This week’s Blogger Secret Ingredient is hosted by Jenn who is responsible for the wonderful Jenn Cuisine, she has choosen honey as her secret ingredient.
For my submission I wanted to make a springtime deeply feminine cake, with spelt flower and almonds, sweetened with honey and flavoured with orange blossom water. I would have liked few drops of pink food colouring in the frosting to make it even more spring like, girlie and carefree!
Having written the post I discovered that sadly the cake is utterly horrible – with a nasty bitter aftertaste. If anyone has any ideas why please let me know. At least the frosting is nice – I do recommend a bowlful and a spoon! I still really like the idea of a apricot and orange blossom cake, I shall try again without the nuts and honey.
Honey, Apricot & Orange Blossom Cake (serves 6)
Dry Ingredients
4oz / 100g spelt flour
2oz / 50g ground almonds
pinch salt
1 tsp baking powder
6 or so dried apricots chopped up small
Wet Ingredients
2oz / 50g honey
2oz / 50g sunflower oil
40z / 100g milk – I used soy milk
1/2 tsp orange blossom water
Give the wet ingredients a good whisk to dissolve the honey, throughly mix the dry. Pour the wet into the dry fold together (the batter should be lumpy and mixing should take no more than 15 folds). Bake at GM5/190C/375F in a linied 6″ / 15cm cake tin for 20 – 25 mins until risen (when a tooth pick poked into the middle comes out clean it is done). Leave for a few minutes, turn out (I find cakes made from spelt are very crumbly so be gentle) and allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
1 oz / 25 g butter or diary free spread
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp orange blossom water
4oz / 100g icing sugar
Place all ingredients into a pudding basin and mix for a good few minutes with an electric beater until light and fluffy. You may need to add a little more icing sugar or a drop more orange blossom water.
Frost cake, and decorate with a few nuts.
I think I’d maybe add some sugar as well as the honey. Sad that it didn’t turn out well though.
So sorry it didn’t turn out well! I agree with Sarah, maybe 2 oz. wasn’t quite enough to sweeten it….it looks great though!
it sounds such a wonderful cake – what a shame it didn’t quite work but I hope it might evolve. Maybe some apple sauce or a banana would help to sweeten it – though honey is so wonderful that a bit extra might also help
It does look gorgeous, it’s too bad about the aftertaste! Keep trying, a cake that looks this good definitely deserves a second chance! :)
~Aubree Cherie
It sounds a wonderful cake and I like the fact it doesn’t have any sugar in – I certainly want to make it. The only thing I can think of is that the almonds were old / off – they can certainly be bitter.