Each March both of our associations (DWFBA and FBA) hold their AGMs, which are a vital part of the year for the associations. They are also a great opportunity for members of the associations to get together for a social evening. In the past the social part of the evening has been either a very interesting talk by a fellow beekeeper/expert, a quiz or a cheese and wine buffet. This year it was decided that a Honey Cake Bake Off would be a great way to celebrate us all being able to meet in person for the AGMs.
So lots of our fellow beekeepers got out their cooking aprons and set about making delicious Honey Cakes. Each cake was sampled by fellow association members and then they were able to vote for their favourite Honey Cake.
The winner of the DWFBA Honey Cake Bake Off was John Tulloch with his Russian Honey Cake and the winner in FBA was Joan Sneddon with her Honey Ginger Cake with Lemon Filling. Congratulations to both John and Joan!
Below are a few photographs taken at each AGM together with the recipes for these two delicious winning Honey Cakes.
Russian Honey Cake Recipe by John Tulloch
Ingredients for the cake layers:
100g butter
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour
Ingredients for the cream:
600ml sour cream
1 cup sugar
Ingredients for cake decoration:
1 cup walnuts (slightly toasted in a dry frying pan)
Trimmings from the baked layers of the cake
Method: Making the batter:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
- Put the butter, sugar and honey into a pan. Put the pan onto a slightly bigger pan which is filled with water. Put the pans on the hob and heat up, stirring all the time. Keep stirring until it forms a nice smooth textured batter. Don’t let the batter boil.
- Keeping the pans on the hob, add baking soda into the batter. Keep stirring until the batter is lighter in colour and has expanded a little. Take off the heat now and cool.
- Beat the eggs and add them to the cooled down batter, stirring well.
- Add the flour in small portions, stirring all the time until the batter is very smooth.
Making the cake layers: - Use a plate approximately 18cm across as a template, draw a circle on a piece of baking paper.
- To make one layer, spread a portion of the batter over the baking paper with a spoon to create a circle. This amount of batter will make 6-7 layers of cake. Each layer should be as thin as possible.
- Bake each cake layer for about 5-6 minutes until a lovely golden colour, then cool them separately, do not stack them.
- Trim each layer into a perfect circle using the ‘template’ plate. Keep the trimmings, you will need them for decorating.
Making the cream:
Mix the sour cream with an electric mixer, then gradually add the sugar. Sandwich the layers together using this sour cream mixture, putting
plenty of cream on the top of the cake and on the sides of the cake.
Decorating the cake:
Blend together the cake trimmings with the toasted walnuts. Use this crumb mixture to cover the cake top and the cake sides. Put the cake in the fridge overnight to firm up.
Enjoy!
Honey Ginger Cake with Lemon Filling recipe by Joan Sneddon
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 cup thick sour cream
2 eggs
Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade
- Grease and line two 8 inch round cake tins
- Stir together all of the ingredients except the eggs and 1/3 of a cup of the sour cream. Then beat this mixture well for 2 minutes in an electric mixer.
- Add the eggs and the remaining sour cream and beat the mixture together for a further 2 minutes.
- Divide the mixture between the two baking tins then bake for 30 to 35 mintues in the preheated oven until the cakes spring back lightly when touched.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack
Lemon Filling
Ingredients
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup boiling water
1 beaten egg
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Method
- In a saucepan combine the corn starch, sugar and pinch of salt. then gradually add the boiling water.
- Cook on a medium heat until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly then cook out for a further 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cool the mixture slightly then add the beaten egg gradually, a little at a time, as you beat the warm mixture. Cook for 1 more minute, stirring continually.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, lemon rind and lemon juice.
- Cool. Then use this curd to sandwich the two prepared cakes together.
- Finish the cake with a dusting of icing sugar.
