When first I went to Picadilly Circus, I was pretty disappointed. I think it was my second or third date with F and we agreed to meet there so we could go and lie in the sun at Green Park in the prettiness that is an English spring. After some looking around though, I was surprised to see that there was no circus! A cruel trick of naming, clearly. Further exploration revealed The Japan Centre as well as Hamley’s Toy Store though and I felt less cheated.
This lemon poppyseed slice was similar. I guess I went into it imagining something moister, more cake-like, which it most decidedly is not. On second and third bites though, something great happened and the rich butteriness of the base, the crispy poppiness of the poppy seeds and the tart lemon icing combined to make something rather satisfying. Guess I should stop judging books by their covers.
Do you judge books by their covers or are you a more tolerant type?
Poppyseed and Lemon Slice
Grease and line a 22 or 23 cm cake tin or a rectangular slice tin if you have one.
Preheat the oven to 180 celsius (350 fahrenheit).
Soak
in
For the Base
140 grams (1 cup) plain flour
75 grams chilled butter, cubed
60 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1 egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons chilled water
Sift flour into a medium bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar. Make a well and add the egg yolk and water (you might need more if the air is dry as the flour will absorb more) and toss with a fork until it starts to come together.
Press into a ball and chill, wrapped in clingfilm, for half an hour.
Press into the prepared tin and blind bake for 15 minutes, remove beans or weights and bake another 5 minutes or until just dry.
For the Topping
125 grams softened butter
90 grams (1/3 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest (do another 1/2 teaspoon for the icing)
1 egg
90 grams (3/4 cup) flour
Beat the butter, zest and sugar until light. Beat in the poppy seed and milk mix and egg. Fold in the flour.
Spread this mixture over the prepared base and bake for 25 minutes or until just firm and light brown at the edges.
Cool in tin on a rack.
For the Icing
When the slice is stone cold combine
to make a glaze and pour over.
Leave a comment, make my day!
First impression is very important to me… and 99% of the time – especially when it comes to people- I do not make mistakes in my judgement (it’s the gut feeling…)..
When it comes to food though… the smell is more important to me than the look so I dont have a “first impression.”
I was pretty disappointed too when I realized there is no circus at Picadilly circus.. still.. the name simply mesmerizes me.. don’t know why…
Brilliant idea! I love poppy seed & lemon combination
Love, love, love this cake so thanks for the recipe! Enjoy London – Piccadilly Circus isn’t my favourite place but the Japan centre is awesome as are Hatchard’s bookshop close to Green Park and Ladurée macaroons in the arcade next to the Royal Academy. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. First impressions can be deceptive so I try to keep an open mind; I didn’t like Berlin at all at first but needed a little time to find its charm.
I loved your comment on food blog forum (about submitting food photography to sites to just get traffic) so I figured I had to come and say hello. I’m with you that the purpose of my blog is for communication and connection. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see lemon poppyseed on your site because I recently posted a lemon poppyseed (and avocado) cake!!
Love your site – and your photography! Marly
You mentioning Picadilly Circus actually made me *want* to go to London again, despite the fact that I generally make every excuse not to, and only go back once every 5-7 years. My dad used to work in the (now demolished) Swiss Center in Leicester Square, and my sis and I used to go down to the area (often after Saturday J hosh), for good, cheap Chinese eats. Oh, and I used to perform as a singing child in “Evita” when it was at the Prince Edward Theater. Hehe.
I’m very judgmental when it comes to most things. Can’t help it.
Hope you’re having oodles of fun :) xxx
LOL you know what when we first moved to London, my T&B also had to explain to me why there was no circus at Piccadilly Circus! He was like “it’s just a roundabout!” and man did I feel cheated. *sigh*. Even more cheated was Oxford Circus because there isn’t even a round about!
Anyway, it’s Friday evening and I’ve just MET YOU. I really wished we had more time to talk, Goodman was just so noisy! It was brilliant meeting you and your T&B!! We should try and meet up again before one of us leaves the grey shores of Europe. Am thinking I need to do a trip to um.. Switzerland? Wanna meet up??? :D
yum! argh! bad for diet!
The slice looks great, even with first impression.
Can’t resist being a POM: Piccadilly Circus was named circus from the Latin word meaning ‘circle – a circular open space at a street junction’. It lost its circular form in the late 18 hundreds!
Beautiful slices! Enjoy your holiday in London!
Uh, maybe we are too used to see pictures of lemon poppy cakes drizzling with lemon and sugar syrup…but i like (personally) more ‘solid’ cakes. I’ll take a piece with my cup of tea, thank you :-)
Have a good time in London!
I have been trying to make lemon flavoured cakes all week – so far most of them have been truly disappointing (I burnt one, and the other was just weird).
But this recipe sounds wonderful, I’ll just need to buy some more lemons first…
As for judging a book by its cover, with food as long as it smells ok, the look doesn’t matter so much :)
I’m always willing to try to get through the first chapter before I make too many lasting judgements. Sometimes people, shopping centres and even baking can surprise us.
Very wise dearest, I think even black and white ole me has become more tolerant with age ;P
I kind of do both, depending on the situation… Thanks for visiting my blog. Lovely lemon slices!
Great story! Yes I suppose I do judge a book by it’s cover at first (I think that’s human nature) but I like to think I don’t make a final judgement based on appearance :)
I just had a very similar experience with some chocolate shortbread cookies I made last night. Didn’t turn out the way I expected really, but after a couple bites and a more open minded approach I wound up really liking them.
Enjoy your holiday!
Lovely looking recipe and simple enough that even an infrequent cake baker such as I can manage it. Great stuff.
Know what you mean about the circus, I mean, you can guess what I was expecting at Clerkenwell Green when I first arrived… Saying that, having been in the Big Smoke for a decade now, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Clapton Pond not only had a pond, but also a fountain.
Finally, while i don’t judge books by covers, but i am guilty of judging wine by its labels. Ever since they gave Dashwood Sauv Blanc a label reminiscent of alco-pops, I can’t bring myself to buy it.
It does take a while because of all the steps but it’s not difficult per se.
Oh wow!! This is fantastic – I need to send this to my mum! She makes us poppy seed muffins and cakes but 5 x the poppy seeds that the recipe calls for… the result is always delicious but does tend to give us some pretty funky nightmares… :)
Nightmares?! Ohhh, opiate. really, it has an effect?
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