As Spring continues to warm and brighten our days, it calls for easy, earthy and light flavors that highlight the bountiful freshness the season brings. A crunchy, yet gooey like bottom and top crust, gives a good bite to this extremely moist cake. Fluffy yet dense, and rich in velvety sweetness from honey, which balances perfectly with the earthiness from sage. Not to mention a Spring-like freshness from fresh lemon.
I’m quite particular with my cakes, as it usually takes a complex and unique cake to rank amongst the select few. A cake should be moist, delicious, without the need of additional creams or fillings, and this one gets its extremely moist texture from not one, but two honey glazes that seep into it. I highly suggest serving this cake the next day, after all the flavors have been given ample time to soak and blend together. I mean this honey, sage and lemon concoction made me do a happy dance. I mean I was jamming out to some oldies on my Fitz and the Tantrums playlist, and ii felt a little skip in my step and my taste buds smiling, and I know it will make you do the same.
Whole Wheat Lemon and Sage Honey Cake
Ingredients {Makes one 8″ cake}
First Glaze
1 large – Lemon {zested into strips}
3 sprigs – Sage
3/4 cup – Honey
Cake
1 1/2 cups – Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup – Cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon – Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon – Baking Soda
1 teaspoon – Salt
1/4 teaspoon – Ground Nutmeg
1/8 cup – Fresh Sage {finely chopped}
2 large - Eggs
1/2 cup - Dark Brown Sugar {packed}
1/2 cup – Honey
1/4 cup = Milk
1/2 cup – Olive Oil
1 teaspoon – Lemon Zest
Finishing Glaze
2 tablespoons – Honey
1/2 cup – Confectioners’ Sugar
1/2 teaspoons – Fresh Lemon Juice
Recipe {Adapted from Martha Stewart}
For the first glaze, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees, then combing all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil . Remove from heat.
For the cake, butter and flour, or use cooking spray, an 8-inch bundt pan {or another shaped cake pan}. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and sage. On medium-high on an electric mixer, beat eggs and brown sugar until pale and fluffy {about 3 to 5 minutes}, then beat in honey, milk, oil, and zest. In two batches, add the flour mixture, with mixer on low-speed, beating until just combined.
Spread the batter evenly in prepared pan, and bake, rotating halfway, until toothpick comes out clean and golden{about 35 minutes}. Once removed from oven, poke holes all over using a toothpick. Remove most of the zest strips and sage from the glaze, and brush over top. Allow to cool completely in pan.
For the finishing glaze, whisk the honey, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon juice together until a thick, but runny glaze comes together {add more lemon juice if needed}. Carefully remove cake from pan, then brush the glaze over top until its used up and serve.
