Sunken Apple Honey Cake
Rosh Hashanah often coincides with some dates of Durga Puja. Somewhere or the other, this tugs on my strings of nostalgia. Sweets are an essential part of any celebration. Keeping with everything, I cull together this recipe for Sunken Apple Honey cake.
The Story of Sunken Apple Honey Cake
I can always tell, by the recipe searches on the blog that there are others thinking of Bengali food as well. Today, to keep with the general holiday spirit, I made an apple honey cake, my version of it anyway. I have always been intrigued by the idea of a honey cake it is however a cake with a reputation – people have warned me about how sweet and dry it can be. The general idea of meshing honey and spices appealed to me, and pair in apples and fall, how can one go wrong?
The Symbolism of Honey
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. It is the anniversary of the day when Adam and Eve were created Apples and Honey are a part of the food traditions. Together they bring in sweetness in the New Year, hence the honey cake. I wanted to try meshing the apples with the honey cake, and once I saw this recipe I was well – Smitten.
Some tweaks and flavors
I do not peel the apples. This is in the hopes that they would retain some color. As you can see they sort of did. The cake batter I used was more along the traditional lines. I made a spiced tea brew. There is also orange juice and zest in the mix. The result us a moist, delicate cake that is good for all days of the year.
It is the time for Apples and Apple cakes, here is a recipe for a honey almond apple cake and another one for an apple yogurt cake.
For good measure, I finished this cake with a salted honey glaze. The sweet and savory working together in a happy marriage.
And, here is hoping that the upcoming year or season is balance with salty sweetness. Linked below is a fun and informative video.
A beautiful moist and flavorful honey cake that will put all the flavors of fall into your kitchen while it cooks.
Ingredients
- 2 spice tea bags (Such as Celestial Seasonings)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- Round 10 inch cake pan
- 4 small apples
- 1.5 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest (about 1 orange)
- 1/3 cup orange or clementine juice
- 1/2 cup spice tea liquid
- 1/2 cup honey more if you like it sweeter
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup spice tea liquid
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- To make the spice tea steeping liquid, in a sauce pan add 2 cups of water, the tea bags and the ginger and boil for about 5 to 7 minutes and strain the liquid. You will have about 1 and 1/2 cup of water which is enough for this recipe.
- Pre-heat the oven and grease the cake pan and set aside.
- Cut the apples into half, core the apples and cut them into thin slices, keeping the shape intact. You basically want to pop these into the batter into half moons, so if you can try to not completely slice through.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl add the orange zest, orange juice, spice tea liquid, honey, vegetable oil and the eggs and mix well.
- Pour this on the cake pan and carefully arrange the apple halves over the batter and place to bake.
- The cake bakes for about 35 to 40 minutes, remaining a little softer in the center.
- While the cake is baking, place the remaining tea liquid, honey and salt in a pan and cook for about 8 minutes until thick and smooth.
- Let the cake cook in the oven for about 5 to 7 minutes, invert the cake and invert back again. Pour over the honey glaze and serve the cake warm or cool.