Honey Cake
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit. Grease and flour an 8 inch pan.
1 cup honey – I used Tupelo honey
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup sugar – I used light brown
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water
Mix melted butter into honey. A silicone spatula was very helpful in getting the honey out of the measuring cup. Add egg and beat. Sift together dry ingredients except baking soda; add to batter slowly, beating them gently into the batter until fully combined. Add baking soda/water mixture and mix in thoroughly.
Pour batter into pan and bake for an hour or more. I took the cake out after about 55 minutes when a knife came out clean.
The recipe calls for a lot of beating; I used a whisk for that, just enough to fully combine ingredients, and it worked fine. I did not sift.
This cake was unbelievably fragrant. I just wanted to sit there and smell the kitchen, even an hour after it came out of the oven. The top and edges, slightly caramelized, were the best part; the crumb is soft and chewy.
I would also like to try using buckwheat honey (dark, strongly flavored) to see how that would turn out.
