A bite of moist poppy seed cake, with a sweet nutty crunch. Delicious!

There’s something about the texture of a poppy seed and coconut cake that remains untouched. Sort of crumbly…but also melt-in-your-mouth. You’ll know it once you taste it.

This cake is very easy to make. It requires very little time and washing up, which is always a bonus!

One of the best parts of this recipe is that gorgeous nutty topping. It’s so worth the very little bit of extra effort it takes to make!

Altogether, this cake is a truly scrumptious creation – the perfect teatime treat.

Making the Poppy Seed Cake

To make this cake, start by preheating the oven to 180°C and greasing a small loaf pan.

Next, whisk together the sunflower oil and brown sugar. 

Separate the eggs, then add the egg yolks to the bowl and mix well. Stir in the vanilla essence and buttermilk.

In a separate bowl, stir together the salt, cake flour, baking soda, poppy seeds, and desiccated coconut.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. 

Beat the egg whites until stiff and fluffy then fold under the batter. You’ll know the egg whites are stiff enough when you hold the bowl upside-down over your head and you don’t get wet!

Bake the poppy seed cake until a skewer comes out clean. As soon as the loaf is cool enough to handle, tip it out onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.

Making the Crunchy Topping

This topping is dead-easy and so delicious. Plus, it only requires three ingredients!

Toast the almonds in a pan. Once golden-brown, add the desiccated coconut, allowing it to toast slightly. 

Quickly stir in the condensed milk, coating everything evenly. Turn off the heat. You should have clumps of sticky, nutty goodness!

Spread out the clumps as best you can on top of the loaf. You might want to press them down slightly to make sure they stay on. Try not to eat too many of these irresistible clumps as you decorate the cake!

Serving & Storing 

This cake is wonderful as an afternoon teatime treat. Simply slice it as you would with bread and enjoy!

Once the cake is completely cool, place it in an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for a couple of days (although the topping may not be as good after a while).

Print Recipe

Poppy & Coconut Cake with Nut Topping

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Sweet

Serves: 8-10

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 50 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This moist poppy seed and coconut cake should be at the top of your to-do list! And it only gets better with a yummy, nutty topping...

Ingredients

• Cake
• ½ cup sunflower oil
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• pinch salt
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 3T poppy seeds
• ⅔ cup desiccated coconut
• Crunchy Topping
• ¼ cup almonds, chopped
• 2T desiccated coconut
• 3T condensed milk

Instructions

Cake

1

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a small loaf pan.

2

Whisk together the sunflower oil and brown sugar. Separate the eggs, then add the egg yolks to the bowl and mix well. Stir in the vanilla essence and buttermilk.

3

In a separate bowl, stir together the salt, cake flour, baking soda, poppy seeds, and desiccated coconut.

4

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Beat the egg whites until stiff then fold under the batter.

5

Bake until a skewer comes out clean. As soon as the loaf is cool enough to handle, tip it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Crunchy Topping

6

Toast the almonds in a pan. Once golden brown, add the desiccated coconut, allowing it to toast slightly. Stir in the condensed milk, coating everything evenly. Turn off the heat. You should have clumps of sticky, nutty goodness!

7

Spread out the clumps on top of the loaf. You might want to press them down slightly to make sure they stay on.

Notes

Best served fresh. Keeps for a couple of days in an airtight container.

If you enjoyed this recipe, I think you’ll also love this lemon Madeira loaf!