Sunday, September 26, 2010

Ukrainian Honey Cake

Every couple of months I'll roll up my sleeves and step into the kitchen and try to recreate the Ukrainian honey cake recipe from my mothers childhood that she still talks about. It's hard because I don't know what it's supposed to taste like and all my mom recalls is that it had strong coffee in the recipe, so I'll putter around, trying out different proportions, adding a spice here and there, hoping I'll come close. I'll wrap it up and take it to my parent's house, make a pot of tea and hold my breath as my mom tries a slice. So far I've come close, and I've gotten some good recipes in place, but the perfect one still alludes me.

Honey Cake

Round two of the FoodBuzz Challenge is to write about a classic dish, and there's nothing more classic then a slice of honey cake and a cup of tea with maybe a spoonful of jam to sweeten things up a bit more. So here's my hat in the ring once again and hopefully this time it will also trigger a memory and recover a lost recipe. Wish me luck and don't forget to vote :D

Honey Cake with Tea


Ukrainian Honey Cake
my recipe...for now

1.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup strong coffee
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift flour, soda, baking powder, spices, and salt together into a bowl. Whip the eggs until thick and light, about 5 minutes, gradually adding the sugar. Beat in honey, coffee, and oil. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until combined. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake ~ 30min, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes and unmold.

Mix together all the icing ingredients until it forms a thin paste and drizzle over the cake to give it that honey tea with lemon flavor.

Cross your fingers and hope you got it right this time :D

34 comments:

Unknown said...

Whether or not this is the perfect cake from your mother's childhood, I'm going to have to try it! I've been searching for a great honey/spice cake, this one looks delicious.

Abby said...

So great for fall! It's cool and rainy here today; this would be a great treat. Good luck on Project Food Blog!

scrambledhenfruit said...

Lovely cake- Even if this isn't the cake your mother remembers, I'm sure it's delicious. I love the honey and the spices- I bet it smells heavenly!

Lynn said...

Yum! The cake probably tastes good no matter what! Good luck finding the perfect recipe and project food blog!

Jennifer said...

This looks and sounds like a wonderful cake for tea time, even if it wasn't your mothers!

cocoa and coconut said...

I love how certain recipes can bring us back to special memories. Your cake is lovely, and I particularly like the drizzle of glaze.

Delishhh said...

This looks so good. I am going to save this just to have as a coffeecake. Nice post. You got my vote!

Alissa @ Not Just Apples said...

Wow! I love a tasty proper cake, good luck with the contest :)

Nutritious Foodie said...

Your cake looks great! You have got my vote!

I made Paella for this challenge. Here is a link to my entry http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/2/view/703

Axelrod said...

Thanks for stopping by!
So how did it turn out? :)

Anna said...

Thank you everyone for your kind words! We tried it this morning and while it's the yummiest variation so far (my opinion) it looks like I'll have to keep trying to get that one recipe right, though I think this time we figured out what I'm doing differently. Turns out I'm once again over-complicating things...they didn't even HAVE half of those spices in Ukraine at that time. Oh, well, I still love it :D

Kelly Lenihan said...

This sounds delicious. Do you think it might work to bake the batter in muffin tins instead of a bundt pan?

Home Cooking Memories said...

I love your photos! Best wishes on round 2.

Amanda (The Culinary Passport) said...

Beautiful cake! I cannot bake at all, so I definitely give you credit for undertaking it. You have my vote!

Stay-At-Home-Chef said...

Wow - your photos are beautiful! Good luck in the competition...

Becky said...

Such a wonderful "journey" you're going on to find the exact recipe for your Mother. I hope that you find it, however this recipe looks so flavorful with all of the spices and coffee. Good Luck in the competition.

Unknown said...

You know you have my vote.

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

just voted for you because I seriously can not resist bundt cakes.

Mariko said...

That is a gorgeous cake and I'm definitely going to bookmark this so I can make it later.

FOODESSA said...

I do love both honey and coffee in desserts...and your cake sounds wonderful.
You've got my vote on this challenge ;o)

Good luck and flavourful wishes,
Claudia

Megan @ Foodalution said...

Nothing like holding your breath when your mother is tasting something you made.... lol! I have to say that your cake is so utterly gorgeous... it could win on looks alone! Beautiful photography and gorgeous cake! mmmmmmmm

Unknown said...

Gorgeous photos, they really pop.

Voted for you and good luck with PFB :)

I would like to invite you to participate in my giveaway
http://atasteofkoko.blogspot.com/2010/08/mini-pistachio-tea-cakes-40.html

Here is my entry for PFB http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/2/view/1039

cocoa and coconut said...

Hi there, I've mentioned you on my blog because I've given you a "One Lovely Blog Award". You can read more about it and your blog on my blog.

kitchen flavours said...

The cake looks lovely. I'm stopping by from Brittany's. You have a lovely blog. I'm your new follower. Will be back reading your other posts. Have a great day!

Unknown said...

isn't that just typical of food blogger trying to replicate the perfect food memory. I enjoyed your post. Good luck in the challenge

Joyti said...

How sweet of you to try and recreate this for your mom! It looks like it turned out beautifully...
p.s. Have you ever tried tea-infused honey? Thought you might like it..based on this entry.

stephchows said...

i love the dedication to recreate this for you mom :)

Risa said...

Thanks for stopping over at Baked Perfection! Your pictures are gorgeous! It really is funny how word of mouth works :)

Anonymous said...

This is so beautiful, as a bundt always is. I've been looking for this recipe too!

Anonymous said...

I think you'd be successful with your honey cake if you used traditional buckwheat honey and boiled it to a beautiful rich golden color. Then let it cool and use when it reaches an appropriate temp. This is what gives it the taste your mother is looking for. Try separating your eggs and folding in the egg whites and another important ingredient is sour cream. Enjoy

Unknown said...

This is one of the excellent dish I’ve ever made. Not only for its flavor, that’s so yummy. I also enjoyed making it and excited to finish the dish and see what will it look like , and it turned out almost like in the image and it didn’t upset me . The dish only is mouth watering and when I actually taste it. And mmmmmmm!! Very luscious that you would want to make repeatedly. As well as “Crock Pot Barbecue Ribs” and, “Almond Galette with Red Fruits “that I discovered at www.gourmetrecipe.com. You can browse the site and find unique recipes. Have a good

Unknown said...

trying your recipe for ukrainian honey cake -- it's in the oven right now. if it helps, my mom- right from ukraine- used cardamom with a very small amount of cinnamon in her cake. unfortunately, i don't have her entire recipe. i hope this one is close.

Dar said...

My Mom's recipe calls for buckwheat honey. Since she passed away, I've made it every year; sometimes twice a year. It is close, but still doesn't "quite" taste like my Babi's. Her's was SO moist!

Marilyn said...

I am looking at this recipe reminding me of one my mother would make using buckwheat honey giving it a distinct flavour also with cinnamon only and sour cream