How many cakes does the recipe make?

The recipe makes 3 large honey cakes, according to the original text – at a reasonable cost. Intended for around 30 servings.

What can I use if I can't get bitter-orange peel?

Erken gives 50 g bitter-orange or orange peel, but lacking this you can use 1 deciliter orange juice.

Which spices are used?

One teaspoon each of pepper, ginger and cloves, in addition to bitter-orange/orange peel and 200 g candied peel.

What is baker's ammonia, and how much goes in?

Baker's ammonia (hartshorn) is an old leavening agent equivalent to ammonium carbonate. Here 4 teaspoons are used in the batter.

Honey Cake I

Name: Honey Cake I
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 30 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 500 g honey; 500 g syrup; 500 g sugar (granulated); 4 dl milk; 3.5 dl cream; 4 tsp baker's ammonia; 50 g bitter-orange peel or orange peel (can be replaced with 1 dl orange juice); 1 tsp pepper; 1 tsp ginger (ground); 1 tsp cloves (ground); 200 g candied peel (finely cut); 1,500 g wheat flour

Honey Cake I from Erken's Stor kokebok (1914, pp. 558–559): a large spice-cake batter of honey, syrup and sugar with milk, cream, pepper, ginger, cloves, bitter-orange peel, candied peel and 1.5 kg flour leavened with baker's ammonia; makes three large cakes. The continuation of the method on p. 559 is partly illegible and the steps are partly reconstructed.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 558 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Honey Cake I appears at the bottom of page 558 in the baking chapter, with the ingredient list in the narrow column, and continues onto page 559. Erken herself notes that the recipe rightly makes "3 large honey cakes at a reasonable cost" — a typical large Christmas bake intended for big households. The continuation of the method on page 559 is heavily damaged in the scanned text, so only the beginning of the working description can be read.

How to make it

1
Mix the sweeteners
Mix the honey, syrup and sugar together well.
2
Liquid and spices
Stir in the milk and cream, then the spices and the finely chopped bitter-orange or orange peel (or the orange juice).
3
Flour and leavening
Stir the baker's ammonia into a little milk and mix it in together with the wheat flour. Finally stir in the finely cut candied peel.
4
Bake
Divide the batter among three well-greased and coated pans — not all the way to the rim, as the batter rises a great deal. Bake at about 170 °C (340 °F) until the cakes are cooked through, about 1 hour.

Changes from the original

The amounts are set in modern units, and "farin" is interpreted as ordinary sugar. The method is only partly legible in the source; the steps after mixing the honey, syrup, sugar, milk, cream and spices are therefore described in line with Erken's usual working method for honey cakes (flour and baker's ammonia last, resting time, baking in a pan) and should be regarded as a cautious reconstruction, not the wording of the original.

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Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra1914 1949 Modernisert

Til1914 1949 Modernisert

1914 (korrekturlest, s. 558) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 650)~80% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til

~~eller rettere honningkaker, for der blir 3 store honningkaker til rimelig pris. 1/2~~ ½ kg. honning ~~1/2~~ ½ kg. sirup ~~1/2~~ ½ kg. farin 4 del. melk ~~3 1/2~~ 3½ del. fløte 4 ~~teskeer hjortetaksalt~~ teskjeer hjortetakksalt 50 gr. ~~pomerans- eller appelsinskal,~~ pomerans-, appelsinskall eller — i mangel av dette — 1 ¼ del. appelsinsaft 1 ~~teske~~ teskje pepper ½ — nellik 1 ~~teske~~ — ingefær ~~1 teske nellik~~ 200 gr. sukat ~~1 1/2~~ 1½ kg. hvetemel. Honning, sirup og sukker blandes, irøres melken, ~~fløten, krydderierne, pomeransskallet …~~ fløten og krydderiene. Pomeranskallet utbløtes, således at alt det hvite kan skjæres vekk. Hjortetakksaltet opløses i et par spiseskjeer konjakk eller blandes godt i melet; sukaten finskjæres. Arbeid nu deigen godt og slå den op i en godt smurt stekepanne, stekes i varm ovn ca. 1 time. Tas ut av ovnen, «slår litt av sig», hvelves av pannen og deles i 3 store kaker. Målene på pannen er: lengde 47 cm., bredde 30 cm., høide på kanten 5 cm. — Alle som har bakerovn — utover landet —, bør steke i denne, — sette pannen inn like efter at brødet er tatt ut.

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Frequently asked questions

How many cakes does the recipe make?: The recipe makes 3 large honey cakes, according to the original text – at a reasonable cost. Intended for around 30 servings.
What can I use if I can't get bitter-orange peel?: Erken gives 50 g bitter-orange or orange peel, but lacking this you can use 1 deciliter orange juice.
Which spices are used?: One teaspoon each of pepper, ginger and cloves, in addition to bitter-orange/orange peel and 200 g candied peel.
What is baker's ammonia, and how much goes in?: Baker's ammonia (hartshorn) is an old leavening agent equivalent to ammonium carbonate. Here 4 teaspoons are used in the batter.

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