Sep 10, 2011
3
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Rate & Review

Lekach (Honey-Spice Cake)

Perfumed with honey and citrus, this spiced cake is a classic at Jewish holiday tables. To make this recipe pareve for meat meals, replace the butter for greasing the pan with canola oil. This recipe first appeared in our October 2011 issue along with Katie Robbins's story Season of Rejoicing.
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Lekach (Honey-Spice Cake) Enlarge Image Credit: Todd Coleman
SERVES 10–12

INGREDIENTS

Butter, for greasing pan
2¾ cups flour, plus more for pan
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp. orange zest
2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1½ cups confectioners' sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 4-qt. Bundt pan; set aside. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, baking powder and soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Beat ¾ cup sugar and egg yolks in a bowl on medium-high speed of a mixer until tripled in volume, about 4 minutes. Stir in oil, honey, 2 tbsp. juice, zest, and Grand Marnier. Add dry ingredients; stir until just combined.

2. Beat egg whites in a bowl on high speed of a mixer until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into batter. Pour into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Let cool and invert onto a serving plate. Whisk remaining juice with confectioners' sugar; drizzle over cake.
Lekach (Honey-Spice Cake)

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #141

Ratings & Reviews (3)

noAvatar
One of the best-tasting honey cakes I've made. The spices give the cake (and your kitchen!) a heavenly aroma and the cake's flavor is perfectly balanced with the sweet orange-flavored icing. I increased the sugar and added the juice squeezed from the zested orange to thicken the icing. Be careful not to overcook it and unlike most honey cakes, this one does not further mellow when made a day or two ahead-it's best when eaten the day of, or one day after being made, although it's so good you'll keep eating it every day until it's gone.
noAvatar
I've replaced the half of the oil with the half cup of unsweetened apple sauce (I think that the oil makes cake a little dry) and the result was a very moist cake.
noAvatar
Excellent! so light and fluffy
Lekach (Honey-Spice Cake) 5 5 3 3

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