Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me SHF #10: Oh Honey, You Shouldn’t Have!
Fri, July15th of 2005
12:00 am
Food bloggers have quite a few online food events. It’s a terrific way to network and get to know what else is out there in the world of (online) food. SHF stands for Sugar High Friday, a monthly event for the sugar-obsessed (ahem). SHF is my favorite food blogging event, and this is my first time to join. There’s a theme that everyone follows for SHF, and this month it’s honey, hosted by one of my favorite food bloggers, Nic, of baking sheet.
When I think of honey, I think of that sweetly golden, viscous liquid. Most people wrongly believe that it’s healthier than sugar, but the only way it’ll make a difference is in your baking. Baked goods with honey will be very sweet, brown easily, and keep cakes and icings soft and moist longer than white sugar.
This is a honey-almond crunch cake. It’s Jewish in origin, usually eaten during the Jewish New Year to ensure sweetness in the year to come. Most traditional honey cakes are not very sweet or appealing, and often resemble heavy German gingerbreads (lebkuchen).
This cake I made is a simple buttermilk cake with a crunchy topping made from almonds and honey. It’s layered at the bottom of a loaf pan then drizzled with melted butter and honey. Once the cake is baked, it’s cooled for no longer than five minutes, then it’s flipped bottom side up to cool. The cake has a tight yet soft crumb, and the topping gives it a crunchy stick-to-your-teeth gooeyness. This cake would be great with hot tea zipped with a squeeze of lemon (or calamansi).
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Hi Lori,
The cake looks so delicious! I must try it out one of these days.
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Comment by Piggy — July 14, 2005 @ 11:31 pm
Any cake with a crunchy topping appeals to me. Great entry, Lori. Thanks for participating!
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Comment by Nic — July 15, 2005 @ 1:41 am
hi lori, that looks so stickily delicious…nice! cheers,j
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Comment by J — July 15, 2005 @ 2:54 am
Hi, its my first time seeing your blog, following the SHF trail can lead you to some new places
Your cake looks and sounds delicious. Anything with honey, almond and crunch in the title is enough to tempt me!
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Comment by Michèle — July 16, 2005 @ 2:01 am
lori, scrumptious entry, those almonds are fab-looking! great to see you at SHF!
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Comment by stef — July 17, 2005 @ 6:26 am
Lori, what a gorgeous looking cake. Definitely a keeper!!!
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Comment by Ruth — July 17, 2005 @ 10:39 am
Yummy looking cake Lori. What a great first entry!
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Comment by Liz — July 17, 2005 @ 11:42 am
Oh, that cake is sinful. Me want.
~Mahar
P.S. I love honey when it’s an ingredient in a dish comprised of shrimp, green onions, garlic and chilis!
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Comment by Anonymous — July 17, 2005 @ 6:02 pm
Wow Lori what a beautiful cake. I love almonds. Having the almonds cover the pan makes it such an elegant cake. Beautiful!
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Comment by Ana — July 17, 2005 @ 8:27 pm
Mahar-
What on earth is that dish you speak of with shrimp and honey??? I’m intrigued!
lori
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Comment by Lori — July 18, 2005 @ 12:17 pm
What a gorgeous cake, Lori – it looks and sounds absolutely delicious.
I’m glad you were able to join in on SHF for the first time – and hope to see you out next month again!
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Comment by Jennifer — July 18, 2005 @ 11:59 pm
It’s something my mom makes. She just mixes honey with a little salt and pepper and the juice of a lime. Then she dunks the shrimp in it.
And then she heats the olive oil, softens the garlic, dumps a little chili then dumps the shrimp until it’s red and plump and then you pour the whole thing on a bed of pasta.
Okay, now I’m REALLY hungry.
~Mahar
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Comment by Anonymous — July 19, 2005 @ 11:40 am
I made this bread!!! They were awesome, saw the recipe on Gale Gand’s Sweet Dreams. Tasted like caramel popcorn
How did you get the almonds topping on the sides? I only got them at the bottom… —FAWN
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Comment by Anonymous — September 11, 2005 @ 2:29 pm
Hi Fawn-
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad yours turned out well, and yes, now that you mention it, it does taste a bit like caramel popcorn.
The almonds have a way of sliding down to the bottom, so I just stuck ‘em to the sides for the photo shoot. :p
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Comment by Lori — September 11, 2005 @ 5:19 pm