With winter really settling in and the days becoming gloomy and grey I have felt the need for a bit of a comfort food hit and to be honest a sweet treat to look forward to! I am sooo over working from home – I even miss the people that used to annoy me in the office! This Jewish honey cake was one of the first healthier cakes I tried to make and my kids ate every last bit – so I knew I was onto a winner. Like all of the recipes I post you can swap and change spices and use what you have – unless you are inviting friends over – experiment with flours and spices – doesn’t matter if it looks perfect – its about taste!

Ingredients
2 x cups wholemeal flour – or 1 x cup of wholemeal and 1 x cup organic plain
2 x tsp baking powder
2 x tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 x tbsp cinnamon 
1/2 x tsp of salt
1 x tsp mixed spice or ground cloves
1 1/2 cups of applesauce
1 x cup of raisins or sultanas
1 x cup of oat milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup of agave, maple or date syrup (whichever you have)
1-2 tsp vanilla essence

Applesauce    **make before making the cake****
4 x apples – peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 x cup of water
1/4 x cup of coconut sugar
1/2 x tsp of cinnamon or nutmeg

Method
Peel, core and chop the apples and place in a saucepan with the water. Put the lid on and bring to a boil then reduce and simmer for about 30 minutes. Now add in the sugar until it dissolves and mash if needed.

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add in your flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice or cloves – or both! Use a metal balloon whisk to combine.
In another bowl add the oat milk, honey, applesauce and vanilla – use the whisk to combine thoroughly.
Now combine the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, tumble in the raisins and gently combine.
This cake is often traditionally baked in a bundt tin – so if you have one, oil it well and pour the cake batter in. If you don’t have one then use a large loaf tin or medium round cake tin.
Place the tin in the oven and bake for 15 mins on 180 – then reduce the heat to 160 and bake for about 35-40 mins. A toothpick should come out clean when it’s cooked – it should still be springy to the touch.
Let the cake cool completely and then turn out onto a plate and you can shake a light dusting of icing sugar over the top.