My biggest issue with the one available in the Jewish areas of supermarkets is that it IS TOO sweet.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Mmmmm.... poppy seed cake... my favorite. Polish stores sell it around here but it's nowhere near as good as the home-made stuff my mom and grandma make. Way too much work for me to even remotely consider making it on my own...

BTW, is this what mohnkuchen looks like?

 

[moribundman]

Pete, both are Mohnkuchen. The top one is a Mohnrolle (poppy roll), which is made with a yeast dough. The poppy cake in the second picture is a stirred cake (no yeast).

There are dozens of versions and variants, also by region. See images here.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
well most recipes Ive seen ask for 500g of poppy seeds and 1cup of sugar. Id call that "sweet".


Well, I don't know where you find your recipes. Your filling is nothing but sugar and poppy seed?

I presume you can find the recipe for the yeast dough (medium consistency) you need.

I can give you the ingredient list for the poppy filling of a traditional Bavarian poppy roll:

250 g ground poppy seed
250 ml milk
30 g butter
150 g sugar
100 g sultana raisins (soaked in rum for a day)
50 g finely ground nuts
lemon peel/zest or vanilla
1 tablespoon rum
1 egg

Bring milk with butter, vanilla (or lemon peel/zest) to a boil. Add poppy seed and sugar. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the the mixture thickens. Add ground nuts, sultanas, and rum. Then stir the egg in.

The filling is put on the rolled out yeast dough (ca 1/4" thin). The dough is then rolled up and put in a cake baking dish (any shape you like). Brush with butter, sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake at 180 to 200 °C for 45 to 60 minutes. Dust the cooled down cake with powdered sugar (if you want that), or brush it with a rum or arrack glaze (to prevent drying out, if you want to keep the cake a few days).

 

[moribundman]

The Mohnbeugel is more popular than poppy cake in Germany. This type of "Beugel" (it means "bent;" "bagel" comes from it) is also available with a nut or almond filling. Every German bakery has it.

 

[MarginCalled]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
I prefer a poppy stollen over poppy seed cake. I think I showed this one last year:

I think it's smiling at me.


I think it just moved.

 

[moribundman]

You better watch your back. That cake is high on opiates.