Traditional Honey Cake with a Delicious Twist

Honey cake is always one of the highlights of Rosh Hashanah. I ensure this cake is moist by adding applesauce, and that it’s decadent with sticky, sweet honey. Even in its simplest form, this easy honey cake is sure to be a winner.

But if you’re getting a little tired of the classics and are looking for a way to make Rosh Hashanah your own this year, why not add a twist or two? Through a couple of easy tweaks, my basic honey cake recipe is transformed into a unique, beautiful take on the traditional holiday bake.

First up: the sliced almond– an often overlooked ingredient. I bake up my basic honey cake, and drizzle it with an extra ¼ cup of warm honey when it emerges from the oven. The honey soaks through the cake, making it even more indulgent, and also acts as edible glue for sliced toasted almonds, which I sprinkle all over the top. The deep, almost savory flavor of the toasted nuts provides the perfect balance to all that honey. Plus, the nuts add a welcome textural contrast to that squidgy cake.

If you’re opposed to traditional honey cake on the grounds that it’s a brown food, amp up the aesthetics with a sprinkling of bright red pomegranate seeds. Pomegranates are a symbolic food on Rosh Hashanah, one of the “simanim” that make up Sepherdi and Mizrahi Rosh Hashanah seders. Before eating the pomegranate seeds, they traditionally say, “May we be as full of mitzvot (commandments) as the pomegranate is full of seeds.” Pomegranates also symbolize fertility and love in Jewish tradition, and are one of the Seven Species of Israel. Plus, they add a burst of freshness and a little crunch to your cake.

That said… we highly recommend baking both versions as there is no such thing as too much honey cake!

Reprinted with permission from One Sarcastic Baker.