Pat and Mary's Buttermilk Poppyseed Cake

We had our first taste of this cake at our first annual Easter Campfire Breakfast and hope that Pat and Mary bring it to all the future ones. Here is what Pat has to say about the recipe: 

A little back story - we cut it out originally from some women's magazine and made it for maybe the last 20+ years for holidays, when raising kids became a daunting task, we modified it using box mixes. Unfortunately it did not make the trip to New Mexico [when they moved here from Massachusetts] so we adapted a similar recipe from myrecipe.com. 

Ingredients

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• About 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature
• About 2 1/2cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (about 2 1/2 oz.) poppy seed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. 1. Butter and flour-dust a 10-inch decorative tube pan.
2. 2. In a small bowl, mix poppy seed, buttermilk, and almond extract.
3. 3. In a deep bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer on high until foamy. Continue beating and gradually add 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until whites hold stiff, shiny peaks.
4. 4. In another bowl, using unwashed beaters, beat 1 cup butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat until well blended. Stir in poppy seed mixture.
5. 5. Mix 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. 6. Add dry ingredients to batter; beat slowly to blend. Mix at medium speed.
7. 7. Fold in beaten whites until blended.
8. 8. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Pour half the batter into pan. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon mixture. Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture. Holding a knife vertically, draw blade through batter around tube.
9. 9. Bake in 350° oven just until cake springs back when lightly pressed in center, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
10. 10. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Invert cake onto a plate. Serve warm or cool.