Honey & Lemon Cake

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Sometimes the bakes are just bursting with spirituality! A grey rainy day, warm cake, hot ginger tea and a nice book to curl up with…..if that is not heaven, I don’t know what is.

Where should I start? I don’t have enough words to sing praises of honey and lemon, by themselves and in combination.

The Ingredients……

Lemon: Lemon is an important source of Vitamin-C and is an excellent aid to the immune system. My mom swears by the health benefits of having a glass of warm lemon water, the first thing in the morning everyday. Needless to say, I have started most of my mornings in this life with just that. And of course its refreshing. Naturally, I am always looking for the recipes where I can include the lemon into the diet. So here we are….

Honey: Honey is another superfood, which doesn’t need any introduction. Its called the nectar of Gods (honestly, do everything you can to protect the bees guys!). Anyway, honey is filled with minerals, useful enzymes, anti-oxidants and sugars in the form of glucose and fructose. Raw honey, especially raw local honey, is a real food. The glycemic index of honey is lower than the cane sugar (sucrose) and so it can be an excellent substitute for people who need to control their glucose levels on a regular basis, although anything in excess is not good for you, so be judicious.

Cardamom: When I think of cardamom, the limbic memories take me back to my home, my childhood in South India. The festivals, the sweet dishes, the weddings and the get-togethers. In fact, in my opinion, Cardamom is to India as is Cinnamon is to US. Cardamom is a quintessential spice in Indian Cuisine, both for savory and sweet dishes. In that sense, this cake here, is a true fusion experiment.

The Challenges……

I came across many recipes out there for this cake, and every time, the scientist in me was not satisfied. Hear me out. As I said earlier, honey is made of enzymes (amino acids) and the enzymes tend to be very finicky, especially when exposed to the heat. The last thing I want to do is destroy all the goodness and the health benefits of this nectar. My goal here is to keep the honey below 104^oF (40^oC) at all times. This would not be possible if I added the honey to the cake batter and let it bake for a long time. You would end up with a cake and it would have the taste of toasted honey (nothing wrong with that), but don’t expect the nutritious value of honey to be intact. So, you will see here, that I used the honey in the syrup to drizzle on the cake in the final step. Even though, the honey does come in contact with the hot cake at that point, we can minimize the time the honey is in contact with high temperatures (5 min) and thus prevent total destruction of nutrients. Enough of science, let’s switch those ovens on and get baking.

Notes:

• Use raw/local honey if possible. Honey comes in different flavors based on the local flowers, experiment with different types of honey to get different notes in the cake. I used Organic raw wildflower honey (Boston).
• Do not ever cook the honey or lemon. They lose their natural goodness at high temperatures.
• All the ingredients should be at room temperature.
• Weigh the ingredients when you can, especially the dry ingredients.
• Do not open the oven until its cooked for 30 min. You can open the oven after 30 min to check for doneness.
• I used the beehive pan from amazon. You can get it here.

Description

A warm lemon and honey cake with a touch of cardamom, soaked with lemon and honey syrup. I think the best pan to make a honey cake is the beehive pan. And its best served with hot black chocolate tea brewed with fresh ginger or coffee.

Ingredients

• 150gm all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites
• 40gm granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• Lemon zest from 2 lemons
• 100gm unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
• 3 tbsp honey (for taste)

For syrup

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 100gm honey
• lemon juice from 1 lemon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray the cake mold with the baking spray and keep aside for later use.
• In a clean bowl, add egg whites and salt and whisk until soft peaks are formed. Add sugar and beat until all the sugar is dissolved or until the meringue is thick enough to leave peaks on the whisk when lifted. Keep it aside.
• Weigh the flour into another bowl. Add baking powder, cardamom powder and lemon zest and mix well. Keep it for later use.
• In the mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and honey. Use the stand mixer to beat at high speed until the mixture forms a thick paste. It will take approximately 5 min.
• Add the melted butter and milk to the egg yolks paste and mix at low speed for 2 min.
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the above and fold it in gently with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
• Add the egg white meringue to the above and gently fold it until mixed. Do not over mix
• Pour the batter into the mold above and tap it on the bench a couple of times to let the batter reach all the nooks and corners of the pan
• Place the cake mold onto a baking sheet and bake it in the middle rack for 35-37 min. You can check the doneness by inserting a clean tooth pick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean it is done. Look for the edges of the cake pull back from the walls of the pan.
• Remove the cake from oven, and leave it in the mold for 5 min.
• Proceed to make the syrup while you wait for the cake to cool down for 5 min.

For syrup

• Add water and sugar into a pot and let it boil for 2 min. Remove from heat.
• Add honey and lemon juice to the hot syrup after 2 min. The temperature will come down immediately and the resulting mixture will be a warm lemon and honey syrup ready to use.

Lemon and honey cake

• Make several holes in the cake with a tooth pick.
• While the cake is still in the pan, pour the warm syrup on to the cake.
• Make sure you soak the edges by pouring the syrup around the edges of the cake
• Some syrup goes down through the spaces on the sides and will accumulate at the bottom
• Wait for another 5-7 min until all the syrup at the bottom is absorbed.
• Remove the cake from the mold by inverting the mold onto a cooling rack.
• Serve the cake warm with ginger tea or coffee.
• Wrap the cake in the cling wrap and store it in the refrigerator. This will be good for 2 days.