by Shula Hampson. Reproduced with permission.

Because this cake is soaked in honey, it keeps so well that I suspect you could lock it in an
Egyptian tomb and it could quite possibly provide a charming afternoon tea for the archaeologists arriving 2000 years later. It’s a good cake if you want to knock people out, without really going to any great trouble.

Ingredients
Cake
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour – preferably spelt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup ground almonds
Syrup
2 cups honey
1 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks
A couple of cardamom pods (optional)

Cake
Cream butter and sugar (I do it by hand, but I’m a purist). Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Fold in (definitely by hand) sifted flour, cinnamon and ground almonds. Spoon into a
greased and floured 23 cm kugelhopf tin (with the hole in the centre), and bake in
centre of a moderate oven (180° C or 350° F) about an hour in a conventional oven, or about
40 minutes fan-forced, until a skewer or knife comes out clean when inserted.

You could also use a pan or baking dish, and then cut them up into diamonds when it’s
cooked. Or Hell, (it’s all the rage), make cupcakes. But you’re on your own for cooking
times, I have no idea. I just use my nose. Or kids’ noses, I can always rely on them to
run and tell me it’s ready.

Let stand for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a rack. Then put it back in the tin and
allow to cool. It will be heavy and not a bit springy, and that’s a Good Thing.

Syrup
Bring the honey, water, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods (optional) to a simmer in
a saucepan large enough to allow the syrup to boil up (and don’t leave the syrup alone:
if it decides to boil over you are going to be really sorry). Simmer for 10 – 20 minutes
(don’t hurry this: it will make your house smell fabulous). Remove spices and take the
cake and the syrup to the sink.

With a skewer, poke holes in the cake, at least a dozen, all the way to the bottom. Pour
as much syrup evenly over the cake as the tin will allow. Leave until it’s soaked in (time
will vary for this depending on the temperature of your cake: if the cake is still hot, it
will take a while. Cold cakes are much faster). When the syrup is absorbed, repeat until
all the syrup is in the cake. Leave to stand for half an hour or so.

I usually make the cake the night before and then do the syrup thing not long before I
want to serve up. The syrup is so hot that it heats up the cake all over again, and makes
for particularly good eating. But it’s nice cold, too.