Poppy seed lemon cake

The name of this cake should have been a sign of too much poppy seed!  Certainly when I added 1/2 cup of it to the batter, I knew.  If you like poppy seed, fine, but I recommend less, maybe 1/4 cup.  The recipe -- from a Smitten Kitchen adaptation of a recipe from Kurt Gutenbrunner -- also called for 1/2 cup cornstarch (I used tapioca), but again, too much.  I recommend, less, maybe 1/4 cup.  Also, don't bake for 50 minutes; you'll have a dry cake.  I would bake this cake again with modifications.  I served the cake to two men and both really like it!  The cake keeps well in the fridge and is complimented by (black) tea, milk, or vanilla ice cream.

Proud of my yolk-sugar base (8 minutes of mixing!)

Lovely lemon zest

2 sticks of butter for the cake (very Ina Garten)