Honey cake, a staple of Ashkenazic Jewish High Holiday tradition, is one of the most unforgiving cakes in the world. I have tried a variety of recipes, and they all follow the same theme. If you overbake this cake by 5 seconds, you might as well use it as a door stop or perhaps as some piece of minimalistic public art. How ironic that we celebrate a holiday about forgiveness with one of the more unforgiving delicacies. I have spent years hunting for a recipe that doesn’t prompt people to say, “Wow…that tastes…um...exotic. Especially the roasted flavor.” After years of searching and experimenting, I present Zev’s Honey Cake recipe. I stole most of the recipe from online sources, but I have made enough changes that I now choose to claim it as my own. Mind altering drugs (coffee and brandy) have been removed and exotic flavors (carob powder and clove) have been added. It is the perfect cake to serve to friends and family with alcohol or caffeine intolerances. Of course, I eat my honey cake with a big cup of Irish coffee—but that’s just me.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon clove
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup honey
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon carob powder mixed in ½ cup hot water
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
Prepare a 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pan by oiling the pan well, dusting it with flour, and knocking out the excess. Preheat oven to 350oF.
Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, clove, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together honey, oil, and carob water in another bowl until well combined. Beat together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed 3 minutes. Add honey mixture and mix just until blended at a medium speed, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until just combined. Finish mixing the batter with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl.
Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cover the top loosely with foil and continue to bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack 1 hour. Run a knife around side of the cake, then invert plate over cake and invert cake onto plate. Turn cake right side up on cooling rack and cool completely.
Additional Notes:
- Cake keeps at room temperature 1 week if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
- Resist the urge to cut into the cake to taste it while it is still warm. This will release the steam, and the cake will dry out sooner.
- Let the cake sit at least one day before serving. The cake gets moister after a few days—or at least that’s what I’ve read. I usually can’t wait that long.
- Remember to err on the side of underbaking rather than overbaking. Once the cake has baked 45 minutes, check it ever 3 minutes or so. YOU CAN NOT UNDO AN OVERBAKED HONEYCAKE.
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