Honey Cake for a Sweet New Year

Hadassah Magazine

4 large eggs (3/4 cup plus 2 tsps)

1 cup canola or safflower oil

1 cup strong black coffee

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup whisky or rye

4 tsps vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups superfine sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

3 ½ cups (14.1 oz) bleached all-purpose flour

1 TB baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 TB unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tsps ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 cup honey

So excited to use this awesome gift from Kristine and Zach!

Coat the bottom of a 9- or 10-inch nonstick metal tube pan with shortening, then cover sides and bottom of pan with parchment paper. Set a rack in the lower part of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F 20 minutes before using. Stack two baking sheets on top of one another and reserve.

In a large bowl whisk all liquid ingredients until combined. Add the sugars and whisk until combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk all dry ingredients on low speed until incorporated, 30 seconds. Remove the bowl and whisk attachment, add the liquid mixture and whisk by hand until just moistened. Add the honey, reattach the bowl to the stand mixer and whisk and beat, starting on low and increasing speed to medium, for a total of 1 ½ minutes; the batter will have the consistency of thick soup. 

Oh, Honey.

Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and set the pan on top of the baking sheets.

Bake for 45 minutes, then rotate the pan halfway around. Lower temperature to 325F and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean and cake springs back lightly when pressed, 25-30 minutes.

It's cake!

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Using a sharp knife or offset spatula, scrape firmly between the cake and the pan to loosen cake, angling knife toward cake and pushing cake inward to ensure loosening. Loosen the cake from the center tube with a wooden skewer. Spray rack with cooking spray, then invert cake onto rack. Peel off parchment. Reinvert cake onto a serving plate or cake carrier.  

Not pictured: The section of the cake that I destroyed trying to get the thing out of the pan.

My Rating: 4/5 "This is damn good. All of the ingredients give it a really complex flavor that's extremely enjoyable. Mine was a little crumbly in places, but that might have been because of my poor baking skills more than the recipe."