Wednesday Baking III: Honey and Spice Cake

To keep my tradition going, I started my lovely free morning Wednesday again with some baking.
Because Wednesday Baking seems to be equal for using lots of raisins and cinnamon, I made sure this week’s recipe would also be loaded with both and ended up making a variation on Delia Smith’s Spice Cake.

Spice Cake is a true no fuss cake;
It isn’t very special or difficult to make - and I doubt it will ever win a beauty price - but in its simplicity, this cake is really irresistible and tastes so incredibly good.
If you just want something simple with a special twist; this is definitely your cake.

I substituted the candied peel for raisins and increased the amount of honey. This honey was just faintly traceable but did give it its nice and soft texture.
This cake is crumbly, spicy, extremely flavourful and has a lovely orange hint. The fresh and tangy lemon icing pairs beautifully with it;

perfect with a nice cup of tea for one of those cold autumn days.

p.s.
Tasting Life is silver! Yes, already 25th posts (!) Absolutely nothing, if you compare it with certain other blogs, but I‘m still very glad I even got this far. I keep learning and having fun so… up to the 1000th! ;)

honey and spice cake
- 100 g (1/3 cup) clear, runny honey
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 225 g (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 75 g (3 ounces) golden caster sugar
- finely grated zest 1 orange
- finely grated zest 1 lemon
- 110 g (1 stick/1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 150g (¾ cup) raisins
icing:
- 175 g (6 ounces) icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice + 2 Tbsp warm water

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F) and lightly butter a 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin.

2. Put the honey in a small bowl. Place this bowl into a saucepan containing almost boiling water and warm up the honey a little. (not too much, just a little)

3. Sift spices and flour into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, orange and lemon zest. Now add the butter in small pieces. Rub it lightly into the flour with your fingertips, until the mixture becomes crumbly. Using a fork, lightly mix in the beaten egg, followed by the warm honey.
In a small bowl, mix the baking soda with 3 tablespoons of cold water, stir until dissolved, and add it to the cake mixture. beat, quite hard, until the mixture is smooth and soft.
Stir in the raisins and spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it out evenly. Bake the cake for about 50 minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch.
Let cool for 10 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. For the icing; sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of hot water along with the lemon juice and mix to a thin consistency that will coat the back of a spoon. If you don't think it's thin enough add a little more water.
Now place a large plate underneath the cake on the wire rack and pour the icing all over, letting it run down and coat the sides a bit.
Store in an airtight container.