Honey Cake

A delicious, sweet, dense loaf cake sometimes associated with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). This cake is perfect for pot-luck or covered-dish gatherings because it’s sturdy and not easily damaged.

Hardware

• One 9 x 5 loaf pan
• Two mixing bowls
• Parchment paper

Dry Ingredients

135	g		dark brown sugar
210	g		all-purpose flour
1	tsp		baking powder [6 g]
½	tsp		baking soda [3 g]
½	tsp		salt [3 g]
1	tsp		cinnamon
½	tsp		ground allspice
½	tsp		mace
¼	tsp		ground cloves
¼	tsp		nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

2			eggs
300	g		honey
115	g		strong tea (brewed, liquid)
30	g		vegetable oil
25	g		bourbon (or rye whiskey)
10	g		vanilla extract
1			orange, zest only!

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.


2. Cut parchment paper to fit the loaf pan. The paper should extend up the sides, and should overlap the long sides to form a cradle. You’ll use this to lift the cake out of the pan.


3. Grease the inside of the loaf pan, put in the parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper.


4. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Be sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar.


5. Mix all the wet ingredients into a second bowl.


6. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, making sure everything is well mixed.


7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.


8. Bake one (1) hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.


9. Allow to cool then remove from the loaf pan and remove the parchment paper.

Notes

This will fit into one 8½ x 4½ loaf pan.

Quantities for the small stuff (baking powder, spices, etc.) are also given in teaspoons and tablespoons because most people’s kitchen scales aren't accurate below 5 grams. Everything else really should be weighed.

The original recipe called for sliced almonds but I don’t like crunchy stuff in my cakes.

Rating

Difficulty:		Easy
Time:		2 hours
Precision:		5

Source

Adapted from The Gourmet Jewish Cook by Judy Zeidler and A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking by Marcy Goldman.