Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah-Egg-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free

Honey cake is one of the traditional desserts that we eat on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year! My mother always made her honey cake using a cup of strong black tea and added chopped walnuts to the batter.

Add caption

My cake is similar to my mother's recipe, but I've adapted the ingredients to be plant-based. Although some vegans do not eat honey, I do. 

I heard somewhere that they call honey-eating vegans,"bee-gans. " 

The cake brings back memories of when I was a young girl. We always had a slice of honey cake for breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee before we left for the synagogue for the religious holiday service. It's wasn't a super sweet cake and it tended to be a tad dry.  I'm not sure if that was intentional, or my mom's cake just came out dry! Well, we spread it with a little extra honey and were very happy.

I made my honey cake and guess what, it is a tad dry. I found a way to moisten it up. I cut it into squares and stored it in a large  Zip Loc baggie. That night, the cake was somewhat moister!  I didn't add the walnuts because my grandkids are not happy when I do. 

It's a tasty dunking cake! We will enjoy it for breakfast on the holiday. I need to work on this one to make it moister!!

If you are looking for, or are just interested in reading about other Rosh Hashanah traditions and recipes, see my Rosh Hashanah post from 2106.

This honey tea cake is egg-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Ingredients: 

2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour 

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

1/2 cup of coconut crystals or sugar of your choice

1 cup of dark tea

1/2 cup of honey

1/2 cup of avocado or olive oil

1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce 

1 teaspoon of lemon zest 

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Optional: 1 cup of chopped unsalted walnuts 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cocoa, cinnamon, and coconut sugar. Using a whisk, mix well and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, applesauce, lemon zest, tea, vanilla, and honey and stir with the whisk. 

Slowly begin adding the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing with the whisk until all dry mixture is absorbed, but do not over mix. Add the lemon juice and stir.

Pour batter into an 8X8 brownie pan that has been lined with parchment paper on the bottom and grease the sides. Bake for 35-40 minutes in a pre-heated oven until testing with a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes: 

I used 1/2 cup of oil in the recipe. For a moister cake, perhaps try 3/4 cup of oil? 

Drizzle some honey over each slice before eating! 

Let me know if you try. You can leave a comment below- just click on comments.

Looking for a Gluten-Free Challah Recipe? Check out the 20 Top gluten-free Challah recipes as Gluten Free Easily.  Really an amazing round up from many gluten free bloggers!