Simple Savory & Satisfying: Honey Cake

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Honey Cake

Honey cakes are an acient dessert that can be traced back to Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It seems every culture has it's own verison: Arabs, Russians, Germans, even Brazilians. The Jews eat honey cakes for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Celts left the cakes as an offering to the Faery for Beltane. I've had only one honey cake in my life and it was very disappointing. Dry and not very sweet. But if I had known honey cakes could taste like this, I would have started making them years ago. The outside of the cake is both crisp and chewy while the inside is oh so moist.

Eric came home from work and asked me what I was baking because it smelled divine. Then he kept asking if it was done yet. After he tried a piece, he must have told me how amazing the cake was at least three times.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey whiskey
3/4 cup warm water

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350.

Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. (I actually halved the recipe--yes, I put one and a half eggs in it--and used one 9-inch cake pan).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and all spice. Next, make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange juice, whiskey, and water.

With your electric mixer on low, blend the ingredients together until well combined. Pour the batter into your pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Garnish the cake with powdered sugar, if so desired. Eric desired, so to make it Christmasy, I made a paper snowflake (flashback to my childhood) and used it for a stencil when dusting the cake with sugar.