The poppy seed roll – or in other words – the poppy seed strudel - is a typical polish pastry usually prepared for Christmas and Easter.  It consists of sweet yeast dough filled with aromatic poppy seed paste which is full of nuts, dried fruits, almonds and resins. According to some old polish beliefs, poppy seeds eaten at Christmas Eve dinner brought happiness and prevented from evil, were also a symbol of fertility. Why is this pastry exceptionally delicious? Because of the balance between the thickness of the dough and the amount of the poppy seed paste - moist, naturally sweet and rich in nuts and fruits. Find the recipe here...

My poppy seed filling is full of almonds, nuts, dried fruits, flavoured with orange juice and zest. All its sweetness becomes from honey, not sugar. I make it only once a year, just before Christmas, for a traditional polish cake – Poppy Seed Rolls. The filling is an amazing natural poppy seed paste which can’t be compared to any ready-to-eat canned store-bought stuff. Neither difficult nor time-consuming to master can be prepared a few days in advance. The poppy seed filling is also eaten with pasta as a traditional meal at Christmas Eve in some regions of Poland. Find the recipe here...