Honey Cake

I love to read and my most favorite thing to read is a cookbook with a background story. My beautiful baby sister has the most wonderful ways of finding these fabulous cookbooks. I can literally read a cookbook from beginning to end. The one that I love is called "The Neighborhood Bakeshop" It is a book that has recipes and stories of bakeries from around the US. It is great! I sometimes will pick it up just to thumb through it and read a little bit about people who are living my dream. I can sometimes picture myself baking in the kitchen or working behind the counter selling the delicious pastries and breads. The stories behind the recipes are fabulous and describe the finished product so well you can actually imagine yourself tasting it. At least I can.

This cake turned out so beautifully. The golden brown color was so beautiful. The taste was pretty good too. You could taste the honey and it gave the cake just the right sweetness. The cake was not too sweet, but not too plain. I think it would be a good cake to eat along with a cup of coffee.

Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake
Rind of 1 lemon
1 Cup water
1 scant cup orange blossom honey
1/2 Cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine lemon rind and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and set aside to steep.

3. Combine the honey, brown sugar, baking soda and oil in a large mixing bowl. Begin to mix with an electric mixer at low speed. When the mixture is well blended, add the eggs and mix until smooth.

4. Strain the lemon rind from the steeped water and add 1/3 cup of the hot lemon water to the mixer bowl. Blend at low speed for 2 minutes. Gradually spoon in the flour. When the flour is completely incorporated, slowly add 1/3 cup more of the hot lemon water. (reheat if necessary) When the batter is completely blended and smooth, pour it into the prepared loaf pan. (The batter is very fluid)

5. Place the pan onto a baking sheet for about 1 hour, until it springs back when very gently touched in the center (the delicate cake can collapse if touched too firmly) or a cake tester gently inserted comes out clean.

6. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then unmold the cake onto the rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Source: The Neighborhood Bakeshop by Jill Van Cleave