Sunday, March 16, 2014

Honey Cakes "Bolinhos de Mel"

Recipe by Paula.

I first discovered these delicious little honey cakes when I visited Portugal as a teen. I went to a cafe with my older cousins and they ordered me an espresso and a bolinho de mel (honey cake)....it was love at first bite. Now, every time I visit Portugal, I must have one or two or ten little cakes. These moist and flavourful cakes will steal your heart too.

I've tried several different honeys with this recipe and my favourite was the Wildflower Honey from Rosewood Estates. I just love it's lovely floral taste. Enjoy!

Makes: 4 mini cakes or 1 loaf or 1 bundt cake

Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated (you'll need 4 yolks & 3 whites)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup honey (use a floral honey)
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup flaked almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour 4 little cake pans (1 1/2 cups) or loaf pan or bundt pan.

2. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and beat them (about 3 minutes). Add the honey, lemon zest and lemon juice to the egg/sugar mixture and beat for another minute.

4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and oil, starting and ending with the flour, and beat until just a few wisps of flour remain.

5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter, half at a time until the batter is just combined. Don't over mix.

6. Fill the cake pans up to 3/4 full. Bang the cake pans on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Top the batter with some of the flaked almonds.

7. Bake for 20-22 minutes until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover the pans with foil if the tops are getting too brown.

8. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes then remove them from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

9. Store in a covered container for up to 4 days at room temperurature.

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