Majestic and Moist New Year’s Honey Cake Recipe from Devorah Leah and Moussie

Majestic and Moist New Year’s Honey Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups SPELT flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea (coffee will make a dark cake and tea will make a lighter cake)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 flavored tea

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the pan. This cake is best baked in a 9-inch angel food cake pan. However, it may also be baked in a 10-inch tube or bundt cake pan, a 9 by 13-inch sheetpan, or three 8 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the pan(s). For tube and angel food pans, line the bottom with lightly greased parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. To the mixture, add the oil, honey, sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or strong tea, orange juice, and flavored tea as shown below:

Using a strong wire whisk or an electric mixer on a slow speed, combine the ingredients until they are lightly mixed, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Spelt flour works best when not overworked/over-mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Place the cake pan on 2 baking sheets stacked together and bake until the cake springs back when you touch it gently in the center. For angel and tube cake pans, bake for 60 to 70 minutes; loaf cakes, 45 to 55 minutes. For sheet-style cakes, the baking time is 40 to 45 minutes. This is a runny batter. Depending on your oven, it may need extra time to cook thoroughly. The cake should spring back when gently pressed.

Allow the cake to stand for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then, invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This cake is delicious when paired with Caramelized Apple Topping. If you are making this cake sans the caramelized apple topping, the amount of sugar in the recipe should be adjusted to 3/4 cups white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. For those who prefer a sweeter cake, use the original recipe with all purpose flour. This recipe requires 1 1/2 c. white sugar and 1/2 c. brown sugar.

Source Information: EPICURIOUS | SEPTEMBER 2008
A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking By Marcy Goldman (Recipe adapted from each source.)
Caramelized Apple Topping

Ingredients:

6 medium Golden Delicious apples (about 2 1/4 pounds) peeled, cored, and cut into 6 wedges per apple

4 tablespoons and 1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons butter

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Sauté apples until almost tender and slightly brown, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Increase heat to high, and toss mixture until sugar melts and apples become deep brown in color, about 4 minutes.

Source information: BON APPÉTIT | MARCH 1999

Coring and slicing the apples: