Lekach Jewish Honey Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 70 minutes
Degree of difficulty: easy
Serves: 12 (halve the quantity to fill a loaf tin)
- 30g/1oz. semi-melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour to grease bundt tin
- 3 cups cake flour*
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1.5 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1.5 cups oil
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 375g/13ozs. honey
- 1 cup coffee/tea
- 1 apple, grated
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
To make 1 cup of cake flour, replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and brush the bundt tin very carefully with butter (it helps to use slightly melted butter and not completely melted so that it really clings to the mold). Sift a light layer of flour over the butter. Set aside.
Step 2 - Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg together. In a jug measure the oil and whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Make a well into the flour mixture and pour in the liquid in 3 lots mixing to remove any lumps. Then add the honey, coffee or tea, apple and lemon zest. Scoop into prepared tin and bake for 60-65 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes. Trim the base and then place a serving plate underneath and upend carefully. Serve with honey butter.