Bolo de Mel (Portuguese Orange Honey Cake)

Dense, spicy, and sweet this cake is an explosion of flavor with clove and nutmeg; and with a citrus twist, you really can't go wrong. Bolo de Mel, or Honey Cake, is a popular cake on the Azores Islands of Portugal though it was first created in Funchal, Portugal. Traditionally this cake is made with molasses however now it is commonly made with honey, which is amazing for us because we can use some of our favorite local kinds of honey.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour

• 1/4 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of baking soda

• 1 tsp of ground Cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp of ground Cloves

• 1/2 tsp of ground Nutmeg

• 3/4 cup (175ml) of orange-infused honey

• 1/2 cup of butter (melted)

• 4 eggs

• 1 1/4 cups of sugar

• Zest of 1 orange

• Zest of 1 lemon

Preparation:

• Preheat your oven to 350ºF

• Coat your bunt pan with butter and dust with flour.

  • If you don't have a bunt pan you can use a regular baking sheet pan, just be sure to watch it as your cooking time will vary slightly.

Instructions:

• In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

• Combine butter and honey

  • Preferably do this step in a pan over heat, however, you can heat the butter and mix in the honey to combine it off of the stovetop.

• Now in a separate bowl add four eggs then add the sugar.

• Whisk until light and fluffy.

• Add the honey-butter combination to your eggs and gently mix to combine well.

• Now combine your wet and dry ingredients and mix until you've created a batter.

• Add your zest to your batter and mix that in.

• Grab your bunt pan and add your batter.

• Use butter to coat and dust with flour

• Pour in your mixture and pop into the oven for 40 minutes.

• Let cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.