Poppy Seed Bread

Are you as sick of lemon poppy seed as I am? So when I saw a recipe without the word "lemon" in it, I gave it a second look. Hmmm...almond extract. Now that sounds good! Baked in a bundt or tube pan. Wait a sec. Is this a cake or a bread? I had to make it and find out.

I had a couple of problems with this recipe right off the bat. It says to pour the batter into the pan with no mention of the usual grease and/or flour. I know there is a cup of butter in it, but I wasn't comfortable just pouring the batter into an ungreased pan. I gave the bundt pan I was using a light coating of cooking spray. I did have trouble coaxing the final product out of the pan. But when it did finally decide to come out, it came out in one piece. The other issue I had was with the butter. The recipe calls for 1 cup of butter or margarine. It doesn't say soften or melt it before adding it to the batter. I couldn't see how it could be combined with the other ingredients and then whipped into a light and fluffy concoction unless it was at least softened first which is what I did.

The final product looked gorgeous. It's definitely sweet, more like a cake than a tea bread. The almond flavoring is overwhelming though. 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract is much too much. I would want to at least cut it in half. I think just a hint of almond flavoring is more palatable.

Verdict: Not bad, but I probably won't be making this again.

Poppy Seed Bread

(Source: MomsMenu.com )

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter or margarine

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat 350 degree oven. Combine sugar, butter, eggs, and extracts. Mix on medium speed, scrape bowl often until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Beat 1-2 minutes more until mixed. Pour into bundt or tube pan. Bake 50-65 minutes until done. Cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice into medium thin pieces and place on serving plate for guests.

Recycle: almond extract and vanilla extract bottles

Compost: eggshells