Honey cake
Last Wednesday the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy group I belong to had a reception for the opening of our first exhibition. We organized everything with the kind support of the Yale Office of International Students and Scholars. Of course, food was included on the organization tasks. Each of us brought a dish - either savory or sweet - to offer to those who joined our reception. The diversity of the table reflected the cultural diversity of our group which was wonderful! And since I wanted to bring Portugal to that international table, I made a honey cake very traditional of Alentejo, a region southern of Portugal.
For those of you who have been following my writings, you know how I deeply love and feel connected to that part of the country. My beloved grandma if from Alentejo and she passed me the passion for that wonderful region where one can live warm long days and have a kind of sustainability which is rare nowadays. One of the region's most famous dessert is this honey cake, one of my all time favorites since I had a first bite many years ago. This is, therefore, a quite special recipe for me but since I believe all good things need to be shared here it is, so you can enjoy it too.
Preheat the oven at 375 F. With an electric blender or a food processor, mix extremely well 1 cup of honey and 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Basically, you want to make an emulsion (blend to substances that cannot mix). That is why you have to be very patient and careful. The secret is not stop mixing until the end. I know it is hard, specially if you are baking this alone (I do by myself, too! Don't despair! ) but if you have to stop, make sure you give it another vigorous stir before adding anything else.
Anyway, when you have your emulsion, add 6 egg yolks, 1.5 cups of granulated sugar, zest of 1 lemon (you can substitute it by 2 small limes if you prefer), 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and a sprinkle of ground ginger (totally optional these last two ingredients) and mix thoroughly. At this point, if you have no help, you have to stop the mixer to beat the egg whites. Fear not! Before to incorporate them into our batter, we will blend it a bit first. Beat the white until stiff. Beat the mixture making sure the olive oil does not separate from the rest of the ingredients, reduce the speed of the blender to almost the minimum and add the whites by spoons. When the white are incorporated, raise the speed and add 2.5 cups of all purpose flour and 1 tablespoon of baking powder, mixing it very well. I know what you are thinking: "I am done with this blog! Flour after egg whites for a cake batter?!!". I asked the same question to my grandma, and her to her mother, and her mother to her mother... No one appears to have an explanation to it but the thing is that it works! You can try it the classic way - add the flour and then incorporate the egg whites. Surely, it won't deadly arm the final result.
Pour the mixture to a buttered cake pan and place it in the preheated oven (375F) for about 40 minutes or until the cake is cooked. Remember, each oven has its own personality so the cooking times I suggest here are only but that - suggestions. To make sure your cake does not burn you can cover it with aluminum foil at around the 20 minutes mark. If you want to certify that your cake is cooked, pierce it with a toothpick in the middle. If the toothpick it comes out dry it is ready.
This is a very fluffy cake with one of the most exquisite flavor combination I have encountered. The first thing you will feel is the olive oil but the middle and back of your tongue will explode with the honey, everything inside a cloudy texture. It is just amazing for me. I hope you like it too! Bon Appetit!
For those of you who have been following my writings, you know how I deeply love and feel connected to that part of the country. My beloved grandma if from Alentejo and she passed me the passion for that wonderful region where one can live warm long days and have a kind of sustainability which is rare nowadays. One of the region's most famous dessert is this honey cake, one of my all time favorites since I had a first bite many years ago. This is, therefore, a quite special recipe for me but since I believe all good things need to be shared here it is, so you can enjoy it too.
Preheat the oven at 375 F. With an electric blender or a food processor, mix extremely well 1 cup of honey and 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Basically, you want to make an emulsion (blend to substances that cannot mix). That is why you have to be very patient and careful. The secret is not stop mixing until the end. I know it is hard, specially if you are baking this alone (I do by myself, too! Don't despair! ) but if you have to stop, make sure you give it another vigorous stir before adding anything else.
Anyway, when you have your emulsion, add 6 egg yolks, 1.5 cups of granulated sugar, zest of 1 lemon (you can substitute it by 2 small limes if you prefer), 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and a sprinkle of ground ginger (totally optional these last two ingredients) and mix thoroughly. At this point, if you have no help, you have to stop the mixer to beat the egg whites. Fear not! Before to incorporate them into our batter, we will blend it a bit first. Beat the white until stiff. Beat the mixture making sure the olive oil does not separate from the rest of the ingredients, reduce the speed of the blender to almost the minimum and add the whites by spoons. When the white are incorporated, raise the speed and add 2.5 cups of all purpose flour and 1 tablespoon of baking powder, mixing it very well. I know what you are thinking: "I am done with this blog! Flour after egg whites for a cake batter?!!". I asked the same question to my grandma, and her to her mother, and her mother to her mother... No one appears to have an explanation to it but the thing is that it works! You can try it the classic way - add the flour and then incorporate the egg whites. Surely, it won't deadly arm the final result.
Pour the mixture to a buttered cake pan and place it in the preheated oven (375F) for about 40 minutes or until the cake is cooked. Remember, each oven has its own personality so the cooking times I suggest here are only but that - suggestions. To make sure your cake does not burn you can cover it with aluminum foil at around the 20 minutes mark. If you want to certify that your cake is cooked, pierce it with a toothpick in the middle. If the toothpick it comes out dry it is ready.
This is a very fluffy cake with one of the most exquisite flavor combination I have encountered. The first thing you will feel is the olive oil but the middle and back of your tongue will explode with the honey, everything inside a cloudy texture. It is just amazing for me. I hope you like it too! Bon Appetit!
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