Poppy Seed Coffee Cake – Tender, Moist Yeast Bread with Poppy Seed Filling and a Sweet Lemon Glaze. Time-Tested Recipe.
My friend Kelly Jaggers is back with another wonderful family recipe! Her nostalgic memories behind this family recipe, beautifully expressed, make it taste even sweeter. ~ Tori
If you have ever traveled down Interstate 35 from Dallas to Austin you know that there is a vibrant Czech population in central Texas. Many Czech immigrants settled in the area after arriving from Europe into the Port of Houston. Leaving all they knew behind for the chance at a better life, these men and women worked hard, working on farms and ranches, and raised families. Their influence is still felt today. In the town of West, for example, kolaches are abundant and the highways are decorated with images of traditional Czech dancers.
I did not know until about 10 years ago that I was part Czech. On my mother’s side of the family Louis Kunschick arrived from Czechoslovakia in 1883. He started a farm and worked the land with his family until the end of his days. He married my great-great-grandmother, Minnie, who was a wonderful baker. I have been doing some work on my family history on and off for the past few years. It is fascinating to find out about the people who came before you. Sadly, I have not found anything about Minnie’s biological family. According to family lore she was orphaned at a young age and was adopted by a family from her church. Sadly, the details of her early life are a little vague, but we do know that she married Louis and raised a family of her own. We also know she was an amazing baker! Many of her recipes are among my most treasured.
Like most Czech families in Texas, we have an old world recipe for a poppy seed filling that can be used in a variety of breads and cakes. Minnie’s poppy seed filling is a favorite in my family. She loved to bake, and she passed that love down to her daughter, my great-grandmother Rosa, who passed it to her girls, my grandmother Lola and great-aunt Ruby, who passed it to my mom, who passed it to me. Talk about multi-generational!
Minnie passed away long before I was born, but many of her recipes are staples of my recipe box. One of my families’ favorites is her Czech strudel filled with poppy seeds. In Czech it is called makový závin, and it is delicate yeast bread that is rolled thin and coated with a sweet poppy seed filling. It is rolled up like a cinnamon roll before you slice it, and bake until golden. I like mine with a little lemon icing, but it does not really need it. While I never had the pleasure of having this hot from my great-great-grandmother’s oven, I have had it from mine, and it is splendid!
The dough for this bread is very, very soft. It is not a mistake; it is exactly what you want. It can be a little tricky to work with, so be sure you flour your work surface well, and keep some flour nearby for additional dusting. The benefit to this wet dough is tender, moist yeast bread that has an almost cake-like texture. The pleasure of eating it more than makes up for any difficulty you have working with it.
For the best possible flavor you should grind your own poppy seeds. Grinding them fresh will capture the almost floral aroma of the seeds. Of course, poppy seed filling is our families’ favorite, but you can also use other fillings. Anything you might use to fill kolaches would work, but please give the poppy seed a try. You can also add chopped nuts to the filling if you like. Walnuts or pecans would complement the flavor of the poppy seed well.
Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
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Poppy Seed Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Filling Ingredients
- 1 cup ground poppy seeds
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Dough Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon dry active yeast, or 1 fresh yeast cake
- 1/2 cup water, heated to 110 degrees F
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough
- 1/4 cup milk, scalded
- 1/4 cup butter or shortening, melted
- 3 eggs, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of kosher salt
NOTES
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the filling. In a medium saucepan over medium heat add the ground poppy seeds, sugar, and 1 ¾ cups of the milk. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
- Combine the cornstarch with the remaining milk and stir into the poppy seed mixture. Cook until very thick, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool completely to room temperature. Filling may be made a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator.
- Next, prepare the dough. In a small bowl combine the yeast, water, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Mix until it is combined and allow the mixture to stand until the yeast is foamy, about 10 minutes.
- In the work bowl of a stand mixer combine the yeast with the remaining sugar, flour, milk, butter, 2 eggs, and salt. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes, or until just combined, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 8 minutes, or until a smooth ball forms.
- If mixing by hand, mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon until they form a shaggy ball, then turn out onto a well floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough forms a smooth ball.
- Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel, and allow the dough to rise until double in bulk, about 2 hours.
- While the dough rises prepare glaze. In a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth. The mixture should be roughly the consistency of honey. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag, or a heavy duty plastic bag, and set aside at room temperature.
- Prepare a baking sheet with baking parchment that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.Once risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough in half. Roll one half of the dough out to roughly 10x12-inches.
- Spread half the prepared filling over the dough, leaving a 1 inch border along all of the edges. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling.
- Then roll the dough tightly along the short edge as you would for cinnamon rolls.
- Carefully transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow the bread to rise for 1 hour. Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat the remaining egg and use it to brush each loaf. Bake the bread for 25-28 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and firm. Let the bread cool for 20 minutes before glazing. Snip the tip of the pastry bag, or one corner of the plastic bag, and drizzle the glaze over the warm bread. Let the bread cool until it is just slightly warm before serving.
Nutrition
My wife is from Hungary and she uses a very similar recipe for the dough. Using 5 cups of flour, she adds one stick of butter, 8 ounces of sour cream, and 6 egg yolks along with the yeast, sugar, and salt. this yields a very rich, creamy, easily worked dough. Though she rolls the dough a little thinner and the roll usually breaks out of the side when it’s baked. I wonder if a thicker rollout would prevent this or if it’s because of the richer dough.
Thank you for this recipe which was really fun to make and very clear directions to follow- I filled one loaf with the solo poppy seeds (I did not have poppy seeds to make the filling will try that next time). And the other loaf used a cinnamon, brown sugar mixture. Both came out very well, really like the sweet yeast dough thanks again for sharing!
I think the dough is great. I used the mixer method of making it and it turned out wonderful. My husband said that is really good bread. It was smooth and easy to handle. Will make it again and again
I grew up having makowiec and this is the best recipe I’ve come across. Yes, it was time consuming, but wasn’t too difficult to make.
Can the second loaf be frozen after baking? Thanks!
I am planning to use your recipe to make poppy seed coffee cake but I was wondering if I can double the dough and make blueberry and cinnamon coffee cake from this recipe too. If so what is good filling recipe ? Thank you
Delicious!! I couldn’t grind the poppy seeds as fine as I like, so the sauce was a little thin, and didn’t have a rolling pin so the dough was a bit thick – as a result, my cake ended up being thicker with less filling in between. But it was still absolutely delicious. Added extra lemon juice to the glaze for flavor. Will definitely make again, and next time with more proper supplies.
This cake looks amazing and I’d love to make a gluten-free version for Rosh Hashanah. It reminds me of something my great grandmother used to make. Unfortunately we don’t have the recipe. I’d appreciate any tips.
Thanks!
Thank you, Kelly. Yes, I only used 1 1/4 C milk and used the 1/4 cup of milk for the slurry. I did cook the mixture for 5 minutes prior to adding the slurry. Perhaps I cooked it more than 1 minute with the slurry because I was waiting for it to thicken. I did stir the mixture once I added the slurry…perhaps that was the mistake? I subsequently added 2 more slurries with water and 1 T. cornstarch each and the mixture did firm up but it was somewhat gooey. I’ve used cornstarch thickener many times before but this is the first time it happened! Oh well…next time I”ll purchase some hamantashen filling 😉
I am having trouble with the poppy seed step. I have added 2 additional slurries of 1/4 cup water and 1 T. cornstarch and the mixture doesn’t look anything like the picture. It’s runny and not shiny. Should I proceed with the rest of the recipe? Thank you.
Hi Carolyn,
Sorry to hear you are having trouble! Let me ask you a few questions to see if we can troubleshoot the issue. Did you let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes prior to adding the slurry, then after adding cook for 1 minute? Are you cooking longer than one minute? With cornstarch, you can’t cook the mixture more than about 1 minute or the slurry loses it thickening power. Also, are you adding the correct amount of milk in this step? It is only 1 3/4 cups. Let me know, and we can try to get to the bottom of the issue!
My grandmother grew her own poppy seed plants. When I came from Germany, many years ago, I also brought along a special poppy seed grinder. I am ashamed to say that I have not used it yet, but your recipe inspires me to finally use it.
Do you ever use measurements by weight rather than cups? I really hate using cup measurements. I find them way too inaccurate for baking.
Thanks
Hi Inge, I generally use cup measurements. These recipes are tested in my own kitchen, and cups are easier for me to manage. For something like this cake, and most of the baked recipes on my site, cup measurements are precise enough – I generally develop baked recipes that are pretty forgiving like easy cakes and quick breads. I will keep it in mind for the future though!
Can this be made ahead and frozen at a point where it could be a thaw and bake?
My family makes this — an almost exact version — and it’s a passed down Bavarian recipe, too. Thank you for posting the poppyseed filling. We’ve always used Solo filing, but I live in the UK now and cannot find it. Now I can make my own. Cheers!