Žemľovka: poppy seed and sour cherry bread pudding

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1. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and pod to the milk. Bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with 50 g of the sugar. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and gradually pour the milk into the yolks, whisking. Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil.
3. Cut the rolls into rounds and soak them in the vanilla mixture for a few minutes. Mix the ground poppy seeds with the powdered sugar.
4. Grease a baking dish and arrange a layer of soaked bread rounds in it. Sprinkle with the poppy seed mixture and sour cherries. Repeat the layers, finishing with bread.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 °C (375 °F) for about 15–20 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in the sour cherry jam.
   
6. Remove the dish from the oven, spread the beaten egg whites over the bread, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Tip: Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl with no trace of yolk, or they will not form stiff peaks. Gently fold the sour cherry jam into the beaten whites a teaspoon at a time.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Makovo-višňová žemľovka z rožkov s vanilkovým krémom