Chocolate Honey Cake for a Sweet New Year

As I've mentioned in several posts, September is National Honey Month, so here's another Chocolate Honey Cake Recipe. I posted a Chocolate Honey Cake recipe before, and I really like that Chocolate Honey Cake. It's quite different from the one below.  Either of these cakes would also be great to make to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, that begins tomorrow night. Honey is a traditional food that symbolizes a Sweet New Year. Add Chocolate, and the year is bound to be sweet!

If you read my blog, you'll know I'm quite taken with many of Nigella Lawson's recipes, especially those with chocolate. Here is my adaptation of her Chocolate Honey Cake, aka Honey Bee Cake. She decorates her Chocolate Honey Cake with the most adorable marzipan bees, but I never seem to find the time to make these. Too bad, because they're really beautiful. Just an FYI: honey cake doesn't have to be dry and heavy. This cake is incredibly moist! As I've mentioned before, though, your final product will be different depending on the type and brand of chocolate and the type of honey you use.

Chocolate Honey Cake

Ingredients

Cake:
4 ounces dark chocolate (50-65% cacao), chopped
1-1/3 cups soft light brown sugar
2 sticks soft sweet butter
1/2 cup local honey
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon DARK cocoa
1 cup boiling water

Sticky Honey Glaze:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
6 ounces dark chocolate (50-65% cacao), finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions
1. Have all ingredients at room temperature.
2. Melt chocolate from cake ingredients list in large bowl, either microwave or bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and line 9-inch springform pan.
4. Beat together sugar and softened butter until airy and creamy, and then add honey.
5. Add 1 of the eggs, beating in with tablespoon of lour, and then other egg with another tablespoon of flour.
6. Fold in  melted chocolate, and then rest of flour and baking soda.
7. Add cocoa pushed through tea strainer to ensure no lumps, and last, beat in the boiling water.
8. Mix everything together well to make a smooth batter and pour into prepared springform pan.
9. Bake for up to 1 -1/2 hours, but check cake after 45 minutes. If getting too dark, cover top lightly with aluminium foil and keep checking every 15 minutes.
10. Let cake cool completely in pan on rack.

Glaze: 
1. To make glaze, bring water and honey to boil in pot, then turn off heat and add finely chopped chocolate, swirling  around to melt in hot liquid.
2. Leave for a few minutes, then whisk together.
3. Add sugar through sieve and whisk again until smooth.

Putting it together:
1. Choose your plate or stand, and cut 4 strips of parchment paper and form a square outline on the plate. Reason: So when you put cake on it and ice it, icing won't run all over plate (you can always cut the excess off later).
2. Unclip springform pan and set thoroughly cooled cake on prepared plate.

3. Pour glaze over cold chocolate honey cake. It might dribble a bit down the edges, but don't worry too much about it. The glaze stays tacky for some time (which is what gives it its melting goeyness) so ice in time for glaze to harden a little, at least an hour before serving.

Nigella Lawson decorates this great cake with marzipan bees. For the recipe for them, and for her exact recipe, go HERE.