Lemon poppy seed whipped cream cake, or how to use up heavy cream in a fantastic way

Here where I live one thing happens time and time again during the holidays: heavy cream disappears from the grocery stores. Because there were years I needed heavy cream for a number of recipes and couldn’t find any, now I usually stash two bottles of the ingredient before all the craze begins, and that way I can make desserts and ice cream (it is summer here after all).

I was too greedy last time, and ended up with a lot of heavy cream to be used – really, a lot. Shame on me. I made popsicles, a tart, and also a posset, but every time I opened the fridge I had the feeling that the cream was taking over the whole thing.

Pressed for time – heavy cream doesn’t last long, unfortunately – I came up with a wonderful solution: Rose Levy’s whipped cream cake, which I’d baked before and it was delicious, but this time I added lemon zest, limoncello and poppy seeds to make it even more interesting.

Lemon poppy seed whipped cream cake
slightly adapted from the wonderful Rose's Heavenly Cakes

225g cake flour (or 200g all purpose flour + 25g corn starch)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (225g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 ½ cups heavy cream, chilled
3 large eggs, room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons limoncello (optional) – I used homemade
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F (180°C/350°F if using a dark pan). Butter and flour a 10-cup fluted metal tube or Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. In another bowl, rub sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream on low, gradually increasing speed to medium-high as cream thickens, until stiff peaks form.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla and limoncello. With the mixer on medium-high, gradually add egg mixture; beat until thickened (like mayonnaise) and well combined. Gradually add sugar, about 30 seconds.
On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until flour is dissolved and well combined. Transfer batter to prepared cake pan and smooth surface.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into cake comes out clean and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 25-35 minutes. Transfer cake pan to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes; cake will begin to shrink from sides of pan.
Carefully unmold cake onto the rack and cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Serves 8-10