Honey Cake

HONEY CAKE RECIPE 
by Kemp Minifie, Gourmet Live 

YEILD: Makes 1 (10-inch) Bundt cake 
ACTIVE TIME: 40 min 
TOTAL TIME: 4 hr 
With its velvety chocolate glaze and snowy flakes of sea salt, this dressed-up honey cake is perfect for Rosh Hashanah. It's equally ideal for any other occasion or celebration, whether it's a dinner party, an impromptu gathering of friends, or a school bake sale. It's that simple-and that good. Don't be surprised if people start pestering you for the recipe after their first bite. 

INGREDIENTS 
For cake: - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
- 1/2 teaspoon salt 
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove 
- 3 large eggs 
- 1 cup sugar 
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil 
- 1 cup pure honey 
- 3/4 cup lukewarm coffee (brewed, or instant dissolved in water) 
- 1 1/2 teaspoons packed grated orange zest 

For chocolate glaze: 
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk (not light) 
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup 
- 4 ounces bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped 

For garnish: 
- Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon (optional) 

EQUIPMENT 
- a 10-inch Bundt pan; nonstick baking spray (shake well first; see Cooks' Notes); cake tester or wooden skewer for testing cake doneness 

PREPARATION 
For cake: - Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously spray pan, including center tube, with baking spray. 
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl. 
- Whisk eggs well in another large bowl and whisk in sugar, oil, honey, coffee, and zest until well combined. 
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the honey mixture, then stir with the whisk until the batter is smooth. 
- Pour batter into pan (it's liquid enough to level itself in the pan), and bake in oven until springy to the touch and a cake tester comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. 
- Let cake cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes. 
- Loosen cake from the pan with a thin rubber spatula, then invert cake onto the rack (see Cooks' Notes) and cool completely. 

For glaze: 
- Bring coconut milk and corn syrup to a simmer in a small heavy pan, stirring until combined. 
- Remove pan from heat and add chocolate. Let chocolate stand 1 minute, then stir until chocolate is melted and glaze is smooth. 
- Let glaze stand, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, but still pourable. 
- Transfer cake to a cake plate and slowly pour the chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. If desired, let the cake stand at room temperature until glaze is set. 
- Just before serving, sprinkle glaze lightly with flaky sea salt, if using. 

recipe tips: 
Find Your Honey 
"There's so much choice out there in terms of honey," says Minifie. She found several honey cake recipes calling for buckwheat honey, "which is dark, very strongly flavored, and not to everyone's taste." Minifie opted for a mild local option from the farmers' market but says it really is a matter of personal preference. Sample what's available and bake with a honey you really enjoy. 

Measure Wisely 
Minifie, who spent decades in the kitchens of Gourmet, says that the honey and the oil should be measured in a liquid measuring cup-the kind with a spout for pouring. Minifie recommends measuring the oil first, followed immediately by the honey. The residual oil helps the honey slide right out of the measuring cup; if there's anything left in the cup, use a rubber spatula to scoop it out. 

Bake Now, Enjoy Later 
"Honey cake," explains Minifie, "gets better and better as it sits." For Rosh Hashanah, or any special occasion, she advises baking one day in advance and storing the cake in a cake carrier at room temperature. The cake will be moist and full of flavor on feast day but leftovers will keep for several days after that. The glaze can also be made ahead and kept, in an airtight container, at room temperature. Use a spoon to test the consistency-you want the glaze to drip slowly down the cake. If necessary, warm the glaze in the microwave or on the stovetop until it liquefies just a bit, letting it cool and thicken slightly if necessary. Glaze the cake about an hour or two before serving; the chocolate will firm up but will still retain its lovely soft texture. 

cooks' notes: - Nonstick baking spray: Normally, I'm not inclined to use nonstick baking sprays, preferring to line the bottoms of greased cake pans with parchment paper, then greasing the paper and flouring the pans to ensure that the cake releases easily from the pans, but the design of a Bundt pan makes that method impossible. While developing this recipe, I had a disaster when the top half of one cake remained in the Bundt pan when I tried to turn the cake out (and I thought I had really played it safe by using a well-oiled nonstick pan, albeit an old one). On my next attempt, I turned to the nonstick baking spray, and since then, it has worked like a charm. - Measuring oil and honey: Both should be measured in a liquid measuring cup. The oil is listed first, because if you measure the honey in it afterward, without washing the cup, the honey will slide out easily, with barely any help needed from a rubber spatula. - Inverting the cake onto a rack: The best way to do this is to place a rack over the top of the pan, then, holding the rack and pan together, flip the cake pan and rack over so that the cake can slide safely out of the pan onto the rack.
- Chopping chocolate: The easiest way to chop chocolate is with a long serrated bread knife. Or you can break the chocolate into squares (if you are using a bar) and pulse it in a food processor. 

Originally from: http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/heavenly-honey-cake-recipe-tips-182500141.html