Raisin, Poppy Seed and Nut Loaf (Three Wishes Keks)
Have you ever been indecisive about what flavor baked goods you were in the mood for? Or maybe you wish you had a recipe you could adjust to whatever you had available in your pantry at the moment. I’ve got you covered today.
Here’s a homemade loaf, which we call “Keks” in Russian, which takes only a few minutes to mix together and then into the oven it goes. I love the playful name “Three Wishes”, since it is made with 3 different layers – raisin, poppy seed and nuts. If you don’t like any of those flavors, that’s ok. How about chocolate chip, dried cranberries and coconut? I’m telling you, you can personalize it as much as you like.
If you don’t feel like making 3 different layers, you can just mix it all up at the same time, or keep it simple with one or two flavors only, such as a Raisin Keks, or Lemon Poppy Seed Keks.
This would make a perfect gift to give also, and with Christmas fast approaching, keep this Keks recipe handy. Wrap it in parchment and tie it with a bow, and you’ve got a perfect hostess gift or a Christmas present.
Ingredients:
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, softened
1/2 – 1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup, but I prefer baked goods to be less sweet)
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1/4 cup nuts
powdered sugar, to dust the loaf, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan with butter or baking spray.
In a large bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. 
Add the eggs, one at a time. 
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until evenly mixed. 
Add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed batter, followed by half of the buttermilk and vanilla and so on until you’ve added it all to the batter. 
Divide the batter into 3 even parts. You’ll be adding the raisins, poppy seeds and nuts to each part of the batter. 
Add the raisins to the first part and spread it out evenly into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. 
Add the poppy seeds to the second part of the batter and spread it out evenly over the first layer of batter. 
Finish by adding the nuts to the third part of batter and spread it out evenly over the poppy seed layer. 
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let it stand in the loaf pan for 3-5 minutes and then take it out and set it on a cooling rack. 
Dust with powdered sugar.
(P.S. This loaf is not very thick. If you want it to be thicker, make 1 1/2 of the recipe. It’s very easy to do.)
This keks is very versatile. If you don’t feel like fussing with the different layers, you can add only raisins, for example, to the whole thing. You can also add all of them at the same time without making individual layers. You can also use any kind of dry fruit, not just raisins, such as dry cranberries, cherries, dates, apricots, etc. Use whatever nuts you like, walnuts, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, etc. How about adding chocolate chips?
- 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, softened
- ½ - 1 cup sugar (I used ½ cup, but I prefer baked goods to be less sweet)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- ¼ cup nuts
- powdered sugar, to dust the loaf, optional
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan with butter or baking spray.
- In a large bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until evenly mixed. Add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed batter, followed by half of the buttermilk and vanilla and so on until you've added it all to the batter.
- Divide the batter into 3 even parts. You will be adding the raisins, poppy seeds and nuts to each part of the batter.
- Add the raisins to the first part and spread it out evenly into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Add the poppy seeds to the second part of the batter and spread it out evenly over the first layer of batter. Finish by adding the nuts to the third part of batter and spread it out evenly over the poppy seed layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let it stand in the loaf pan for 3-5 minutes and then take it out and set it on a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
- This keks is very versatile. If you don't feel like fussing with the different layers, you can add only raisins, for example, to the whole thing. You can also add all of them at the same time without making individual layers. You can also use any kind of dry fruit, not just raisins, such as dry cranberries, cherries, dates, apricots, etc. Use whatever nuts you like, walnuts, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, etc. How about adding chocolate chips?
17 Comments
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Jessica
This looks great. I have all the ingredients except buttermilk. Do you think sour cream would be an acceptable substitute?
olgak7
Sure, Jessica! Try it with sour cream.
Vera H
My husband’s three wishes… Thank you, I can’t wait to make this for him. 🙂
olgak7
Yay!
I love when I make something that my husband enjoys; it’s the best feeling ever:). Enjoy.
Tatyana v
Thank you for the recipe! I made 1 1/2 of the recipe but next time will double it to make full loaf. 🙂
Tatyana v
Actually, 1 1/2 of recipe is more than enough , it made a full loaf. Thank you!
olgak7
It does rise quite a bit. I’m glad you enjoyed it:).
May
Should I dust the nuts with flour so they don’t sink?
I might make this as Christmas gifts & call it Three Kings Cake, since it has 3 layers. 🙂
olgak7
I’ve never had the nuts sink. The batter is pretty thick, so you shouldn’t have that problem.
Gail K.
I made a loaf of this yesterday; I used the poppy seeds and walnuts, mixing them throughout. I must say it is delicious–wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee. The flavor is different from the ‘stolichnyi keks’ I used to buy in Moscow. I have a feeling those must have included a bit of cognac.
Many thanks for the great recipes and culinary inspiration. Best wishes for 2014.
olgak7
I’ve never tried the keks from Moscow, so it’s hard for me to compare. It is a nice treat with coffee or tea:). You could add cognac to the loaf if you’d like.
nata
This is delicious. Its better to use buttermilk not sour cream. I made it twice already.thank you
olgak7
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Nata. I really like adding buttermilk to baked goods; it creates such great texture and flavor.
Tanya
The keks turned out very delicious but 2 teaspoons of vanilla made the dough very bitter :((
olgak7
I’m sorry to hear that, Tanya:(. I guess I like vanilla more than you do.
Myra
What size bread pan do you use? Made it once and it was raw in the middle. I had to bake it a lot longer than what you recommended. More like another half an hour. Very good flavor. Myra
olgak7
Hi Myra,
The bread pan I use is a standard size, 1 lb. Pan: 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 2 3/4″ high.
I’m sorry that you had to bake it so much longer. Ovens vary greatly, from what I’ve come to find out.