I made this Viennese Poppy Seed Torte, Mohntorte, to assuage my longing for poppy seeds. I know it sounds strange. Why of all culinary ingredients available in the United States, would I miss poppy seeds?
Well, poppy seed dishes were part of my Ukrainian-American childhood, often used for special occasion treats such as strudels and cakes and kutia* for Christmas. Later, when I started to work and travel oversas, I discovered delicious applications of poppy seeds in other ethnic kitchens, which I enjoyed abroad.
American cooks seem to regard poppy seeds as exotic, perhaps even dangerous because of the blue-black poppy seeds’ origin. We Americans sprinkle a few grains on bagels and a teaspoon or so in muffins or bread dough, but few cooks explore the wider array of sweet and savory poppy seed dishes enjoyed elsewhere. Mostly, poppy seeds are reserved to immigrant kitchens in America but used with flare in cakes, rolls, cookies, noodles, fish and vegetable recipes in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine.
The beautiful red poppy plant in all of its variations has attracted attention for millennia. Food historians now conclude that Papaver somniferum was first cultivated simultaneously by Crete’s Minoan civilization (2700-1400 B.C.E) and in parts of Central Asia for medicinal and culinary purposes. It also may have been cultivated as early as the Neolithic Age in the Alps. It is unclear how mankind learned centuries ago that milky sap from underripe seed pods can be processed into opium, and the dried-out pods’ seeds were safe to eat and delicious.
Early Egyptians pressed cooking oil from poppy seeds and celebrated its utility as a sedative in papyrus scrolls. Hippocrates in the 5th century BCE suggested using opium as a pain killer. Ancient Romans mixed poppy seeds with wine and honey to energize Olympic athletes. In the 2nd century BCE, women in Crete cultivated poppy plants for opium, while at the same time Greek women used its seeds to flavor bread. Islamic and Arabian countries used opium medicinally in the 6th century CE.
During the Middle Ages, crusaders and spice traders brought poppy seeds to Europe where they were crushed into a popular spread for topping bread. Austrian monasterial records show that poppies were cultivated as medicinal plants and provided oil for nourishment and fuel for sanctuaries. Europeans began baking with poppy seeds in the 16th century.
By the 17th century, Asians used poppy plants as a drug. Europeans began trafficking opium in the 19th century, culminating in the Opium Wars in which China lost control of the opium industry to Britain. In Victorian England, a poppy derivate known as tincture of laudanum was used to treat or prevent a great variety of ills, such as dysentery, malaria, tuberculosis, cough, insomnia, anxiety and even colic in infants.
Although red poppies have symbolized honor since antiquity, American history with Papaver somniferum is equivocal. This species of the Papaver genus was brought by early settlers to North America. Shakers grew this genus as a crop; other immigrants grew it in home gardens.
In 1915, the US Department of Agriculture even encouraged the cultivation of opium poppy as a cash crop for northern farmers. Commercial and domestic cultivation proceeded without government restrictions until 1942 when the US Congress decided to control opiate consumption by banning domestic cultivation of Papaver somniferum and forced pharmaceutical companies to import opium (used to produce morphine and other opiates) from designated countries.
Among the many genera of poppies grown in the US, only growing the opium poppy species is illegal. Federal law permits importation of Papaver somniferum seeds for culinary use, and while these poppy seeds are also sold for gardens, planting raises troublesome questions about the gardener’s intent. Today, due to breeding, poppy seeds for culinary use have very low morphine contents and are grown in commercial quantities in Australia, Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Most US imports of poppy seeds come from the Netherlands.
Raw poppy seeds
Despite its tangled legal history, those tiny, pesky seeds that stick in your teeth are very good for you. They are rich in magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron zinc and fiber. Although barely a speck, poppy seeds are rich, containing 40-50% oil.
The poppy seed color spectrum ranges from white, blue, grey to black-blue seeds with correspondingly different flavors and intensities. Common varieties are grey or blue-black seeds used for baking and cooking both sweet and savory delicacies. The taste of poppy seeds ranges from mild and nutty to tart and bitter; roasting or baking often evokes its characteristic flavor. Blue and gray poppy seeds are used interchangeably for savory and sweet dishes.
Poppy seeds work best with other ingredients. Although they may be sprinkled whole atop baked goods, they are usually crushed to reveal their emulsive properties (like those of groundnuts) for cakes, fillings and sauces. Like other nut-flour confections, poppyseed pastries should not be overbaked as they tend to dry out.
Buying and preparing poppy seeds: Fresh poppy seeds are best, and I usually buy them online in bulk from spice retailers** and store tightly wrapped in the freezer. Except when poppy seeds are used decoratively to top breads and pastries, seeds added to dough or used as filling are ground for most traditional poppy seed cakes and pastries. Pulsing the seeds in a spice mill or dedicated coffee grinder works best to release their oil while retaining the seeds’ distinct shape. When grinding, loose seeds become sticky, intensifying their color, and looking like moist, loamy soil when ready to use.
Ground poppy seeds
The Austrian poppy seed torte – mohntorte — comes in various delicious presentations. At its simplest, as a one-layer cake spread with tart red currant jam and topped with whipped cream. Occasionally, hazelnut instead of almond flour is used in the dough. There are many versions of mohntorte as two-layer cakes, filled with jam and chocolate ganache. Some versions are iced with chocolate or coated with confectioner’s sugar or wrapped in marzipan. Each version is delicious in its own way.
I opted to combine poppy seeds’ natural affinity for lemon and almonds by using a lemon curd filling, also adding almond flour to the dough and coating the cake in rolled marzipan. Each of these torte elements is easy to make and can be prepared several days ahead and assembled on the day of serving. I prepared this torte in reverse order, starting with elements that can be stored longer such as the marzipan coating and candied lemon peel garnish.
This Viennese Poppy Seed Torte’s pairing poppy seeds with the tartness of lemons and nuttiness of almonds beautifully illustrates the taste experience that Americans are missing by ignoring the poppy seeds’ special flavor. Flourless almond and poppy seed layers, perfect for those with gluten intolerance, are rich with flavor enhanced by the fragrant, smooth lemon curd and subtle notes of rum and cinnamon. In terms of esthetics, the deep gray torte layers punctuated by a band of bright yellow curd, clothed in yellow marzipan, embellished with sparkling strands of candied lemon peel and a sprinkle of poppy seeds is a stunning sight. A great dessert!
Viennese Poppy Seed Torte – Mohntorte
For homemade marzipan:
11 ounces (300 g) blanched almond flour, purchased
5.3 ounces (150 g) confectioner’s sugar plus extra for dusting
4 ounces (110 g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon rose water
1 medium egg white***
½ teaspoon yellow food coloring, optional
For candied lemon peel garnish:
3 lemons
1½ cups sugar, divided
1 cup water
For cake layers:
9 ounces (250 g) poppy seeds + 2 addiional tablespoons for decoration
3.5 ounces (100 g) almond flour
7 ounces (200 g) butter, room temperature
7 ounces (200 g) + 1 tablespoon sugar
6 egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon rum extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 egg whites, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon butter (for cake pans)
2 tablespoons rum
For lemon curd:
6 ounces (170g) egg yolks **(approximately 6-7 eggs),
reserve whites for another use
1½ cup (312g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
6 ounces lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 5 lemons)
4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter, diced cold
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon powdered gelatin (for cake, tart or pie filling; omit is making spread)
Preparing marzipan: Place almond flour, granulated and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add syrup, almond extract, rose water and food coloring if using and pulse to combine. Add egg white and continue pulsing until a thick, moist dough is formed and the marzipan paste pulls away from the walls of the food processor bowl.
Turn marzipan out on a work surface lightly dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Knead a few times to bring together and form into a smooth log. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for flavors to meld and sugars to dissolve.
Marzipan will keep for at least a month in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before using in any recipe.
Makes 13-14 ounces (369-396g) marzipan.
Preparing candied lemon peel: With a vegetable peeler, remove peel from about two lemons from top to bottom. Slice peel into thin ribbons. Juice peeled lemons into a measuring cup and save for later use in preparing lemon curd.
Place peel in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then drain immediately. Repeat 2 times to remove bitterness.
Return peel to saucepan. Add 1 cup sugar and water and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender, about 15 min. Drain, reserving syrup for use when assembling cake.**** Toss peel in remaining ½ cup sugar in a small bowl until well coated, then transfer to a plate to dry completely. Store in a sealed container until ready to use.
Makes 1 cup.
Preparing poppy seeds: Grind dry poppy seeds in spice or coffee grinder until a dark, earthy color. Set aside and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preparing dough and baking layers: Preheat oven to 400°F(200°C). Butter two 8 inch (24cm) loose-bottomed cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper.
Cream butter at low speed in a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, adding sugar until incorporated. Add egg yolks, extracts and cinnamon; beat until fluffy. Mix in poppy seeds and almond flour until incorporated.
In a clean bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks (like whipped cream). Stir one-quarter of the whites into batter to lighten dough texture. Then, working one third at a time, gently fold remaining egg whites to avoid deflating dough as little as possible until combined. (Undermixing is better than overmixing.)
Divide dough evenly between the two baking pans. (I weigh each cake pan.) Bake on the middle oven rack for about 25-30 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness after 20 minutes. (If a toothpick comes out clean, layers are done.) Remove from oven and cool in cake pans for 15 minutes, then flip cake layers onto a cooling rack covered with a tea towel and remove parchment paper. Cake layers must be at room temperature for filling. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate if not ready to fill the cake.
Preparing lemon curd: Combine lemon zest and sugar in a food processor and process until zest pieces are tiny.
Weigh egg yolks and place in a medium-sized heatproof glass bowl. (Since eggs come in different sizes, weighing assures curd consistency.) Whisk in both sugars until combined. Then mix in all remaining ingredients except butter.
Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water, place on the stove and heat on high to boiling; reduce heat to a simmer. Place mixing bowl over the simmering water creating a double boiler. Constantly whisk until mixture reaches 120°F(49°C). (Whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling.) Continue to whisk, adding butter one cube at a time until incorporated and curd has thickened.
Pour curd into a glass container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Tightly covered curd can be frozen for up to 3-6 months but should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Makes 1 – 1.5 cups
Assembling torte: Place one torte layer on a cake plate. Stir in 2 tablespoons of rum into ½ cup of reserved lemon syrup. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of syrup over the torte layer. Spread a ½ inch (1.27cm) thickness of lemon curd. Top with remaining torte layer. Again, drizzle layer with lemon syrup. Cover torte and refrigerate.
On a work surface lightly dusted with confectioner’s sugar, roll out the marzipan to ¼ inch (0.6 cm) thickness and at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) wider than the diameter of your cake. Brush the surface of the cake with lemon syrup for adhesion. Drape rolled marzipan over the rolling pin and place over the assembled cake. Tuck tightly around the cake, smoothing top and sides with a flat-edged cake smoother. Trim off the excess marzipan and reserve leftover marzipan for other uses.
Decorate torte with candied lemon peel and poppy seeds.
When ready to serve, cut torte with a very sharp knife taking care not to press hard.
Finished torte should be refrigerated covered for 4 hours before serving for filling and marzipan to set and can be stored refrigerated for up to one week.
Serves 10-12
* Kutia is a Ukrainian poppy seed wheat pudding, consisting of cooked grains of whole wheat, honey, walnuts, raisins and poppy seeds and served as part of the 12 course Christmas Eve dinner. Other Eastern European countries (Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Slovakia) prepare variations of kutia. In Bulgaria kolivo, in Greece kollyva, in Romania coliva and in Serbia, it is known as koljivo.
** Available online from Bob’s Red Mill, Penzeys and Amazon.
*** Egg white is traditionally used to bind marzipan. The sugars help prevent bacteria from growing. Purchased pasteurized egg whites may be used instead.
**** Leftover lemon syrup can be used in cocktails that call for simple syrup, or in a non-alcoholic sparkling lemonade: Combine ½ cup lemon syrup, ½ cup lemon juice and 2 cups club soda. Serve over ice.
One year ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/cranberry-cream-tart/
Two years ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/german-apple-cake-gedeckter-apfelkuchen/
Three years ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/spiral-stromboli-three-fillings/
Four years ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/istanbul-and-turkish-meze/
Five years ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/norwegian-pear-cake-not-lost-in-translation/
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