With Rosh Hashanah right around the corner, beginning at sundown on September 4, Jewish folks near and far are hurriedly preparing for the New Year festivities—and most important on this list is food!  During Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat apples and honey to usher in a sweet year ahead, and be you Jewish or gentile, here is a honey apple cake recipe that will give your sweet tooth the fix it’s craving.  And even if you’re not Jewish, who doesn’t enjoy a new year filled with renewed hope and promise?

CAKE INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups all purpose baking flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• Dash of ground cloves
• 4 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, and shredded

ICING INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup + 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 tbsp non-dairy creamer

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

• 9 inch Bundt cake pan, sifter, wire cooling rack, parchment paper, Ziploc bag

Cook Time: 75 – 90 Minutes

Total Time: 2 – 2 Hours 30 Minutes

Servings: 10

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are frothy. Whisk in the honey, white sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla. In a separate medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and spices. Incorporate the flour mixture into the liquid, stir to blend. Fold in the shredded apples.

Spray your Bundt pan with cooking spray—coat evenly. Pour batter into the pan. Make sure the batter fills the pan ¾ full or less.  Use a spatula to gently push the batter to the outside of the pan, pushing slightly up the walls.  Smooth the batter on the top so it is flat and even all the way around the pan.

Bake cake in oven for 75-90 minutes—until the edges darken and pull fully away from the sides of the pan, and the cake browns all the way across the surface.

Let the cake cool for exactly 10 minutes, then invert it onto a flat plate.  Allow cake to cool completely (very important to let it cool before frosting).

Now it’s time to decorate your cake.  First, put 3 tbsp of powdered sugar into a handheld mesh strainer or sifter. Sprinkle sugar onto the top of the cake.

Next, make your drizzle icing. Sift 1 cup of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add ¼ tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tbsp non-dairy creamer to the bowl. Stir with a whisk or fork to blend. Add additional non-dairy creamer by teaspoonfuls, mixing constantly, until the mixture has the texture of very thick honey.  When you can drizzle the icing in stripes across the surface, and it takes a few seconds for those drizzles to dissolve back into the icing, the texture is right.

Place a Ziploc bag inside a tall water glass, open end facing upward and wrapped around the edge of the glass, so there is an open space for easy filling. Pour the icing into the Ziploc bag.

Close the bag, leaving a small bit open to vent. Guide the icing towards one of the lower corners of the bag. Cut the very tip of that corner off the bag.

Drizzle the icing in a zig-zag pattern around the cake by squeezing the Ziploc bag gently to release the glaze.

Allow icing to dry completely before serving—this usually takes about 30-60 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

L’Shana Tova!