I love cake! Now I know you are thinking to yourself – “I knew there was something strange about that woman”! But before you cast me aside like an old Teflon pan, please hear me out. (Perhaps I should have started with I love good cake.) I have found that there is a huge problem in America today. (You’re shocked, I know!) Many Americans have forgotten how truly delicious cake can be. (I blame this on corporate America. Too many truly retched products calling themselves “cake” served at office birthday parties. Makes me itch just thinking about it.) So I have decided to make it my mission to return cake to its rightful place as one of the best desserts to serve an afternoon guest or to end a meal. And this recipe should go a long way towards helping me attain my goal. Sour Cream Poppy Seed Cake is quick and easy to prepare (seven ingredients, all of which are refrigerator or pantry staples), has an incredibly moist and tender texture, and the flavor is beyond delicious. So if you are one of those disillusioned souls who have lost their love for a truly good cake, please give this recipe a try. And next time you are handed a piece of store bought birthday cake at work (usually white, with raspberry filling, and thick white Crisco icing), graciously decline. If pressure is applied, take a piece, thank the person, turn around and walk out of the room. Remember, garbage cans were invented for this very reason!
- ½ c. (1 stick) butter, melted
- 1 c. sour cream (light is fine)
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- ½ c. cream sherry (I like Paul Masson Golden Cream Sherry)
- 1/3 c. poppy seeds
- 1 (18 1/2-oz.) pkg. vanilla or yellow cake mix (without pudding)
- 1 (3 ¾-oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
Combine melted butter (slightly warm is fine), sour cream, eggs, cream sherry, and poppy seeds in the bowl of your mixer. Blend well. Add dry cake mix and vanilla pudding mix. Beat for a full 5 minutes on medium speed. Pour into a greased* and floured Bundt pan. Place in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for approximately 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean. (Watch closely the last few minutes. You don’t want to over bake this cake.) Turn cake out onto a cake plate or cooling rack immediately. Excellent served slightly warm or at room temperature.
*In my opinion, Crisco works better than butter for greasing cake pans.
Additional baking tips: If at all possible, avoid using baking pans that are of a dark color. What happens with darker pans is that they conduct heat too well; the exterior of whatever you are baking (cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc.) often gets brown before the inside is fully cooked. If a dark finish pan is all you own, try lowering the oven temperature about 25 degrees and possibly increase the baking time. Dark cookie sheets? Try placing the cookies on parchment paper. Clear glass baking pans also conduct heat very well. So most of the time, if you are baking in clear glass, I also recommend that you reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees. For perfect cookies, aluminum pans are my number one choice.