Chef Louise Briskie-deBeer,
LuLu’s Restaurant
This dense honey cake is loaded with spice. It gets a punch of flavour with a drizzling of South African-inspired orange confit, an intense preserve bursting with the sweet flavours of citrus and ginger.
Ingredients
Honey Cake
1 cup honey
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/2 cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup hot strong black coffee
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Orange Confit
6 large navel oranges
6 cups sugar
6 cups water
juice of 2 lemons
3-inch piece of fresh ginger
Method
Honey Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Butter and flour a 9″x11″ pan.
3. In a bowl, combine first seven ingredients and mix well.
4. Whisk in coffee and eggs.
5. Sift in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
6. Place in oven for 45 mins.
7. Cool cake on wire rack, and while still warm, glaze with extra honey.
Orange Confit
1. Zest oranges and wash well.
2. Cut a 1 1/2-inch deep ‘X’ in the bottom of the orange.
3. In a saucepan, make simple syrup by heating sugar and water. Peel and slice ginger. Add to syrup.
4. Add oranges to syrup and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat. Turn fruit occasionally to ensure even cooking, until oranges become translucent and the syrup is thick (approx. 3 hrs).
5. Remove from heat and mix in lemon juice. Allow to cool for several hours.
6. Place in jars and store in refrigerator (keeps for one month).
Yield 8 servings