Blogging Ellul: Inherited honey cake

Different communities have their own traditions for a sweet and often sticky desert eaten at Rosh Hashanah, symbolising a sweet new year. Two things help me feel like the new year really is around the corner - the Selichot service which we celebrated last night and which introduces the
tunes of the festivals, and the mad urge to start baking honey cake! This is a recipe I have inherited from my mother, which I think she inherited from hers. When living away from home for the first time desperate calls to London were made as I knew I couldn't celebrate Rosh Hashanah without this honey cake. It isn’t an exact science, and there are of course many others, but this is the one that makes me feel best!
I would encourage you to find locally sourced honey and/or to support fair trade and organic producers; our sweet new year should be an example of how we want the world to be as well as a tasty treat!

200g plain flour

150g sugar

250g/ 3/4 of a cup clear honey

150ml cooking oil

50g chopped walnuts/ almond flakes

1 level teaspoon cinnamon (I often add more!)

1 level teaspoon mixed spice/ all spice

2 eggs

1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda dissolved in

100ml of Orange Juice

Mix together flour, sugar and spices

Make a well in the centre, add honey, oil and eggs

Beat well together until smooth

Dissolve Bicarbonate in orange juice and add with nuts to

mixture

Bake at 170 degrees celcius for 1 and a half hours or until firm

to the touch, and a knife/skewer comes out clean

Cool on a rack (out of a draft so it doesn’t sink)

Serving tip: Leaving it wrapped in foil or in a tin for a day or so

improves the cake.

This was my 2011 attempt - it's very tasty but did sink!
Do let me know how you get on if you try it, or share your recipes below!