Honey Cake

I was sitting in my kitchen looking at my first jar of honey and I knew I had to use it to create something amazing.

I did an on-line recipe search and found myself at the Smitten-Kitchen website and the pics of her cake looked amazing! Good enough to honor my jar of honey, why yes I think so!

Its baking away and my kitchen smells oh so divine right now, I can’t wait to try this cake!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (2 oranges)
1/4 cup whiskey (I used Makers Mark- it is what we had open)
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Generously grease three loaf pans or one 13 x 9 cake pan with non-stick baking spray.

Make your coffee.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice.

Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey, if using. (If you measure your oil before the honey, it will be easier to get all of the honey out.)

Mix together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.

Place cake pans on two baking sheets, stacked together (this will ensure the cakes bake properly with the bottom baking faster than the cake interior and top).