Each year, on Holy Saturday, we take our basket of Easter food up to the church for our priest to bless. A funny thing you should know about me is that when I was a relatively young bride, I read in the church bulletin that Easter foods would be blessed on Holy Saturday afternoon. When the time came around, I carried my blue grocery bags full of uncolored eggs, various condiments, slices of ham, etc. up to the church to be blessed. When I got there, dozens of families were there with these gorgeous Longaberger type baskets lined with beautiful white linen cloths, colored eggs and all of their food displayed beautifully within. Here I was with my blue plastic grocery bags setting on the altar steps! My son (the only one we had at the time) said, "Uh, Mom? I think we were supposed to make it look a little prettier!"
Ever since that day, I try to have the Easter bread and poppy seed cake made first thing in the morning on Holy Saturday. While I make the bread, Mike and the children dye the eggs. This way we have a good portion of our food ready for the noontime blessing and it makes Easter Sunday go a bit smoother.
I am very fond of our Easter Poppy Seed Cake. I had read in Mary Reed Newland's The Year and Our Children that Ukranian Catholics always have a poppy seed cake on Easter Sunday to remind us that the lesson of Lent is "the seed thrust into the ground to die, that it might live. The circle of the cake, baked in a tube pan, is like the circle of eternity--and that is the point of death to self: to live forever." Although I have made Mary's recipe many times, we have a recipe that uses almond flavoring that, in my opinion, is simply scrumptuous.
Here it is:
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbls. poppy seed
1 1/3 c. oil
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanillla extract
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. butter extract
Beat all ingredients in one large bowl with mixer until smooth. Grease pan (one tube or two loaf). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Done when cracked on top and golden brown. Can be sprinkled with powder sugar or confectioner's glaze. We eat ours without any topping. Yum! I will post a picture of one as soon as I can.
Rebecca, I love this blog! I am just eating it up (pun intended)!
This recipe sounds delicious, and what a sweet funny story. :)
Posted by: Dawn | April 03, 2006 at 02:58 AM