Summer is coming to an end, which means goodbye humidity, hello... a bit less humidity (i live in florida, duh) From September through the end of the year, we celebrate some amazing food-filled Jewish holidays. The first is Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year. With many traditional dishes & sweets, honey cake is the go to signature cake for rosh Hashanah. I had trouble getting excited about this whole honey cake tradition. At my first few Rosh Hashanah celebrations, the honey cake was my least favorite part of the meal. It’s usually a dry, overly-spiced, overly-sweet cake that sits virtually untouched on the table. After a few failed attempts, I discovered the right combination of ingredients and baked an irresistible Honey Cake. This recipe is now our Rosh Hashanah tradition. I’m so excited to share it with you! This one is queen of the realm—rich, nicely spiced, in a word, majestic in taste and stature. unlike most honey cakes, it is a good keeper and can be made a couple of days ahead.
Its the time for honey to shine, so move over modern day mud pies and blondie bars, were bringing honey cake back!
YOU WILL NEED
for the cake
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
for the frosting
¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar (i used a bit less)
3 tablespoons honey
pistachios grounded
Figs
Honey for drizzling on top
To Do
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease the pan(s)In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Make a well in the center and add the oil, honey, sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee, and orange juice. Using a strong wire whisk or an electric mixer on slow speed, combine the ingredients well to make a thick batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s). Place the cake pan(s) on 2 baking sheets stacked together and bake until the cake springs back when you touch it gently in the center.
**For angel and tube cake pans, bake for 60 to 70 minutes; loaf cakes, 45 to 55 minutes. For sheet-style cakes, the baking time is 40 to 45 minutes. This is a liquidy batter and, depending on your oven, it may need extra time.
Cake should spring back when gently pressed. Let the cake stand for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan, then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
You can cut the cake in the center, adding filling in the middle like i did (or just on top!)
While the cake is cooling, combine butter, cream cheese, sugar, & honey in a stand mixer. Whip it until it is thick and has a sturdy texture. Then, sprinkle in some grounded up pistachios. Place in a piping bag (or ziplock bag and cut off the corner for a DIY piping bag) set aside until cake is completely cool.
once the cake is cooled completely, fill the cake with the cream, sprinkle more pistachios, add sliced figs on top & drizzle with honey! Slice & Enjoy!
