Makowiec • Poppy-seed cake / loaf
in Polish: as above
Poppy-seed cake, also known as poppy seed loaf, is a traditional Polish dessert – a yeast cake stuffed with ground poppy. Some raisins, almonds or walnuts are the most typical additions. The baked cake is decorated with icing and (usually) orange peel.
In the distant times this poppy-seed cake was a traditional dessert prepared for Easter and Christmas. In the Christian tradition poppy, containing thousand of seeds in one poppy head, is a symbol of harvest and fertility. Therefore, in the past, the Poles and other Slavs believed that eating poppy-seed cake during the holidays will bring them luck in life.