Honey recipes

Honey Cake

​Ingredients

8ozs Self-Raising Flour
10ozs Mixed Fruit
4ozs Butter/Margarine
8ozs Honey
2 Eggs
Pinch of Salt
Small Pinch of Lemon Zest

​

Method​

  1. Cream together the butter/margarine and honey.

  2. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat together.

  3. Lightly warm the eggs by standing the bowl in a large container of warm water for a few minutes.

  4. Gradually add the warmed beaten eggs to the creamed butter or margarine/honey mixture, creaming well.

  5. Lightly fold in the mixed fruits, flour, zest and salt.

  6. Bake in a 20cm or 8in tin lined with greaseproof paper, in a preheated oven at approx 320 degrees F. 160 degrees C. or Gas Mark 4/5 for about one and a half hours.

  7. Wait until the cake is well risen, golden brown and springs back when pressed. Turn cake out to cool.

  8. Warm 2 tbsp of honey and brush over the top to glaze, then leave to cool.

Honey Shortbread​

Ingredients

225 g (8 oz) butter
80 ml (3 fl oz) honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
225 g (8 oz) plain flour
110g (4 oz)finely chopped almonds

​

Method​

  1. Preheat oven to 150’C (300’F, gas mark 2). Lightly grease baking tray.

  2. Beat together butter,honey and vanilla until light and fluffy.

  3. Gradually add flour and almonds and mix well.

  4. Turn onto lightly floured board and kneed lightly to about 10mm (1/2 inch)thickness, fit to shape of baking sheet.

  5. Transfer to baking tray and mark into slices with a knife.

  6. Bake for 40 mins.

  7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Honey Parkin

Ingredients

5 oz Honey

3.5 oz black treacle.                 

4 oz butter                               

3 oz Dark brown soft sugar.

1 lemon – zest and juice kept separate.

 

8 oz Fine pin head oatmeal   

4 oz Self raising flour.             

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 eggs beaten together in a jug with

2 fl oz milk (or brandy, other spirits are available, but I prefer to drink it rather than bake with it so I always use milk).

Notes:

  1. Don’t use standard pinhead oatmeal (granules the size of a dress makers steel pinhead) as they do not cook into the Parkin properly giving it a gritty texture (I speak from personal experience), alway use fine pinhead.  A friend actually uses rolled oats.

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 130 degrees C fan or 140 degrees conventional

Prepare a baking tin or dish.   I use an 8” square glass baking dish that I line with grease proof paper.   A good trick to line it is to cut an oversized square of paper and scrunchie it up under a running tap squeezing the excess water out.  The paper will then stay in place when you line the dish.

In a medium saucepan (or bowl) place the honey, black treacle, lemon zest, butter and sugar. Warm gently until the butter melts and sugar is dissolve but don’t allow the mixture to boil. Take off the heat and set aside.  (I microwave it for 2 minutes and stir it until the whole lot is mixed.)

In a suitably sized mixing bowl place the oatmeal then sift in the flour, salt, spices and lemon zest and mix well together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the syrup mixture and stir thoroughly.  Ensure the mixture is no more than just warm before adding the eggs and milk (If it is too warm the egg may scramble).   Finally add the lemon juice, this not only adds flavour but activates the raising agent in the flour.  Give the mixture a really good stir then pour into the prepared baking dish/tin.  Note the mixture is very liquid.

Bake in the oven for 60 to 70 minutes until slightly risen and firm when touched in the centre.

Leave to cool in the tin then turn out.  Best allowed to mature for 2 days.

Plain Honey cake

Ingredients:

227g (8oz) self-raising Flour
113g (4oz) unsalted Butter  (if you use salted butter leave out the pinch of salt)
227g (8oz) Honey
2 Eggs  (medium)
Pinch of Salt

 

Method:

  • Cream the butter and honey together. Start oven to pre heat.
  • Beat the eggs well, alternately adding sifted flour at intervals, and salt. Add a little milk if required.
  • Bake in buttered deep 16.5-19.0cm (6½ to 7½”) round tin ~ 1¼ hours at ≤160°C, Gas Mark 2½ -3.
  • Cooking temperatures and times given are guidelines only: you may find through practice and experience that the baking methods need adapting slightly to suit your own oven. Ovens to be pre-warmed to temperature prior to baking.

In practice “longer / slower / cooler” seems to work best: 140-150°C with a high / raised paper liner and use a Strong-tasting honey in preference.

Whipped Honey Mascarpone Frosting

Ingredients

  • 8 fl oz (250ml) double cream
  • 8 oz (250g) mascarpone cheese
  • 3 oz (90g) clear honey
  • ¼ tsp salt
  1. Add the double cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip the cream on medium-high speed until semi-stiff peaks form (try not to over whip).
  2. Transfer the whipped cream to a different bowl and set aside.
  3. Add the mascarpone cheese, honey, and salt to the stand mixer bowl. Using a paddle attachment, mix on medium-high speed for a minute to aerate the mixture.
  4. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture in two additions until fully incorporated. Use at room temperature.

Build

Either

  1. Cover the top of the cake with a generous layer of the frosting

           or

     2.  Slice the cake in two horizontally, use half of the frosting between the 2 layers and use the rest to cover the top of the cake.