HONEY CAKE - ANOTHER RECIPE FOR TODAY

HONEY CAKE - ANOTHER RECIPE
3 teaspoons instant coffee
1 cup hot water
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup honey (about 12 ounces)
1/3 cup oil (not olive, use soy or canola)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I leave this out)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (I usually use nutmeg)

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (325 degrees F).

Get a baking pan with a 7 cup capacity. Grease lightly and set it aside. You could also use parchment paper, my favorite trick.

Prepare a strong cup of coffee with the hot water and the instant coffee. Let it cool down a bit so it’s not boiling.

Separate the eggs. Put the yolks into a big mixing bowl and the whites into a medium one.

Beat the yolks with the sugar until creamy.

Add the oil, then the honey, beating after each addition. Beat until the mixture is totally smooth and creamy.

Sift the flour and combine with the salt, baking powder, baking soda and the spices.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture alternately with the coffee, stirring with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Do NOT use and electric mixer for this one. Stir only until all the ingredients are well blended, do not over mix.

Clean and dry the mixer beaters. Whip the egg whites until they are stiff and can hold their shape. Don’t overbeat the whites or you will end up with little islands of egg white that will never be blended into the batter.

Add one third of the beaten whites at a time to the batter. Fold in gently until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 80 to 90 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out dry and clean. This cake keeps really well. In fact, it gets better with a little aging, so bake it several days ahead.