Blood orange and poppy seed spelt cakes

Buying breakfast on my way to work or going out for breakfast is not something I do very often. In fact, I only ever buy breakfast when I'm travelling. On a normal day, even on the weekends, a breakfast at home is much more comfortable and it doesn't really even cross my mind to opt for anything else.

I am always hungry in the morning and ready for a big meal after my morning exercise. I can have anything from a Japanese influenced breakfast with tofu, umeboshi and brown rice, to a salad with baby spinach, avocado, soft boiled egg and flaxseed oil. Sometimes I treat myself with something a bit more special, like these blood orange and poppy seed cakes that were just perfect served with some fruit and a big cup of tea.

 Blood orange and poppy seed spelt cakes

(makes 4 cakes)

250g whole-grain spelt flour

3 tablespoons organic rapadura sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

50g poppy seeds

250ml freshly squeezed blood orange juice

finely grated zest of one blood orange

1 large free-range egg

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease 4 small (about 250ml) cake tins. Alternatively, use muffin tins - this batter should make about 8 smaller cakes.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and poppy seeds in a large bowl. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the juice, zest, egg and olive oil.

4. Add the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Scoop the batter into the prepared tins and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving.