lemon poppy seed "breadcake"

Despite having been sleep deprived for the past few weeks due to packing and stressing about the horrors of life and reality, I still find myself fully awake deep into the night that I wonder if my circadian rhythm's been permanently damaged. Maybe the four years of zero period and two summers of insanely early--not to mention long--rehearsals have finally caught up with me. That being said, one would assume that I'd be catching up on all my sleep now; yet it's the exact opposite. I further waste away valuable sleep time being awake and full of energy.

Why.

It's like I like torturing myself with less slumber though I know I'll always wake up late and on the wrong side of the bed. Staying up usually leads me into doing one of two things: baking or playing dress up. 

I know you're probably laughing, or scoffing, or maybe furrowing your eyebrows, or something, at the second part. But yes, sometimes, late at night, I empty out my closet onto my bed and put together outfits until my eyelids begin drooping, or until my mood turns cranky (which happens more often when I'm out or around too many people). 

Before I started "By the Spoonful" as a food blog, I'd considered making it half a fashion blog. A lot of the time I feel an urge to post outfit pictures or talk about clothes. I can say I'm surprised but at the same time strangely impressed with myself when I put together a pleasant ensemble of bold prints to balance out soothing neutrals. It's intriguing how vintage and seemingly outdated clothing are creeping back into style. Good thing I have my mom's endless closet to raid. She even reminisced about how she used to play dress up late at night when she couldn't fall asleep. The perks/bizarreness of mother-daughter relationships.

But I realize I'm not very up-to-date with fashion let alone the fashion industry. I'm not one to delve into extremes especially regarding jewelry (not into studs or spikes). My style is rather neutral if I say so myself; food is more my forte anyways :) 

Back on the topic of food. Thank goodness for leftover baking tins!

Last night--instead of sleeping earlier than my usual 3 AM--I baked this fluffy and moist lemon poppy seed "breadcake" and cut them into squares to prevent myself from devouring the entire pan in one sitting. I waited impatiently as it baked and succumbed to my usual late night carb cravings, but once these babies came out of the oven I further lost my willpower and ate two squares. *cry*

I couldn't decide whether to call it a cake, bread, or bars (since I cut them into squares). They were sponge-y and soft, and when I think of bars I think dense, chewy, brownie-like; so I crossed that off the naming list. They leaned towards the sweeter side of the spectrum, so calling it bread would be somewhat a pseudonym. Eventually I settled for "breadcake" because the fact that I baked them in pan formation stops me short from calling it a cake. But now that I think about it, calling it a cake would be more than appropriate.

Really though you can pour the batter in muffin tins and easily call them cupcakes/muffins. I really don't know why I had such a hard time deciding what to call them when they can honestly be anything (depending on what solidified form they take after baking, I guess).

Sorry for rambling. I just went full circle I think. But yeah here's the insight on why I called it a breadcake, and I still have no intention of calling it a cake! 

Lemon Poppy Seed "Breadcake"

yields one 8x8-inch pan

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs ground flax seed (optional)
3 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup almond milk (I used regular milk this time :( was low on almond milk...)
1 tbs vanilla extract
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbs)
2 tsp poppy seeds

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease an 8x8-inch pan (or use muffin tins, a cake round, a spring-form pan, etc. etc. whatever you fancy).
- In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, honey, and almond milk, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. 
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients of coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and ground flaxseed (optional).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. You will see the coconut flour is very absorbent. 
- Add in the poppy seeds and pour the mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is slightly golden.
- Remove, serve and enjoy! :)