RECIPES USING POPPY SEED FILLING RECIPES

Steps:

• To get rid of any impurities, soak poppy seeds in water first. Collect any dirt that floats to the top with a slotted spoon.
• Rinse the poppy seeds and drain them on a sieve lined with gauze (cheese cloth or a muslin square). It can stay there for up to an hour if you’re doing something else in the meantime.
• [Raisins] Rinse raisins under running water. Place them in a small bowl and pour 2-3 tablespoons of almond spirit or golden rum over them. Cover the bowl with a small plate and set aside.
• [Fresh Orange Peel] Chop fresh orange peel (finely) and set aside.
• Pour 2.5 cups of milk into a cooking pot (1.5 qt / litre pot should be large enough) and bring it to boil.
• Drop all the poppy seeds in. Are they fully submerged in milk? If not, pour in some more.
• Reduce the heat to ‘low’ and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Poppy seeds absorb the milk quite a bit, so make sure there’s enough of it.
• Drain the poppy seeds on a sieve lined with gauze, cheese cloth or a muslin square. If you can, try to squeeze out as much milk as possible.
• Using a disc with the smallest holes, grind the poppy seeds 2 to 3 times.
• Separate yolks from egg whites. Whisk yolks together with 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar, set aside.
• Place chopped walnuts and almonds in a wide pot (or a deep frying pan). Add a pinch of salt and roast them for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat, not allowing the nuts to burn.
• Add in 2 sticks of butter. Add 4 tablespoons of honey and 4 tablespoons of chopped orange peel. Let the orange peel fry for a bit, a few minutes is enough.
• Add in ground poppy seeds, chopped dried fruit and alcohol-soaked raisins. Mix everything together with a spatula, gradually adding egg yolks mixed with powdered sugar.  Take the pot off the heat.
• Whip the remaining egg whites until stiff, adding 5 tablespoons of powdered sugar near the end of whipping. Gently add them into the poppy mass.
• And we're done! The poppy seed filling is ready to use in 'Makowiec' (Polish Poppy Seed Roll) or another dessert.

Steps:

• Place one stick of butter, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Warm it up (on a low heat) until butter melts.
• Set the saucepan aside to cool down, roughly to 104°F/40°C - you can check with your finger, it should be slightly warm.
• Separate egg whites from yolks, leave egg whites aside. 
• Move two yolks into a large bowl, add yeast (fresh or dry). Combine together with a fork.
• Sift four cups of flour into the bowl, add a pinch of salt and add warm sweet milk mixture. 
• Knead together for about 5 minutes. I like to knead the dough by hand, but feel free to use a stand mixer with a dough hook.
• Form a smooth dough ball, place it in a large bowl and cover with a cloth. Leave in a warm place for 2 hours to rise. Ideally, the dough should triple its size.
• If you are using a ready-made Poppy Seed filling from a can - check its taste first.  If it’s too wet and/or too loose, fry it on a low heat (without a lid) with one teaspoon of butter. The excess water will evaporate and the filling will thicken. You can also add more chopped nuts and dried fruit to the mass.
• When the filling cools down, add the whipped whites of the two eggs. Gently fold in the egg foam into the mixture. Thanks to these egg whites, the filling won’t crumble when the roll is sliced.
• Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C with fan-assist, or to 375°F/190°C without.
• Move the dough ball onto your work surface. It shouldn’t stick, but if it does, dust your worktop with some flour. 
• Roll out the dough into a long rectangle, roughly 0.4-0.6 inch (1-1.5 cm) thick.
• Spread the filling on top, leaving a small border around the edges. 
• Starting at one of the long ends, roll the pastry up as gently and tightly as possible. 
• Once the roll is assembled, place it on parchment paper. Then, fold the paper over the top of the roll, forming a tunnel with around 0.4 inch (1 cm) of loose space. That will prevent the roll from changing its shape uncontrollably in the oven. Place the wrapped roll onto a baking sheet.
• Place the baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
• Once the time is up, switch off the oven and leave its door open for 15 minutes. You can then take the cake out, remove the parchment paper and set aside to cool down completely.
• (tbh, I never measure the exact amounts of ingredients to make frosting...). Just fill a small cup with icing/powdered sugar and add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Blend it together with a fork. If the mass is still not smooth, add a few drops of water and mix it with a fork again. 
• Observe as the frosting changes its texture and adjust the amount of water when necessary. If you add too much and it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar.
• Pour the frosting over the Poppy Seed Roll (it should be already cooled!).
• Sprinkle a tablespoon of dry poppy seeds - and optionally, chopped candied orange peel. Leave aside for the frosting to set.