Poppy Seed Tante Cake

Poppy Seed Tante Cake

This is a white cake made only with egg whites, so it constrasts nicely with the black poppy seeds.
From The Best of Food & Wine Collection
1 vanilla bean
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup poppy seeds
1 2/3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
4 egg whites at room temperature
Cream Cheese Icing
Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and cut off the tips. In a small saucepan, scald the milk with the vanilla bean.In a small bowl, combine the scalded milk, vanilla bean and poppy seeds.Let cool to room temperature. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the milk mixture and discard the pod.
Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9 by 2 inch round cake pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, two minutes. Gradually add 1 cup of the sugar and continue to beat until very light and creamy, about 5 minutes.Sift in one-third of the flour mixture; stir to combine. Beat in half of the milk-poppy seed mixture. Repeat 2 more times with the remaining dry ingredients and milk.In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add a pinch of salt and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 2minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, increasing the speed to high before adding the last 2 teaspoons. Beat until the meringue is stiff and shiny, about 1 minute. Fold one-fourth of the meringue into the cake batter. Fold in the remaining meringue.