This is an easy recipe for Czech poppy seed cake with lemon icing. We call it makovec here in the Czech Republic, and today I'll show you how to make this delicious, old-fashioned dessert from scratch.
What is Makovec?
Makovec is a traditional Czech poppy seed cake made from ground poppy seeds. Lemon icing is topped over the surface, and it gives the makovec a perfect tangy flavor.
The cake is baked in a flat rectangular sheet pan with higher rims.
Pronunciation
I recorded a short audio clip on how to pronounce the Czech word "makovec".
Ingredients
You'll need a few simple ingredients for the poppy seed batter and lemon icing. Plus, some fat/butter and sifted breadcrumbs to grease and flour a sheet pan.
Poppyseed Batter
- Poppyseeds; if you can’t buy poppy seeds already ground, there is an option to grind them at home in an electric coffee grinder
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
- Baking powder
- Milk
- Granulated sugar
Lemon Icing
Makovec recipe calls for simple lemon icing without butter. Grab just these two common ingredients:
- Icing sugar
- Lemon juice, freshly pressed
Instructions
Makovec is very easy to make. You can serve the finished cake on a table in less than one hour.
STEP 1: Before you start baking, grease and flour a sheet pan. Pre-heat oven to 340 °F (170 °C).
STEP 2: In a large mixing bowl, crack an egg, add the vegetable oil and granulated sugar (photo 1). Mix with a hand-held kitchen mixer for 3 minutes (photo 2).
STEP 3: In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, poppy seeds, and baking powder. Add them to the egg mixture. Add milk and mix everything using a mixer on low speed until a semi-liquid batter is created.
STEP 4: Pour and spread the batter evenly into prepared pan.
STEP 5: Bake for 30 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the cake center. If there are none or only a few crumbs on the toothpick, then the cake is finished.
STEP 6: Set the baked cake aside. Meantime, make a smooth lemon icing. To achieve this, mix the sifted icing sugar with freshly pressed lemon juice. If the lemon icing is too runny, add more icing sugar. Or add some lemon juice if the icing is too thick.
STEP 7: Drizzle the lemon icing over the warm cake and spread it with a tablespoon.
STEP 8: Allow the cake to cool down completely in the pan. Slice and serve as a dessert or a coffee cake.
Cook's Tips
- The lemon icing is loaded with lemon flavor. It's a fantastic topping for this Czech-style poppy seed cake. Without lemon icing, the cake wouldn't be complete. For the best result, use freshly pressed lemon juice.
- Use whichever 10x15 inch (25x37 cm) baking pan with higher rims. The cake will rise while baked because of the baking powder's content.
- My extra tip: For more juiciness, add a handful of soaked raisins into poppy seed batter.
FAQs
In the Czech Republic, we use a special poppy seed grinder. You can also grind poppy seeds in an electric coffee grinder. Be aware and don't over grind the poppy seeds. The final texture should resemble vet grit.
No, this cake can be made with ground poppy seeds only.
More Czech recipes with poppy seeds
- Loupáčky – sweet crescent rolls
- Škubánky s mákem
- Maková náplň – poppyseed filling for sweet pastry
Poppy Seed Cake – Czech Makovec
Ingredients
Poppy seed batter:
- 1 cup (130 g) ground poppy seeds
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 and ⅔ cups (215 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp (13 g) baking powder
- 1 and ⅓ cups (320 ml) milk
- butter and sifted breadcrumbs (to grease and dust a sheet pan)
Lemon icing:
- 1 and ½ cup 180 g icing sugar (sifted)
- 4 Tbps 60 ml lemon juice (freshly pressed)
Instructions
- Before start baking, grease and flour a sheet pan. Pre-heat oven to 340 °F (170 °C).
- In a large mixing bowl, crack an egg, add vegetable oil and granulated sugar. Mix with a hand-held kitchen mixer for 3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, poppy seeds, and baking powder. Add them to the beaten egg. Add milk and mix everything using a mixer on low speed until a semi-liquid batter is created.
- Pour and spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the cake center. The tooth stick needs to come out clean, or with a few crumbs stuck to the tooth stick, then the cake is finished.
- Set the baked cake aside. Meantime, make a smooth lemon icing. To achieve this, mix sifted icing sugar with freshly pressed lemon juice. Drizzle the lemon icing over warm cake and spread it using a tablespoon.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. Slice and serve as a dessert or a coffee cake.
Notes
- Makes 16 pieces.
- Use whichever 10x15 inch (25x37 cm) baking pan with higher rims. The cake will rise while baked because of the baking powder's content.
- The lemon icing is loaded with lemon flavor. It's a fantastic topping for this Czech-style poppy seed cake. Without this lemon icing, the cake wouldn't be complete. For the best result, use freshly pressed lemon juice.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
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