Poppy Seed Cake with Cherries

Grind the poppy seeds in a food processor for 5 minutes, pausing occasionally (you can skip this step, but the poppy seeds will be slightly crunchy in the finished cake). A coffee grinder also works great for grinding poppy seeds.

Drain the liquid from the cherries and gently squeeze out the cherries themselves.

Beat the eggs with the sugar until combined.

Add the sour cream and poppy seeds, and beat together.

Add the flour and baking powder and stir to combine. The batter will be quite thick.

Grease a baking pan with butter (I used a 25x25 cm pan). It's best to use a pan of at least this size so the cake bakes through evenly — if your pan is much smaller, it's better to make half the recipe. Pour in the batter and spread it out evenly with a spoon.

Arrange the cherries on top. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick.

Let the finished cake cool completely — it's best to leave it for a while so the flavors have time to develop.

A slice of poppy seed cake with cherries, shown in cross-section.