Honey Cake

When I was little, I wrote almost every night, (or at least until she replied, for she was a very busy person), to my tooth fairy - Fairy Annabel. She wrote back in a curly slanted writing on scraps of paper burnt at the edges, rolled in a tight scroll and told me all about the world that she lived in. Of course, being food obsessed from birth, I fondly remember her mentioning the foods of the fairy world, one of them being honey cake which I imagined would taste like the most glorious thing on earth. A wonderful cake seeped in sweet golden honey that would taste like flowers and sunshine. 

Much time has passed since then and I'm still as fond of honey now as I was when I was younger. To me honey is one of those old-fashioned, primal, rustic ingredients that make me feel at peace with the world, a comfort to me in a time when so much is changing, when we can we forget our humble beginnings and how much pleasure can be derived from the simplest of things. 

Although honey is a great flavour on its own, I do feel it benefits from the addition of zesty orange and some spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon) to enhance it, as well as a little bit of whisky too. This recipe is also very inspired by Lekach - a Jewish honey cake made to celebrate the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in the hopes of ensuring a sweet New Year. 

This is one of those cakes that can be an afternoon tea cake, or my favourite way - as a pudding cake with some ice cream or double cream, or creme fraiche. It's perfect, sweet sticky cake with toasted almonds and I'm very sure that Fairy Annabel would be proud (did you notice the letter of hers I included in the first photo?) 

Honey Cake 

Ingredients: 

Makes 1 1lb loaf cake

Ingredients: 

1 large egg 
100g/4oz caster sugar
75ml light vegetable oil
125ml honey (plus 2 tbsp extra to glaze) 
1 tbsp whisky
75ml black coffee (2 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in the water should do it) 
150g plain flour 
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Zest of one large orange
25g/1oz flaked almonds

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4 and grease and line your tin with baking parchment. Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and creamy, then beat in the oil, honey, whisky and coffee. 

2) Mix the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest with the flour. Gradually add this to the egg and honey mixture, beating thoroughly to make a smooth dark batter.

3) Put this into your loaf tin and sprinkle over the flaked almonds to cover the cake. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, until firm and brown on the top and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

4) Leave to cool in the tin for about fifteen minutes, before transferring to a cooling rack. Heat up the honey in a small saucepan and brush liberally over the cake. Cut once cool enough and serve with whatever you wish (clotted cream, ice cream etc)