Honey Cake

In our household Honey Cake usually refers to a dense Icelandic cake that Mum makes for Father’s Day and Pabbi’s Birthday, she dislikes it, I love it, Pabbi likes it and Matthew is indifferent over it just as he is with pretty much everything. After a busy morning spent on the computer researching my last assignment I decided to make myself a cake for afternoon tea and when I saw a recipe for Honey Cake in the wonderful Tessa Kiros book Apples for Jam, I said to myself, I will have to cook this. The best thing, we all like it.

Honey Cake
Apples for Jam, p. 279
The recipe also lists 1 tbsp of finely chopped rosemary but I didn’t have any so it is absent and it tastes quite fine without it.

150g butter
0.5c brown sugar
0.5c honey (place the bottle in warm water for a while so the honey is easier to measure)
1 2/3c plain flour
1.5tsp baking powder
0.5tsp cinnamon
2 eggs

Line and grease a 22cm springform tin. In a small saucepan over a low heat melt the butter, sugar, honey and 1tbsp water, stirring once or twice until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted. Leave to cool for 10-15 mins. Preheat oven to 180°C.

Sift flour, cinnamon and baking powder in to a bowl; add the eggs and butter mixture. Mix until smooth. Pour into to the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked. Leave to cool in the tin.

Icing
The recipe lists a lemon butter cream recipe but I just made a simple lemon icing sugar icing. A a couple of tablespoons icing sugar, a teaspoon of margarine and two of lemon juice, the zest of half a lemon and enough hot water to produce a spreadable paste. Ice the cake and sprinkle the zest from the other half of the lemon on the cake.

When I was in high school, I used to take a cake to school when my friends had birthdays. When it was my birthday the other month, Georgie Girl brought a slice of cake to uni for me. Her birthday is tomorrow so she is getting a slice of cake 🙂