Honey Cake

This is a traditional dessert at Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing sweetness in the coming year. If you have never made a honey cake before or if you are used to dry, disappointing honey cakes, this moist and flavourful version should appeal.

Ingredients

• 3½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup strong coffee
• 1¼ cups honey
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup golden raisins or chopped dates
• 1 apple, grated
• Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 300 F. Heavily grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in large bowl. Set aside. Stir together coffee and honey in a separate bowl. Set aside.

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in brown sugar. Stir in vegetable oil until just combined.

Beat together half of flour mixture and all of honey mixture into egg mixture. Stir in remaining flour mixture, raisins and apples.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until cake is springy to the touch, has begun to come away from the edge of the pan and releases a cake tester cleanly. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes. Run the point of a flexible knife around the edge, unmould onto a rack, cool fully and leave in a cool place, covered, for 24 hours to allow flavours to mellow. Dust with icing sugar just before serving. Serves 10 to 12, but lasts for 2 weeks well covered.