Chamomile Honey Almond Cake Recipes

ALMOND HONEYCOMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Thoroughly butter a 12 1/4-by-11 2/3-inch honeycomb pull-apart dessert pan, making sure to cover all the detailed nooks and crannies. Lightly dust the pan with all-purpose flour (sifting the flour over the top of the pan works best; tap out excess).
• Beat the butter, salt and 1 3/4 cups of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until well combined (the butter does not need to be fluffy), about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until incorporated (the mixture will first appear loose and broken, but will eventually come together). Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and beat into the butter mixture; reserve the pod for another use.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the almond flour until combined. Add the all-purpose flour and beat on low until combined. Add the whiskey and beat on low until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Tap the pan firmly on the counter a few times to force batter into the edges of the pan.
• Bake the cake until golden brown, the edges begin to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center and edges of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate; carefully remove the pan and very lightly brush away any excess flour from the top of the cake.
• Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to peel wide strips from half of the orange (about 6 strips).
• Boil the cardamom pods in 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated and the mixture is very fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the honey and the orange peels. Let sit for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a mesh sieve into a small glass measuring cup; discard the solids. The mixture should be very thin and slightly warm; gently re-heat if necessary. Slowly drizzle the mixture over the warm cake, allowing the cake to soak up the honey before adding more. Let the cake cool, about 1 hour.
• Just before serving, heat the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon water in small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup honey until combined, then remove from the heat and drizzle over the top of cake, allowing the honey to slowly drip over the sides and into each honeycomb.

CHAMOMILE-AND-ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on the bottom of the pan.
• In a food processor, grind the tea, whole almonds, sugar and a large pinch of salt into a paste. If the mixture is dry, add 1 egg white to form a paste. Otherwise, add the white at the end of the processing.
• Transfer the almond paste to a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add 1 yolk and 1 egg and beat on medium-low for 1 minute. Add another egg and beat for another minute. Add the last egg and the lemon zest and beat on medium for 5 minutes.
• Using as few strokes as possible, fold in the cornstarch and baking powder with a rubber spatula until mostly combined. Pour in the melted butter, a little at a time, folding just until combined. Do not overmix.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until the top is just set, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes. Grease a cake plate with cooking-oil spray. Turn the cake out onto the plate. Cool fully, then cover with foil until ready to serve. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHAMOMILE HONEY ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper.
• Heat the almond milk in a small saucepan. When it comes to a simmer, add the chamomile and let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain and press leaves to extract as much infused liquid as possible. You will need 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (75g) of almond milk. Measure out the infused liquid and add more almond milk as needed. Set aside to cool.
• Sift the flours, almond meal, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and honey together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and then add the chamomile infused almond milk. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients in two additions.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top of the batter and sprinkle the top edge with the sliced almonds. Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool inside the pan for 15 minutes.
• While the cake is cooling, make the chamomile syrup. Bring the honey, sugar, water, and chamomile tea to a boil. Reduce until the liquid becomes slightly thick. Strain and discard the chamomile.
• Remove the cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper. Place on a wire rack and spoon or brush the syrup onto the top of the warm cake. Use as much or as little syrup as desired.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

HONEY & ALMOND LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• First, make the honey & almond sponges. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Grease two 15cm cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the butter, muscovado sugar and 140g honey until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition until well incorporated. In a clean bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, baking powder and 1 / 4 tsp salt. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Add the vanilla and milk, continuing to beat, then add the remaining flour mixture, beating until just combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for 45-55 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 mins in their tins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the oven on for the candied almonds.
• To make a honey syrup, put 2 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan and heat for 1-2 mins or until the honey has dissolved. Set aside.
• Make the candied almonds by heating 150ml water and the sugar in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan with a sugar thermometer attached, and swirl until the sugar has dissolved. Meanwhile, spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 mins until golden brown. Heat the sugar syrup to 119C, turn off the heat and stir in the warm almonds. Keep stirring until the syrup coats the nuts and turns white and crunchy. Tip the almonds back onto the baking sheet and roughly chop half of them.
• Next, make the Swiss meringue buttercream. Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Put the egg whites and sugar in a clean heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk using a clean electric hand mixer and heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved (you can check this by feeling some of the egg white between your fingers to check that it isn't grainy). Remove the bowl from the heat and, using a stand or electric hand mixer, whisk for 10 mins or until the mixture forms stiff peaks and has cooled to room temperature. Add the butter, 1-2 tbsp at a time, and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beat in the honey and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle.
• To assemble the cake, level the sponges by cutting off the domed tops and split each sponge in half to create four layers. Fix the bottom layer to a cake board or stand with a splodge of buttercream, brush with the honey syrup and pipe a layer of buttercream on top. Gently press the second layer on top and repeat with the remaining layers. Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream, then use a palette knife to scrape the sides clean. Pipe a ring of buttercream blobs around the top, or spread a thick layer with a palette knife. Decorate with the candied almonds.

HONEY CAKE WITH HONEYED ALMOND CRUNCH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line with a strip of baking parchment that overhangs each end - this will help you lift the cake out when it is cooked.
• Put the butter, honey, caster sugar, ground almonds, flour, baking powder, bicarb and yogurt into a large mixing bowl. Put the egg whites into another small bowl. Put the yolk and remaining whole egg in with all the other ingredients.
• Whisk the whites until stiff, then put your electric beater into the other bowl of ingredients and beat until just smooth. Stir in a third of the whites, then gently fold in the rest with a wooden spoon. Tip the mix into the prepared tin, scatter over the flaked almonds and bake for 55 mins on the middle-lower shelf of the oven until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven. Quickly drizzle with 2 tbsp honey and scatter with a small pinch of fine salt. Put back in the oven for 5 mins more. Remove from the oven, drizzle with 2 more tbsp honey, then cool in the tin on a wire rack. Release stuck almonds from around the edge with a knife; then, using the parchment overhangs, carefully lift the cake from the tin. Eat in slices, drizzled with a little extra honey if you like.

CHAMOMILE TEA CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY ICING

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon chamomile to a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot melted butter over the chamomile and stir. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Use the same saucepan (without washing it out) to bring the milk to a simmer over medium-high heat, keeping watch so it doesn't boil over. Remove from the heat, and stir the remaining 1 tablespoon chamomile into the hot milk. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper so the long sides of the pan have a couple of inches of overhang to make lifting the finished cake out easier.
• Add the sugar and salt to the bowl with the butter, and whisk until smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, vigorously whisking to combine after each addition. Zest the lemon into the bowl; add the baking powder and vanilla, and whisk until incorporated. Add the flour and stream in the milk mixture while whisking continuously until no streaks of flour remain.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are OK, but you should see no wet batter), 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes.
• While the cake cools, make the icing: Into a medium bowl, squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the zested lemon, then add the confectioners' sugar. Place the dehydrated strawberries in a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl and, using your fingers, crush the brittle berries and press the red-pink powder through the sieve and into the sugar. (The more you do this, the redder your icing will be.) Whisk until smooth.
• If needed, run a knife along the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Holding the 2 sides of overhanging parchment, lift the cake out and place it on a plate, cake stand or cutting board. Discard the parchment. Pour the icing over the cake, using a spoon to push the icing to the edges of the cake to encourage the icing to drip down the sides dramatically. Cool the cake completely and let the icing set.

CHAMOMILE CAKE WITH HONEY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F; Grease and line pans or cupcake tins, set aside.
• Over a low heat, warm the milk to a simmer and stir in the tea leaves. Bring back to a simmer and then turn off and set aside to cool and steep for at least 15 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and combine. Beat in the oil and vanilla. Gradually incorporate the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the mixture. Strain the tea leaves out of the milk. Stir in the milk, mixing until well combined.
• Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling half way and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until risen, golden and a toothpick when inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool before icing.