This is a simple cake. Make sure the tea prepared is very strong; you can also try using various herbal fruit teas. Regarding the flour at the end, you want to add just enough so the batter is thick, but still pours into the baking pan.
Lenten Honey Monastery Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup tea cold, very strong
- 1 teaspoon baking soda mixed well with the tea
Instructions
- In a mixer, beat the honey and sugar well.
- Slowly add the oil. Slowly add the 1-1/2 cups flour. Then, slowly add the tea which the baking soda was dissolved in. Then add cinnamon. Add some more flour (about 1/2 cup) until mixture is thick but still will pour easily into a greased and floured 13x9 pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Is this sef raising flour?
This recipe uses all-purpose flour…thanks for asking! If you try using self-rising flour, I’m guessing you would eliminate the baking soda. If you try that, let us know how it works!
Made this recently, fabulous cake. I used self raising flour including the baking soda. Worked out perfectly.
Thanks Theothora! Many grocery stores don’t carry self-rising flour near me, so it is difficult to try that here. I’ll look for self-rising flour again to try that out as well!
I use various herbal teas but make sure they are very strong….Orange juice w/ pulp works nicely….I also use raw honey wildflower is my fav. I never tried using self rising flour.
Greg, did you use orange juice in place of the tea?
#1 spice cake. Note to self, put the honey in at the end instead. If you put the honey in at the beginning, the honey/sugar mix just sticks to the mixer bowl. Best if you use olive oil. I would lower the oil to 6 oz and the sugar to 3/4 cup. Also good with raisins/dried fruit.
Also, if you use hibiscus tea (“jamaica”), it is acidic and will react to baking soda by turning green! This is because its natural purple-y color is pH sensitive. Red cabbage and blueberries are the same way. The natural plant pigment, anthocyanin (which is Greek for…blue/purple flower), is common in a lot of fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers, and is also an antioxidant so it is good for you. When the green batter is cooked, it turns brown again–a good thing, unless you were hoping this would work for St. Patrick’s day!