Honey Cake

Honey Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
• Prepare cake pan: Butter and line a 20cm/8″ round pan or springform pan with baking paper (base and sides).
• Whisk Dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Cream butter and honey: In a separate bowl, cream the butter and honey for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway, until smooth and fluffy. (Speed 7 handheld beater or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment).
• Add eggs and flour – Add one egg, mix with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds until mostly incorporated into the batter (mixture will looked curdled). Then add in 1/4 of the flour and mix until the batter comes together. Repeat again – mixing in 1 egg, then a portion of flour – until you’ve used all the eggs.
• Milk and zest: Stir in the milk and orange zest, stir until the batter is almost completely smooth. The batter should be quite thick, but soft.
• Bake 45 min: Scrape batter into the prepared pan, smooth the surface and sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Cool 30 min: Remove cake from the oven. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan – don’t skip this else the cake gets too dense when soaked with syrup.
• Honey Syrup: Meanwhile, make the syrup. Bring the honey and water to a gentle boil for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the lemon juice and boil for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat, cool for 10 minutes then use per below.
• Poke and soak: Poke about 30 holes all across the surface using a skewer (between the almond flakes). Pour 1/4 of the warm Honey Syrup across the surface (if using a springform pan, put it on a plate in case it leaks). Once it mostly sinks in, repeat 3 more times, waiting between pours for the syrup to soak in. Then leave the cake to soak for 15 minutes.
• Serve: Serve warm. Remove the springform pan sides, or serve it straight out of the cake pan (Note 4 for removing from cake pan). I typically serve it plain. However Topping Options suggested above would never be turned away!