Although I love honey cakes, this recipe didn’t really thrill me when I first read it. But as I started to put it together, the smell of the lemon zest and the honey were so heavenly I knew it had to be good. I had some of the same misgivings others in the TWD group had about the sweetness, but I decided to use the amounts of sugar and honey called for in the recipe. I didn’t find the cake too sweet (and I don’t like really sweet desserts) and neither did anyone else who tasted it. Funny how this varied so much among those who made the recipe; I wonder if it has to do with the kind of sugar and/or honey we used? For the record, I used organic evaporated cane sugar and 1/2 cup white clover creamed honey and 1/4 cup macadamia nut honey.
The only real change I made in the recipe was that I used white cornmeal instead of yellow, or polenta. I had white cornmeal on hand and have used it before for cakes, so I was curious to see if using it would make much of a difference in this recipe. I think my cake probably had a finer texture than one made with yellow cornmeal, but it still had a nice “cornmeal” crunch to it.
I think I will probably make this cake again sometime, but play around with the recipe some more – although I love all of the basic components: honey, cornmeal, ricotta, and figs.
9 Comments
April 29, 2008 at 10:42 pm
So glad you liked it! I cut back a little on the sugar in mine, but not much, and I didn’t think it was close to being overly sweet. I wonder if it was because people were thinking of it more like cornbread? I loved this cake, and will definitely make it again. : )
April 30, 2008 at 3:33 am
I love that last pic–the pile of cake slices. Nice touch!
April 30, 2008 at 8:25 am
I like the pics of the sliced cake! Your pictures are so simple and elegant at the same time! I also was hesitant about this recipe…but had to try it out!
April 30, 2008 at 12:47 pm
It is true that the different honey or different types of sugar could certainly have made a difference for everyone. Glad you liked it. I enjoyed the picture of the slices as well. Well done!
April 30, 2008 at 2:13 pm
It really *is* interesting about the differences in sweet palates among the TWDers. I didnt change the sugar amt and it was ok with me. Your cake-tart looks lovely. Great job!
I♥food4thought
April 30, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Me too – that last picture is wonderful. And your cake looks like it came out beautifully!
April 30, 2008 at 5:18 pm
What a great looking cake!! I definitely think the sweetness depends on the type of honey and sugar you use; it’s weird to think that honey and sugar could vary in sweetness levels, though.
April 30, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Yummy, macadamia nut honey, sounds divine! I used honey only, and I was very pleased with the results.
May 5, 2008 at 12:10 am
your cake turned out great! i also used the full amount of sugar and honey and didn’t think it was overly sweet. glad you liked it as well!