Simcha Sweets and Star of David Poppy Seed Cake

By Lyssa Harvey

Simcha —a Hebrew word that means gladness or joy—is also synonymous for a party or celebration. This essay is dedicated to the women of Columbia Synagogue Sisterhoods for inspiring me to create a “Simcha Sweet.”

You will often find my Poppy Seed Cake, baked in a shape of a Star of David, gracing my Jewish holiday table or seen at synagogue for special occasions. This is a delicious, moist cake, filled with poppy seeds, that is good with coffee or for dessert.

Poppy seeds come from the seedpod of the opium poppy. The seeds used for baking are not toxic, but do have a unique flavor and create a nice texture in the cake. This is not a traditional Jewish recipe, but poppy seeds originally came from the Middle East. Now, most poppy seeds used for baking come from Turkey and The Netherlands. The traditional German poppy seed Mohnkuchen cake is referred to in Jewish circles as “a Mun cake,” and then there is Hamanastachen, a triangle dough cookie filled with poppy seeds served at the Jewish holiday of Purim that celebrates the Jewish Persian Queen Esther! So, I tend to think there is a connection to the Promised Land and that poppy seeds have been a precious item used for baking for centuries.

The Poppy Seed Cake is always a popular item at Beth Shalom synagogue’s Bubie’s Food Festival and sells out quickly. The cake has become known around town and is often requested. I take the cake to the bereavement meal of friends and family after a funeral. This is called a shiva which is the Hebrew word for a time of mourning. This easy-to-bake Poppy Seed Cake has become my specialty and my “go-to” for Simchas and other events. I often bake 4 or 5 at a time and freeze them.

Beth Shalom Synagogue, Courtesy Russell Maxey Photograph Collection, Richland Library

There is an inspiration for this cake.

On most Friday nights, in the 1950s and 1960s, my family would attend Sabbath services at the House of Peace Synagogue that was located on Marion Street. After the services, the congregation would go downstairs to the social hall for cookies and cake. This social gathering, called an Oneg Shabbat, is a tradition that played big in my memory because of the delicious homemade goodies by the ladies of the synagogue called “The Sisterhood.” It was the promise of a sweet that kept me still during services. These baked goods (and more) could also be found on Saturdays after the Sabbath morning service at a more elaborate luncheon. There would be wonderful baked specialties from the women of the Sisterhood. These women would also bake for special simchas and events of the synagogue like Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, bris or circumcision ceremony, baby naming, holiday dinners and provided a bereavement meal for every family who lost a relative. So many women come to mind that made all of this possible.

These organized efforts eventually changed course, but baked goods continued to come to the synagogue. I would often drop off cookies (the Poppy Seed Cake wasn’t part of my baking repartee until later) at the synagogue in the 1980-90s for simchas of friends and family. There was always a cadre of gals gathered in the kitchen putting together silver trays of homemade specialties bought in by women of the congregation. Everyone had their special cake or cookie that people looked forward to eating at any simcha! Sometimes, I would stay and help make the trays. It was meaningful service, and a great way to catch up with friends that I didn’t often see. It was fun. There was a sense of community being in the synagogue kitchen with other women talking about our children and our lives. These are sweet memories and those times are missed. This tradition held until the late nineties. Most women were working outside of the home and didn’t have time to contribute their baked goods to synagogue functions on a regular basis, and a required kosher cooking class contributed to the decline of specialty baked goods. Now there is mostly store bought kosher baked goods with an occasional home-baked goodie at synagogue simchas.

Over the next few months, Kugels & Collards will devote stories dedicated to memories of the Beth Shalom Synagogue and Tree of Life Temple Sisterhoods. There is wonderful Columbia Jewish history and many food stories to tell!

Lyssa’s Jewish Star Poppy Seed Cake 

Baking in a Star of David Nordicware pan makes this easy delicious moist cake look very special for Jewish events. It can also be made in any bundt pan. Lyssa makes up to four at a time and freezes. 

• 1 box of Kosher yellow butter cake mix 

• 1 box of instant vanilla pudding 

• 1 cup of yogurt 

• 1 ¼ cup of canola oil 

• 4 eggs 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• A couple of splashes of a liquor or brandy 

• 2 ounces of poppy seeds 

• ½ cup of powdered sugar

Mix all of these together with electric beater. 

Don’t over beat.

Preheat oven to 350 

Spray bundt pan with baking Pam 

Bake cake for about 55 minutes. Check with toothpick if done in the middle. Cool.

Sprinkle top and sides with powdered sugar before serving. 

Freezes well.