Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake

Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake

Honey Cake is the sweet treat many Jews eat on Rosh Hashanah, AKA Jewish New Year, as a symbol of hope for a sweet year to come. This honey cake recipe is deliciously moist with an alluringly crisp edge.

Honey cake is one of the traditional foods eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Honey symbolizes our hopes for sweetness in the year to come. It is also customary to eat apple slices dipped in honey on the holiday.

The biggest complaint people have about most Jewish honey cakes is that they are dry and lack flavor. This Honey-cake recipe tastes wonderfully moist with a lovely crunchy edge. Plus it will fill your home with a delightfully sweet fragrance.

INGREDIENTS

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Cooking oil (or soft butter)
• Honey (you can use any honey you like. I love our OSADH Wild Honey!)
• White sugar
• Brown sugar
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Brewed coffee or black tea
• Orange juice (for extra orange flavor, you can add orange zest, too!)

HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS EASY HONEY CAKE?

You only need one bowl and a wooden spoon to mix this cake. You could, however, use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer if you prefer. Just be careful not to overbeat it after adding the flour, as this can make a cake rubbery.

1. Preheat the oven and spray the baking pan(s).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients—the oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, and orange juice—and mix thoroughly. You can also mix everything in the bowl of an electric mixer and use the whisk attachment on medium-high speed.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake in the preheated oven. You know it is done when the cake is golden brown, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

A LITTLE TRICK THAT MAKES THIS CAKE EVEN BETTER

Drizzle a bit of honey over the batter. It caramelizes in the oven, giving the bottom and edges of the cake extra crispiness.

The honey glaze also adds the deep, rounded flavor of caramelized honey.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• This recipe makes a lot (us Jewish ladies worry that someone will go hungry, so we always make extra, especially for special occasions like the high holidays). You can use three 9-by-5-inch loaf pans or one 9-by-13-inch baking pan, or three 9-inch round pan, or make 36 standard cupcakes.
• Alternatively, you can use a mini Bundt pan with 6 cups as well as a few different sizes of small loaf pans.
• Whatever size baking pans you use, be careful not to overfill them. Each pan should only be filled about halfway.
• If you are using several small pans, you can place them all on a baking sheet to make them easy to get in and out of the oven.
• Smaller portions will bake faster so be sure to adjust the baking time and check early and often.
• You can also bake the cake in a convection oven, but you’ll want to reduce the cooking time by about 25 percent.
• If you just want less cake, you can reduce the full recipe by 1/3 or even 2/3. See my recipe notes for details on how to cut down the quantity.
• The recipe uses cooking oil for its fat, which makes it kosher parve (no meat or dairy). You can substitute unsalted butter if you like.
• The recipe calls for strong brewed coffee or tea. The bitterness of coffee or tea balances the sweetness of the honey. But you can substitute milk or water in the same quantity.
• Feel free to add a diced apple or two, sliced almonds sprinkled over the top, a tablespoon of orange zest, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or 1/4 cup of whiskey to the batter or substitute almond extract for the vanilla extract.
• The texture of this cake improves when it sits for a bit. I think it is best the day after it is made. Make it ahead and let the finished cake sit, uncovered, at room temperature.