Honey Cake

This honey syrup soaked honey cake is deliciously soft with subtle hints of ginger and orange. And you can really taste the honey in it because the cake is sweetened only with honey. The toasted almonds on top give the cake some nice little crunchy bits too. Our research into finding honey cake recipes that don’t use sugar landed us on a cake recipe from Recipe Tin Eats, which turned out to be the starting point for our recipe. Many tweaks and tries later however, ours ended up being less pudding like, a bit fluffier, with the ginger and orange giving it some much needed zing. 

Since the recipe uses so much honey, it’s crucial that you use a high quality one. We used Buram Pure Bee Honey with Comb, which we got from one of our partners ADK General Trading. Buram Pure Bee Honey with Comb is produced in Germany and we found it to be smooth and sweet with some nice floral hints.

You can use the Gannamart App to get the Buram Pure Bee Honey with Comb or get in touch with ADK General Trading on their Viber hotline 736-3663.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup softened unsalted butter (200g)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 & ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup Buram Pure Bee Honey with Comb (divided)
• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsp. full cream milk
• 2/3 tsp. orange zest
• 1/3 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. orange juice
• ¼ cup thinly sliced almonds           

Instructions:

1. First get the butter out of the fridge and let it soften. We left ours on the counter for around half an hour and it was good to go. Softened butter would be a bit cool to the touch and when you press it with your finger, there should be an indentation.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set it aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream the softened butter and 2/3 cup honey using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, for 1 minute or until smooth and fluffy. You can scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway.
4. Add two eggs and mix with the electric hand mixer on low speed for 30 seconds or until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. Then add in half of the flour mixture (from step 2) and mix until fully combined.
5. Repeat step 4 – mixing in 2 eggs, then the remaining flour mixture.
6. Add the milk, grated ginger and orange zest, mix with electric hand mixer on low speed for 30 seconds or until combined and the batter looks smooth.
7. Prepare a 7.5 inch round baking tray by rubbing around a teaspoon of butter on the bottom and sides. Then, using a clean pair of scissors, cut the baking paper into a circle that’s big enough to cover the bottom of the tray. Press the baking paper on to the bottom; the butter is going to help it stick. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for at least 10 minutes before putting the cake in to the oven.
8. Add the batter into the pan, smoothen the top and bang the pan on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Place the cake on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. While the cake is baking, start making the honey syrup by adding water and 1/3 cup honey to a pot. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and continue gently boiling for 2 minutes. Then add the orange juice and gently boil for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Place the syrup in the fridge to cool it down to room temperature quickly. We kept ours in the fridge for 18 minutes.
10. Heat a pan, add the thinly sliced almonds and toast for 1 minute on medium low heat. You’ll have to stir frequently while the almonds are getting toasted. Once done, remove from the pan and set it aside.
11. When the cake is baked, remove the tray from the oven. Cool for 20 minutes in the tray and then transfer the cake to a plate.
12. Poke holes on the surface of the cake using a skewer or fork (we had around 35 holes). Pour the honey syrup on top of the cake and spread it evenly.
13. Sprinkle the almonds on top of the cake and that’s it.