plate 37: israel

Jewish New Year has just passed, so in an ode to the "Land of Milk and Honey" - aka Israel - I baked a honey cake. It's the traditional cake of this teeny tiny nation, and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells me it's a must-make at Jewish New Year - which if you're interested, just ticked over to the year 5771.

Honey is a symbol of the Jewish New Year because it represents the sweetness that the new year is hoped to bring. In this case, two cups worth of sweetness. Last week I tried to be "good" - I tried really really really hard to abstain from the naughty treats that magically appear, from various sources, at work. It's unusual when the table behind my desk isn't piled high with lollies, chocolates and homemade cakes. I know I shouldn't complain, but I'd had enough of their tempting. I'm pleased to say I lasted the week. Well, until 5pm Friday when AA presented a plate of genius: a round of brie cooked with brandied pears and topped with caramelised walnuts. OMG. Amazing. I inhaled it, on piece upon piece of freshly baked, still-warm olive bread.

So I was pleased when I came across the honey cake recipe and realised that it wasn't that bad for me. The cake has no butter - just a little bit of oil, flour, spices, nuts, half a cup of coffee and the aforementioned two cups of honey.

I'm desperado to become a better baker, and everything was on my side this weekend to produce a great cake. I would be cooking in AJ's parents kitchen - I love my kitchen, but the Kwong kitchen features a much more superior oven to ours. I also had no time pressures - it was just me, the ingredients and a fabulously fast oven to myself for the afternoon. But it was so fabulously fast that I think I overcooked the cake. I've no idea why it sunk in the middle either!

I even considered the super-speedy oven, cooking the cake at a lower temperature than instructed and for less time, too, but at first bite it was a tad dry. Nothing a bit of yoghurt or ice-cream couldn't fix. But I think the lesson is perhaps not to cook a recipe from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Maybe next time I'll turn to Claudia Roden - a food writer and cookbook author who specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine - for recipe guidance.

The flavours were actually pretty good and the cake had a lovely golden colour. Ironically, thanks to the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger stirred into the mixture, this little Jewish cake tasted like Christmas gingerbread. I'll try the cake again in my crappy oven and see how it goes. Until then, I wish you all a deliciously sweet year ahead. x