Mohnkuchen — Silesian Poppy Seed Cake
A soft yeast dough filled with a thick ground poppy seed cream, sweetened and flavored with lemon and raisins. Dark, melting, deeply comforting.
A soft yeast dough filled with a thick ground poppy seed cream, sweetened and flavored with lemon and raisins. Dark, melting, deeply comforting.
Poppy, in our Silesia, was the sweetness of great days. My mother would grind the blue seeds until she obtained a dark, fragrant paste, which she spread on the yeast dough before baking. We prepared this cake in advance, for it kept for several days without losing any of its softness. Taste a slice slowly: it is a whole childhood country coming back to you.
- •Wheat flour — for the yeast dough (brioche base)
- •Baker's yeast — a little (leavening)
- •Milk, butter, sugar, egg — according to the dough (richness of the brioche)
- •Ground blue poppy seeds — a large amount (master filling)
- •Raisins — a handful (sweetness)
- •Lemon zest — from one fruit (freshness)
- •Fine semolina or breadcrumbs — a little (binds the filling)
Mohnkuchen — Silesian Poppy Seed Cake
A soft yeast dough filled with a thick ground poppy seed cream, sweetened and flavored with lemon and raisins. Dark, melting, deeply comforting.
Why this dish? The blue poppy is the signature of Silesia where Edith was born. In the Breslau home, ground poppy seeds flavored holiday cakes — a German-Jewish heritage shared throughout the region. This dense cake is prepared the day before and keeps for several days, a testament to a cuisine of foresight.
Poppy, in our Silesia, was the sweetness of great days. My mother would grind the blue seeds until she obtained a dark, fragrant paste, which she spread on the yeast dough before baking. We prepared this cake in advance, for it kept for several days without losing any of its softness. Taste a slice slowly: it is a whole childhood country coming back to you.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — for the yeast dough (brioche base)
- Baker's yeast — a little (leavening)
- Milk, butter, sugar, egg — according to the dough (richness of the brioche)
- Ground blue poppy seeds — a large amount (master filling)
- Raisins — a handful (sweetness)
- Lemon zest — from one fruit (freshness)
- Fine semolina or breadcrumbs — a little (binds the filling)
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour — 300 g (yeast dough)
- Fresh baker's yeast — 15 g (leavening)
- Warm milk — 120 ml (hydration)
- Soft butter — 60 g (softness)
- Sugar — 60 g (dough) + 80 g (filling) (sweetness)
- Egg — 1 (binder)
- Ground blue poppy seeds — 250 g (signature filling)
- Milk for the filling — 200 ml (loosens the poppy)
- Raisins — 50 g (fruity sweetness)
- Zest of one lemon — 1 (flavor)
- Fine semolina — 2 tbsp (thickens the filling)
Method
- Dissolve the yeast in warm milk, add to the flour with sugar, egg, and butter. Knead into a soft dough and let rise for 1 hour, until doubled.
- For the filling, heat the milk, pour in the ground poppy seeds, sugar, raisins, lemon zest, and semolina. Let thicken for a few minutes, then cool.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle, spread the poppy cream over the entire surface.
- Roll tightly into a log, place in a buttered loaf pan, cover, and let rise for another 30 minutes.
- Brush with egg wash and bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Let cool completely: the cake slices better the next day and keeps for 3 to 4 days tightly wrapped.
How it was made : In Silesia and throughout Central Europe, blue poppy (Mohn) is a traditional holiday filling, shared by German, Jewish, and Slavic cuisines. In the old days, seeds were ground with a manual poppy seed mill to release the fragrant milk. The cake, prepared in large quantities before holidays, kept for several days — a precious virtue in an era without refrigeration.
The contemporary twist : A dusting of icing sugar and a few candied lemon zest strips transform this rustic cake into a Central European tea-room pastry.
Sources : Edith Stein, Life of a Jewish Family (memories of the Breslau home) · Henriette Davidis, Praktisches Kochbuch, 1845 (Central European poppy seed pastries)
Edith Stein · Charactorium