Cake

1. Preheat oven to 200°C or 400°F and cover a cake pan with non-stick baking spray.
2. In a medium bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, put aside.
3. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, yolks and vanilla together for 2min.
4. Add in poppy seeds, salt, cinnamon, ground nuts and rum and continue mixing for another minute until everything is well combined.
5. Carefully fold the egg whites into the mixture with a wooden spoon.
6. Bake on lowest rack for 60min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Let cool in pan completely before removing. Loosen the edges with a knife and carefully remove the cake.
8. Trim the cake with a sharp bread knife to remove any dark spots and level it.
9. Cut it in half and fill with jam. Assemble and cover top and sides with jam to seal in any crumbs.

Ganache

1. In a saucepan bring the heavy cream to a boil, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from heat and add in the dark and milk chocolate, don’t stir but let sit for 3 minutes.
3. Then stir until you have a smooth ganache.
4. Set your cake on an object slightly smaller than the cake itself.
5. Pour the ganache over the cake and spread it evenly with an angled spatula.
6. Let the rest of the ganache set for 2h at room temperature or until firm enough for piping.
7. Fill the ganache into a piping bag fitted with a Wiltion 2D (or tip of choice) and pipe any desired decorations.
8. Let it set until firm at room temperature.