Sour cherry and poppy seed cake

Poppy seed and sour cherry is a well-established pairing in Hungarian cooking: the earthy, faintly nutty poppy seed is balanced by the sharpness of the cherry. Here, poppy seed sponge layers are filled with sour cherries and a light cream.

In season we work with fresh fruit; outside it we use frozen sour cherries, whose flavour stays closer to fresh than preserved fruit does.

Serving and storage

Best served cold, straight from the fridge. The cherry juice gradually seeps into the sponge, so it is worth eating within two days.