How to make my Rosh Hashanah Themed Honey Cake

Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner. If you celebrate or not this cake is for you. Let me show you how to make my Rosh Hashanah themed honey cake in this beautiful honeycomb shaped mould that has so much beautiful detail.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

In the simplest terms Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year. It is celebrated at the end of summer/beginning of autumn and is a time to celebrate the creation of the world. It is a also a time to make fresh starts.

During this time people reflect upon the past year and to ask for forgiveness for anything wrong they feel they have done. They can also think about their priorities in life and what it important to them.

This is only a brief overview. With the entirety of the religious holiday being deeply spiritual and meaningful to those who celebrate.

Honey

In terms of food honey and apples are very symbolic foods during this time. Apples are typically cut into slices and dipped in honey in order to symbolise the sweet year ahead.

For this recipe I have used honey to create a sweet treat that is the perfect desert to add to any table whether your celebrating Rosh Hashanah or just want to try something a little different.

It may seem like a lot of honey along with sugar in the recipe but trust me it is not overpowering or too sweet. The honey gives a subtle sweetness and adds to the syrup like texture within the cake.

I’ve used a honeycomb shaped silicone mould in order to give it that extra oomph feeling and to fit in with the theme of Rosh Hashanah. Don’t worry if you don’t want to buy the mould then you can use a loaf tin. The baking time will just be a little longer with the shape difference.

Tips

• This mixture is very wet and can look a bit curdled when you are mixing (especially if you are using a stand mixer). Trust the process and it will be fine!
• The cake is a solid once cooked but it does have a very moist syrup like consistency. I absolutely love this but some don’t if you are one of those add around 100g extra flour to the recipe
• Make sure that the mould is well greased. I do this by brushing melted butter over each of the honeycomb cells and up the edges of the mould. This will allow the mould to easily lift away from the cake.
• Leave the cake in the mould for around 10-15 minutes before attempting to take it out. Then leave it on the wire cooling rack to fully cool before eating.

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Tools you will need

Silicone honeycomb mould or metal honeycomb mould (Nordic Ware)

Stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon

Ingredients

Caster Sugar

Butter– it doesn’t matter if you use baking spread, butter, or a margarine they all work for this recipe. The butter will need to be room temperature to be able to easily cream together with the sugar.

Eggs– I tend to use medium eggs but large eggs work well too. Remember if you are in the UK to buy certified eggs (all supermarket eggs) especially if you are feeding young children at weaning age.

Self Raising Flour

Baking Powder

Salt– I like this in to add depth of flavour but it can be left out if you prefer

Honey– I use clear honey. It is important to also note that health visitors in the UK DO NOT recommend feeding children under the age of 1 honey products. (see “change it up!” section bellow for alternatives)

Cinnamon

All Spice

Vanilla Extract– good quality is always recommended but supermarket own brands works just as well. This is also optional but provides a delicious flavour.

Orange Juice– I like to use freshly squeezed but cartoon juice does exactly the same job.

Change it up!

Some adjustments that you can make to this cake include:

Orange juice not for you? that’s perfectly fine you don’t need to add it

Whiskey or brandy– if you don’t want to add the orange juice or why not try a boozy alternative

Honey– if you have a child under the age of 1 and/or would like to substitute the honey (health visitor guidelines in the UK advice against honey under this age) then you can use golden or maple syrup instead.

How to Make my Rosh Hashanah Themed Honey Cake

This cake is incredibly simple to make.

Preheat your oven to 190°C and grease your mould or loaf tin. I like to use melted butter but you can also use oil or spray.

Put your caster sugar and butter into a bowl and cream together still smooth.

Add your eggs into the mixture. By this point your mix will start to look a little curdled. Trust the process and keep going.

Next pour in your orange juice, honey, vanilla extract.

Followed by your salt, cinnamon and all spice.

Slowly add in your flour and baking powder until all combined.

Pour your mixture into your mould or loaf tin and make sure that it is in all the corners by gently lifting it and tapping it back down onto the counter surface.

Put in the oven to cook for around 40-50 minutes if the top is browning too much cover it loosely with foil.

When the cake is fully cooked test the mixture with a skewer to make sure the inside is completely done. If it comes out clean it’s done, if it’s wet put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. If you are using a loaf tin instead of a mould it will take longer as the mixture will be more compact due to the shape of the tin in comparison to the mould.

Leave in the mould for around 10 minutes before slowly peeling it off. Leave the mould on a cooling rack until it has completely cooled and then enjoy.

How to Store your Cake

Store in the fridge for up to 4/5 days. Bare in mind that the cake won’t be as moist and syrupy while in the fridge due to the cooler temperature but it is still super yummy!

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