preparing for the new year, yet with a bitter sweet taste...
I have always enjoyed baking the symbolic honey cake for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It allows me to hope for a sweeter, happier and peaceful year ahead, as the warm smells of spice, mixed with the floral notes of honey and the touch of hooch that I like to add in for good measure, fill my kitchen with such comfort, as I prepare for this joyous festival.
Yet this year, as my cake is baking in the oven, the sweetness is tinged with bitterness, happiness is shaded by sadness and the hope for peace is eclipsed by the tragic events of the past year, and the continued uncertainly of how and when, it will all end.
The significance of the customary foods symbolic of Rosh Hashanah that adorn our festive table, embody prosperity, newness and a freshness that comes at the beginning of each year. We traditionally delight in the preparation of menus, invitations, shopping lists, cooking and baking in its run up, however it is with a heavy heart that we prepare this year, as menus are not as extensive, plans to share one’s table remain fluid, lists are shorter, and baking and cooking have only just begun, as our thoughts turn to all those who will not not be present at our table and able to share in the traditional feasting.
The symbolic foods, known as ‘simanim’ embrace the spiritual values of sweetness, goodness and success whilst savouring the culinary traditions of our biblical heritage. Crisp apples are generously dipped in the new season’s honey signifying the beginning of a fresh year and the first taste of sweetness on our lips. The ritualistic plaited challah loaf, enriched with eggs and honey is braided in a round shape, to represent the eternal circle of life, and studded with raisins for extra sweetness. Whole fishes with their heads are placed on the table to command our position at the helm going into a new year, and pomegranates, thought to hold 613 kernels, are representative of the same number of commandments or good deeds, set out in the Torah scrolls, encouraging us to give of ourselves with goodness and morality. Then to the finale and the soft, moist and sweet honey cake that wraps us in a warm and comforting hug as we embrace the coming year.
Marred by pain, loss and a large helping of uncertainty, this year is like no other, as we cannot begin to comprehend the events of the past year and what we can expect in the days ahead. Yet, as I remove my honey cake from the oven and drizzle it with some much needed extra sweetness, I dare to hope for peaceful times ahead and a swift return to the joyous normality of our traditional festivities.
For those of you who still haven’t made a honey cake, here is my recipe which is simple and quick to make and with a soft, moist crumb, even easier to devour…
makes 1 loaf
ingredients:
155g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice
a good grating of fresh nutmeg
2 large eggs
100g caster sugar
110mls sunflower oil
170mls honey + extra to drizzle
100mls black or earl grey tea
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
100g golden raisins, soaked in 2 tablespoons of whisky
flaked almonds
method
preheat the oven to 160C / 320F / GM3 & grease a 1lb loaf tin, lining it with a strip of parchment paper along the bottom and short sides only, leaving some on either side to pull out once cooked
place the golden raisins in a bowl and pour over 2 tablespoons of whisky
place the eggs, sugar, oil, honey, tea & vanilla essence into a bowl and whisk with electric beaters until combined
in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt & spices, then add to the wet ingredients and whisk until a smooth batter, add in the raisins and mix to combine again
pour into the prepared tin & sprinkle liberally with flaked almonds
place in the preheated oven for 40 -45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean
remove from the oven and drizzle some extra honey over the top whilst the cake is still warm, cool in the tin before removing to a cake plate, slicing and serving with a cup of coffee or tea…
Shana tova to you all, and in the words of the legendary Evelyn Rose, “may you enjoy in good health…”