I actually really hate Makowiec, the traditional, Polish poppy seed swirl cake. I avoid it at all costs come Christmas or Easter time. Yeasty, bready cake plus barely sweet poppy filling? Um. Pass…

But my dad loves it and he asked me to do something with the huge tin of poppy seeds he’d been hanging onto for about a billion years. So I reinvented Makowiec and turned it into something we could both enjoy. I nixed the yeast, turned it into a bundt cake, oh, and made it vegan of course.

Ingredients

Cake

3 bananas

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup applesauce

¼ cup orange juice

zest of one orange, about 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon lemon extract

2 cups spelt flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Filling

1 cup poppy seeds

½ cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons non-dairy milk

½ teaspoon rum extract

½ cup walnuts, chopped roughly

Topping

2 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons orange juice

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First, mash the bananas well. Add in sugar, oil, applesauce, orange juice, zest and extracts. Whisk vigorously until well combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Incorporate into the wet ingredients in two batches, being careful not to over mix.

In a food processor, blitz poppy seeds, raisins, agave, milk and rum extract. It should become a big sticky ball. If it seems too runny, add more poppy seeds. If it seems too dry add more raisins and milk. It’s not an exact science thanks to varying humidity and brands of raisins, but try to get it to be the consistency of cookie dough. When you have a good consistency, mix in the walnut pieces by hand.

Grease your bundt pan if it’s not non-stick. Spoon half the cake mixture into the pan. Smooth out the surface with a spatula. Spoon the poppy mixture in a ring, on top of the cake batter. Then spoon the rest of the batter on top of the filling, covering it completely, and smooth out again.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in the bundt pan for ten minutes, then turn out onto a rack and allow to cool completely.

Whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice until you have a smooth glaze. Pour over the cake, slice and serve!