Orange Honey Cake

Many people are not big fans of honey cake, but… along comes the incomparable Lévana Kirschenbaum and voilà, she single-handedly changes all their minds! SYR always considered eating honey cake on Rosh Hashana as a “must”, rather than a “want to,” now that she’s tasted Lévana’s moist and flavorful variation on the theme (at her last cooking demo, this past Monday evening), she hasn’t stopped raving about it.

I actually succeed in turning quite a few people on to my honey cake. Mine is moist and spicy and easy to love; I trust it will make you forget all the indignities of past dried-out and brittle honey cakes. I make it several ways, all scrumptious, but this is one of my favorite. The secret ingredient, orange marmalade, was shared by my dear friend Leah.

Ingredients:

1 cup oil
2/3 cup brown sugar or sucanat
1 cup honey
1 cup orange marmalade, try your best for all-fruit
4 eggs
3/4 cup strong coffee at room temperature
3 tablespoons rum or brandy

3 cups flour: all purpose, whole wheat pastry or spelt (spelt my favorite)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon each cinnamon, allspice and ginger
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Whisk the first set of ingredients in a bowl.
Mix the second set of ingredients in a second bowl.
Combine both mixtures thoroughly, mixing only until just combined. Pour the batter into a greased tube pan, and bake 1 hour, or a little longer, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Orange Honey Cake Il