I made this for lunch today and it was a big hit. I got the recipe from an old Canadian Living from 1993. This is apparently a Jewish cake, containing no dairy and traditionally consumed at Rosh Hashana.
Honey Cake
1 1/3 cups liquid honey
1 cup strong coffee
1 tbsp grated orange rind
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp each cloves and ground ginger
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
icing sugar to sprinkle over the top, if desired
1. In a small saucepan, bring honey just to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in coffee & orange rind. Let cool slightly.
2. Stir together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, spices. Add walnuts and toss together.
3. In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat eggs until lemon-coloured. Beat in the oil. Add sugar gradually, beating until pale & thickened, about 3 minutes.
4. Using a whisk, alternately fold dry ingredients and liquid mixture into the eggs, making 3 additions of dry and 2 of liquid.
5. Pour the batter into a 10" or 3L bundt pan (or you can use two 9"x5" loaf pans) that is either non-stick or has been well buttered/floured. Bake at 325F for 60 - 65 minutes, or until tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. Sift icing sugar over the top.
Notes.
- I found this took longer to cook than the recipe stated by about half an hour. Keep an eye on it and you should be fine.
- Like many cake recipes, you add the flour and liquid in in stages. This is mainly so you don't overwork your flour and get a denser cake, or a cake that flops. Don't skip this step!
- The recipe mentions some variations. One is that you can substitute the walnuts for candied citron (citrus peel), raisins, or walnuts. The other thing you can do is substitute 3 tbsp of cognac for 3 tbsp of the coffee.
Let me know how it goes and enjoy!
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3 comments:
i so love these old-time recipes. i fear that they'll all get lost! thanks for writing this one down.
Great notes and the recipe looks fantastic. How does the coffee play in the flavor here? Is it a strong or just a subtle taste?
Joe: I didn't use particularly strong coffee like espresso or anything, just what I had on hand in the dining room. So the taste was very subtle. Not sure how it would taste with a stronger coffee. It also adds colour. The citrus was nice in this and you could definitely taste that.
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