Makovec is another from a long series of Czech poppy seed desserts, so if you’re a fan of poppy seed, read on!
Koláče, Loupáčky, Pěry, Závin, Buchty, Povidlové taštičky, Patenty, Poppy seed bábovka or Šišky s mákem – those are just some of the Czech recipes for desserts with poppy seed that you can find on Czechology. I love poppy seed and so I am going to keep bringing you more recipes.
Makovec is very similar to Poppy seed bábovka, perhaps a little easier to make as the batter is poured just in a rectangular pan. It’s one of these traditional humble recipes that I like so much, although later on, people who left the countryside to search for a better life in the city made it a little fancier adding the icing.
Still, you can prepare this Czech dessert without the icing or just sprinkle some powder sugar on it.
Ingredients
Batter
- 300 ml/10 oz of lukewarm milk
- 60 g/2.1 oz of softened butter
- 1 egg
- 180 g/6.3 oz of granulated sugar
- 200 g/7 oz of plain flour (hladká mouka – see Czech Flour Guide)
- 200 g/7 oz of ground poppy seed
- 1 package of baking powder (about 13 g/0.5 oz)
Icing
- 250 g/8.8 oz of powder sugar
- 50 ml/1.7 oz of lemon juice
Other
- rectangular baking pan, approx. 20 x 30 cm/ 8 x 12 in
- butter and coarse flour/bread crumbs for coating the pan
- powder sugar for sprinkling
Makovec -Recipe
Whisk the softened butter with sugar and eggs. In a bowl, combine flour, poppy seed and baking powder. Add the dry mixture into the butter mixture alternating with milk – I add one third of dry mixture, one third and alternating until everything is well mixed. Coat the pan with butter and flour so the batter doesn’t stick. Preheat the oven on 170°C/38°F, pour the batter in the pan and bake for 40 minutes. If you’re not sure whether the cake is baked, stick a chopstick in the middle. If it comes out dry, the cake is done. If not, bake it a little more.
Let the Makovec cool down completely and you can serve it just like it is, sprinkle it with powder sugar or prepare the icing. Just combine lemon juice and powder sugar and pour it on top. Let the icing dry and serve Makovec cut in squares.
