Photographs: Claire Bogusz
Text: Claire Bogusz
Ring in a new year and brighten up a dreary month with these colourful, delicious cakes!
Get cosy with your favourite warm beverage and enjoy some little bites of citrusy delights—
the perfect combination of tangy and sweet is sure to lift your spirits on a grey day!
Lemon poppy seed teacakes with blueberry glaze and meringue kisses
(Makes approximately 18 cakes)
Ingredients for the cake:
325 g flour (hvedemel)
1 ¾ tsp baking powder (bagepulver)
¼ tsp baking soda (natron)
½ teaspoon salt
112 g butter, softened
120 ml sunflower oil (solsikkeolie)
310 g granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar (vaniljesukker)
4 eggs
180 ml milk
120 ml fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh lemon zest (plus extra for garnish)
2 tbsp poppy seeds (birkes)
Ingredients for the blueberry glaze:
60 g frozen blueberries
170 g powdered sugar (flormelis)
1 tbsp milk
pinch of salt
Ingredients for the meringue kisses:
58 g liquid pasteurized egg whites (æggehvider)
117 g granulated sugar
Food colouring (optional)
Method for the cakes:
#1 Prepare a muffin tin by greasing the bottom and sides of each cavity with butter and
dust with sugar. Tap out excess sugar.
#2 Preheat oven to 176°C.
#3 Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set
aside.
#4 Add the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat together
until light in colour and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
#5 Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined after each. Scrape down the sides
of the bowl as necessary to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
#6 Add one half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until combined.
#7 Combine milk and lemon juice, then slowly add the mixture to the batter and mix well
until combined.
#8 Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down
the sides of the bowl as needed and be careful not to over mix.
#9 Gently stir in lemon zest and poppy seeds.
#10 Divide batter evenly in the muffin tin. Bake for about 22 minutes, until cakes are lightly
golden and an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
#11 Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before inverting tin so
that cakes come out upside down. Allow cakes to cool completely on a rack.
Method for the glaze:
#1 With a blender or food processor, combine the glaze ingredients and puree on high
until you have a smooth glaze. Using a spoon, drizzle over the top of cooled cakes.
Method for the meringue kisses:
#1 Preheat oven to 90°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
#2 Pour egg whites into a large glass or metal bowl. Whisk egg whites using an electric
mixer until soft peaks form.
#3 Gradually add sugar to the bowl, whisking until stiff peaks form.
#4 If you are colouring your meringues, add colour and stir until reaching desired shade.
(Tip: for a swirled effect with your meringues, add a couple of drops of colouring and
mix just slightly so the colour is streaked through the white meringues and not
completely combined.)
#5 Using a pastry bag fitted with your nozzle of choice, fill with meringue mixture and pipe
meringues directly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pipe different sizes of
meringues for a lovely varied effect.
#6 Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours until meringues can be lifted cleanly from the parchment.
#7 Allow to cool before topping cakes with your meringues.
#8 Sprinkle finished teacakes with extra lemon zest.