Vanilla milk cake and goodbye, Linden and Holder

Days ago, I finished watching the last season of The Killing and I felt happy and sad at the same time: glad because the quality I’d seen throughout the show ever since the beginning wasn’t put aside at any moment of those last six episodes, the ending was a thing of beauty that made me shed loads of tears, and sad because now two of my favorite characters are gone for good – no more of Sarah’s beautiful red hair, no more Holderisms.

I know that TV shows cannot last forever and that it is better to finish with top notch episodes than to end with no quality whatsoever, but The Killing never really had a chance: if it wasn’t for Netflix there wouldn’t even be a fourth season, there would be no closure. Such a beautifully written, acted and directed show should have been on air for longer, but I’ve complained about that already.

As I prepared myself to say goodbye to Linder and Holder, I decided that a slice of cake would fit the occasion perfectly – I needed something sweet to calm my nerves down (after watching the episodes I knew it had been a smart decision, what a wonderful yet nerve-wracking season, my goodness). This simple cake, while delicious on its own with a cup of tea or coffee, was turned into a flavorsome dessert served with whipped cream and strawberries – I highly recommend it either way.

Vanilla milk cake
slightly from the beautiful and oh, so delicious Baking Style: Art Craft Recipes

Cake:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
3 tablespoons (30g) corn starch
¼ teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
4 large eggs
1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder

Icing:
1 cup (140g) icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 10-cup Bundt pan, dust it with flour and remove the excess.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, and salt. Stir in the poppy seeds.
Place butter and milk in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture begins to boil. In the meantime, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs at medium speed for 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar, beating until a light mixture forms. Beat in the vanilla extract.
On low speed, add the dry ingredients in two additions, beating just until incorporated. With the mixer still on low speed, add the hot milk mixture gradually, then beat until completely incorporated (scrape the sides of the bowl). Immediately add the baking powder and mix it in.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool completely.

Glaze: sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the milk and stir until you get a drizzable consistency (add more milk if necessary). Drizzle over cooled cake. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Serves 10-12