Recipe: Honey Cake for Rosh Hashana

You can make a large cake for a celebration or make two smaller cakes and freeze one. Serve them at any time like you would serve banana bread or pound cake. You can mix and match spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered cloves or ginger, depending on your family’s personal tastes. My wife adds all of the spices except cloves. It takes about two hours to prepare. Since you need brewed coffee for the recipe, you can enjoy a fresh-brewed cup of coffee while you cook.

HONEY CAKE

• 3½ cups sifted flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1½ cup nuts, walnuts or almonds
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 tsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cups dark honey
• ½ cup brewed coffee

Optional spices
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8th tsp. powdered cloves
• ½ tsp. ginger

o Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices (according to personal taste).
o Beat eggs, gradually adding the sugar, until thick and light in color.
o Beat in oil, honey and coffee.
o Stir in flour mixture and nuts.
o Grease an 11x16x4 inch baking pan and line with aluminum foil (for two smaller cakes, use two 9-inch loaf pans), and turn the batter in to the pan(s).
o Bake at 325° F (170° C) for 1¼ hours (50 minutes for two smaller cakes), or until browned and cake tester comes out clean.
o Cool on a cake rack before removing from pan.

Chef Tany is a chef/instructor at The Art Institute of Charlotte