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Honey Cake I

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. 1

    Mix the sweeteners

    Mix the honey, syrup and sugar together well.

  2. 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. 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. 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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Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
Modernised → 1949 (proofread, p. 650)~91% of the text changedremovedadded
500 g honning. 500 g sirup. 500 g sukker (farin). ½ kg. honning ½ kg. sirup ½ kg. farin 4 dl melk. 3,5 dl fløte. del. melk 3½ del. fløte 4 ts hjortetakksalt. teskjeer hjortetakksalt 50 g pomeransskall eller gr. pomerans-, appelsinskall (kan erstattes med 1 dl appelsinsaft). eller — i mangel av dette — ¼ del. appelsinsaft 1 ts pepper. teskje pepper ½ — nellik 1 ts — ingefær (støtt). 1 ts nellik (støtt). 200 g gr. sukat (finskåret). 1 500 g 1½ kg. hvetemel. Bland honning, Honning, sirup og sukker godt sammen.. Rør inn melken og fløten, deretter krydderne blandes, irøres melken, fløten og krydderiene. Pomeranskal­let utbløtes, således at alt det finhakkede pomerans- hvite kan skjæres vekk. Hjortetakksaltet opløses i et par spiseskjeer konjakk eller appelsinskallet (eventuelt appelsinsaften).. Rør hjortetakksaltet ut blandes godt i litt melk melet; sukaten finskjæres. Arbeid nu deigen godt og bland det inn sammen med hvetemelet. Rør til slutt inn slå den finskårne sukaten.. Fordel deigen op i tre en godt smurte og strødde former — ikke helt opp til randen, da deigen hever seg sterkt. Stek ved ca. 170 °C til kakene er gjennomstekte, 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.

Note on Modernised

Mengdene er satt i moderne enheter, «farin» er tolket som vanlig sukker. Fremgangsmåten er bare delvis lesbar i kilden; trinnene etter blandingen av honning, sirup, sukker, melk, fløte og krydder er derfor beskrevet i tråd med Erkens vanlige arbeidsmåte for honningkaker (mel og hjortetakksalt til sist, hviletid, steking i form) og er å regne som en forsigtig rekonstruksjon, ikke ordlyd fra originalen.

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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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