author: sarahjane
created: 2005-10-04 10:57:38
servings:
notes:
Now that I'm a nice Jewish wife, I decided to try my hand at making honey cake, which is traditional at Rosh Hoshannah. My friend Cheryl at work warned me that honey cake is tricky - and indeed, when it came out of the oven I found that it had sunk in the middle. However, when I brought it to the family dinner it was a big hit among all the guests and I was very pleased - after all, they should know from honey cake! So I guess appearances don't always matter. According to Claudia Roden, whose recipe this is, it should be made at least 3 days before you want to eat it, and it keeps a long time. One last thing: this is a British recipe, which measures by weight, so you will need a scale.
recipe:
2 eggs 200 g (7 oz) sugar 125 ml (4 fl oz) vegetable oil 250 g (9 oz) dark liquid honey 2 tbsp brandy 125 ml (4 fl oz) warm strong black coffee 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda pinch of salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground cloves grated zest of one orange 300 g (100 oz) all-purpose flour 50 g (2 oz) coarsely chopped walnuts 50 g (2 oz) chopped apricots Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Line 2 loaf pans with parchment paper. Oil and flour. Beat eggs with sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in oil, honey, brandy and coffee. In another bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, and flour. Stir in walnuts and apricots. Add gradually to egg and honey mixture, until fully combined. Pour batter into pans and bake about 1 hour, or until firm and brown on top and sides are pulling away from the pan.