Image is for illustrative purposes only.
Poppy seed filling is a thick, dark, almost jam-like paste of ground poppy seeds cooked slowly with water, sugar and glucose until it holds its shape on a spoon. It tastes nutty and gently sweet, with a fresh lift of lemon zest and a whisper of cinnamon, and the tiny seeds give it a soft, sandy texture that is quite unlike any other filling.
It is the classic filling for strudels, poppy seed rolls and yeasted plaits, and it also works beautifully spread between sponge layers, rolled into sweet shortcrust or piped into baton pastries. Made at home it is far better than any tinned version, and because it is cooked with sugar and glucose it keeps well in the fridge, ready whenever you want to bake.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 1709
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: batch of about 1.4 kg of cooked filling
|
|
|
WEIGHT
(grams)
|
ALTERNATIVE METRIC
|
INGREDIENT
|
IMAGE
|
CONDITION
|
|
A
|
500 |
17.6 ounces
|
Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds are the tiny blue-grey seeds of the opium poppy, used widely in Central and Eastern European baking. They are mildly nutty and slightly bitter, and are usually ground before being cooked into fillings so that they release their oils and form a smooth, dark paste.
blue poppy seeds
|
|
ground |
|
B
|
750 |
3.2 cups
|
Water
|
|
|
|
C
|
400 |
14.1 ounces
|
Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
|
|
|
|
D
|
50 |
1.8 ounces
|
Glucose Syrup
Glucose syrup, also known as confectioner's glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Maize (corn) is commonly used as the source of the starch in the US, in which case the syrup is called "corn syrup", but glucose syrup is also made from potatoes and wheat, and less often from barley, rice and cassava.
Glucose syrup containing over 90% glucose is used in industrial fermentation, but syrups used in confectionery contain varying amounts of glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade, and can typically contain 10% to 43% glucose. Glucose syrup is used in foods to sweeten, soften texture and add volume. By converting some of the glucose in corn syrup into fructose (using an enzymatic process), a sweeter product, high fructose corn syrup can be produced.
|
|
|
|
E
|
1.5 |
|
Potassium Sorbate (preservative 202)
Potassium sorbate, listed on labels as preservative 202, is a food-grade powder used in very small amounts to stop mould and yeast growing in jams, pastes and fillings. It is optional at home if the paste is kept refrigerated and used within a few weeks.
optional
|
|
|
|
F
|
1.5 |
|
Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
|
|
|
|
G
|
5 |
0.2 ounce
|
Lemon Zest
Lemon zest is the thin, brightly coloured outer layer of the lemon skin, removed with a fine grater or zester without taking the bitter white pith underneath. It holds the fruit's aromatic oils and gives a fresh citrus lift to batters and creams.
fresh
|
|
finely grated |
|
H
|
0.5 |
|
Salt
Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
|
|
|
|
I
|
0.5 |
|
Cinnamon
Cinnamon (/ˈsɪnəmən/ sin-ə-mən) is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. While Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon".
ground
|
|
|
|
|
1707
|
|
|
|
|
Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
|
STEP
|
ACTION
|
DETAIL
|
CONDITION
|
|
1 |
Prepare |
Grind A (poppy seeds) in batches in a spice mill, coffee grinder or a dedicated poppy seed mill until they are broken down and smell nutty. |
Seeds cracked and slightly pasty, not whole |
|
2 |
Boil |
Bring B, C and D (water, caster sugar and glucose syrup) to the boil in a wide, heavy-based saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. |
Clear syrup, no sugar crystals on the base |
|
3 |
Add |
Stir in the ground A (poppy seeds) along with G, H and I (lemon zest, salt and cinnamon). |
Seeds evenly wetted, no dry pockets |
|
4 |
Cook |
Simmer gently over low to medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon so it does not catch, for about 25 to 35 minutes until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the side of the pan. |
Thick enough to hold a line drawn across the base of the pan |
|
5 |
Finish |
Take the pan off the heat and stir through F and, if you are using it, E (vanilla essence and potassium sorbate). |
Evenly mixed through the hot paste |
|
6 |
Cool |
Spread the filling out in a shallow tray, cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool completely. |
Cold, thick and spreadable; it firms up further as it cools |
|
7 |
Store |
Pack into clean airtight jars or containers and keep in the fridge. |
Surface smooth and covered, no trapped air pockets |
Important Notes
This batch makes about 1,700 g of raw mixture, which cooks down to roughly 1.4 kg of finished filling — enough for two large strudels or poppy seed rolls, or to fill and layer a couple of cakes. Grind the seeds first: whole poppy seeds stay hard and will not release their flavour or thicken the mixture. Cook it a little thicker than you think you need, as it firms up noticeably once cold. If it goes too stiff, beat in a spoonful of hot water. Stored in a sealed container in the fridge it keeps for two to three weeks, or longer with the optional preservative; it also freezes well. Do not use it while warm, or it will soak into your pastry.
Tools & Arrangements
Spice or coffee grinder (or poppy seed mill), digital scales, wide heavy-based saucepan, wooden spoon, fine grater for the lemon zest, shallow tray, cling film, airtight storage containers or jars.
