Other than apples and honey, nothing says the Jewish holidays more than honey cake.
This recipe has a dose of caffeine in it, always a boost after the 25-hour fast on Yom Kippur.
There are also two ways to present the final product, one of them just a tad fancier.
Shanah Tovah Metukah!
Grandma’s Honey Cake (Pareve)
Serves 10–12
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cloves
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups freshly brewed strong coffee
1 lemon (juice of the lemon)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Lightly grease a 9×13-inch rectangular cake pan with oil. Line the bottom and walls with parchment paper that is also lightly greased. Set aside.
Separate the egg whites from the yolk.
In an electric mixer, beat the 5 egg whites until they are stiff with a snowy texture and put them aside.
In a new bowl, beat with an electric mixer the 5 egg yolks with the sugar until the sugar is well-blended.
Mix the honey and lemon juice together to thin out the honey, then add it to the mixture. Add the baking soda, ground cloves and oil.
Mix the ingredients thoroughly, making sure that there are no lumps and no ingredients are stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Add the brewed coffee.
When the preparation is nicely homogeneous, add the beaten stiff egg white mixture.
Finally, add flour slowly until the batter becomes thick.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes until the cake is golden brown or until a wooden stick comes out completely clean.
Once the cake is ready, remove it from the pan, keeping the parchment paper on.
To make sure the cake retains its moistness, wrap the parchment paper in aluminum foil.
Alternative Design Presentation:
If you present your honey cake this way, it will be equally delicious. The only difference is that the moist part will be on the bottom rather than the top. This style is more elegant; it’s great for dinner parties and other special occasions.
Use a honeycomb pull-apart pan. Lightly grease it with oil before using.
Pour approximately half of the batter into the pan, and pour the remaining batter into a 9×5-inch cake pan.
Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes until the cake is golden brown or until a wooden stick comes out completely clean.
Once the cake is ready, remove it from the pan. To retain moistness, wrap the cake in aluminum foil.
Recipe courtesy of the Apeloig Collection.
