Diana Lampe's Polish white bean and cabbage soup, poppy seed and apple cake

In the wintertime I like cooking traditional dishes from Central Europe and the recipes I have chosen are from Poland. The first is a comforting cabbage and white bean soup garnished with fresh herbs (kapusniak z fasola i bialej kapusty). It is fairly quick to make if you use canned beans. I know you will really enjoy the variation with mashed potatoes.

The poppy seed and apple cake with chocolate ganache topping (Japonski makowiec) is the piece de resistance. The dark moist cake also contains raisins, candied citrus peel and walnuts and is a Polish Christmas speciality. Poppy seeds symbolise prosperity. Just why the cake is called Japanese is a mystery.

My Polish friend, Krystyna Koltun, brought me a slab of this delicious cake years ago. She translated the recipe for me and I have been tinkering with it ever since. I discovered that it is essential to grind the poppy seeds and for this I use my Bamix stick-blender with the grinder attachment. A coffee mill or spice grinder will also do the trick.

Black or slate-grey poppy seeds are the seeds of the opium poppy and are a popular ingredient in European breads, cakes and pastries. Poppy seeds can be bought in bulk from speciality shops. Store them in the fridge or freezer to stay fresh and grind them just before using.

These recipes will be my last in The Canberra Times' Food & Wine magazine, and Goodfood.com.au. For nearly nine years it has been a pleasure and privilege to share my passion for cooking with readers and the positive feedback has kept me going. I have decided to focus my efforts on my blog which you will see at dianalampe.com.au.

Savoy cabbage and white bean soup

This soup can be vegetarian when made without the smoked bacon; instead include a few slices of dried porcini mushroom (soaked first). Potatoes can be cooked in the soup as in the recipe or cooked separately and added later, either cubed or mashed. The soup improves in flavour if made a day ahead.

Serves 8

2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup dried haricot, navy or cannellini beans, soaked overnight and cooked or 2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
125g slice speck, diced, or 3 rashers bacon, shredded (optional)
1 medium leek, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 stick of celery, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
2 potatoes 400g, peeled and cubed (if including)
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-6 cups well-flavoured vegetable stock or water and stock cubes
1 tsp sugar
½ small savoy cabbage (375g trimmed), washed and shredded

To serve

1 small bunch parsley, chopped
1 bunch dill, chopped
sour cream (optional)
dark rye bread
mashed or cubed potatoes (if using)

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onions and fry until soft and starting to colour. If using the speck or bacon, add now and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the leek, garlic, tomato, celery, carrot, parsnip, potato (if including), bay leaves, thyme, caraway, salt and pepper. Cook altogether for five to ten minutes stirring occasionally.

Pour in four cups of stock or water and stock cubes and bring to a gentle boil. Partly cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Now add the cooked or canned beans to the soup and simmer for five minutes until hot. Stir in the cabbage and sugar and add more stock or water as needed and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Don't cover the pan now to help retain the freshness and colour of the cabbage. Taste and adjust the seasoning; it may not need salt. Remove the bay leaves and thyme branches.

Serve the hot soup in bowls with the cubed or mashed potatoes added (if using). You can use an ice-cream scoop to serve the mash if you like. Sprinkle chopped parsley and dill generously on top. Offer the sour cream and serve with dark rye bread.

Mashed potatoes

Peel the potatoes (one for each person) and cut into chunks. Place in a saucepan with plenty of cold water and salt, cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan on heat and shake to steam dry. Then mash the potatoes and add hot milk and butter or olive oil, salt and pepper.

Poppy seed and apple cake (Japonski makowiec)

There are quite a few ingredients in this recipe and it helps to have them all ready before you begin. They should be at room temperature. The dry poppy seeds need to be ground first using a coffee grinder, nut and spice mill or similar. Work in three batches.

Serves 12

150g poppy seeds, ground dry with 3 tsp granulated sugar
1 handful (50g) finely chopped walnuts
120g butter, softened
170g (¾ cup) caster sugar
4 free-range eggs, separated
¼ tsp almond essence
¼ cup semolina
¼ cup plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
¼ cup milk
2 granny smith apples, peeled and grated (300g)
1 pkt vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract and 3 tsp caster sugar
1 handful (50g) raisins, roughly chopped
1 tbsp (25g) candied citrus peel, chopped or grated zest of a lemon

For baking the cake you need a 22-23cm round or square cake tin. Brush the tin with butter and line the bottom with baking paper. Dust with plain flour and tap tin to remove excess. Preheat the oven 160C fan or 180C regular.

Cream the butter and 170g caster sugar in an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one by one and beating in. Add the semolina, flour and baking powder in turns with the milk and almond extract on low speed or by hand. If using the vanilla extract, add that now too. Mix in by hand the poppy seeds, walnuts, raisins and citrus peel or lemon zest and then the grated apple.

In a clean bowl with electric beaters, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. Add the vanilla sugar or three teaspoons caster sugar and whisk to medium peaks stage. With a large metal spoon carefully fold a third of the egg whites into the poppy seed mixture to loosen and then fold in the rest.

Gently tip the cake batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Bake for about 60 minutes until firm to the touch in the middle. Cool for a couple of minutes and then run a knife around the edge. Allow to stand on a rack for about 15 minutes before turning out to cool.

Spread chocolate ganache on the top of the cake and set aside to set for a couple of hours. Alternatively, just before serving dredge the top of the cake with Dutch cocoa passed through a sieve.

Transfer the cake to a pretty serving plate. Cut into slices with a serrated knife dipped in hot water. Serve with whipped cream or crème fraiche.

Chocolate ganache

125g x 70 per cent dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
½ cup pure cream (35 per cent fat)

Place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan or microwave and as it comes to the boil pour over the chocolate. Leave for a minute and then gently stir or whisk until the chocolate melts and amalgamates with the cream to become ganache. Let it cool for five minutes to thicken. Spread over the top of the cake using a palate knife. If necessary, dip the knife in hot water to smooth the ganache. Leave the cake to set in a cool place for a few hours. Leftover ganache can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks and softened over hot water.

Diana Lampe​ is a Canberra writer, dlampe@bigpond.net.au