Ringing in a Sweet New Year

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)
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For someone who claims to love holidays so much, nearly forgetting about the Jewish new year is a rather shocking oversight. Indeed, whether it’s a testament to how much I have on my plate right now as far as projects go or my quickly diminishing memory, I cut it very close this time around.

Although I’m hardly religious and haven’t even been to temple once in the past seven years, I can still appreciate the significance of this commemoration; another chance to start fresh, and the opportunity to kick the year off on a sweet note, literally and figuratively. As a kid, my favorite part of this day would always be the traditional bowl of sliced apples placed at the center of the table, accompanied by a deep dish of amber honey. Of course, I would dive straight into the sea of gold syrup unencumbered by any of those “boring” apples, fingers knotted tightly together to shovel the sticky stuff straight into my mouth.

Having grown up a bit and matured (I hope) since then, the holiday has certainly become a less messy occasion, and instead of honey, I smother my crisp apples with agave. The thought of this simple pairing led me to contemplate other customary treats for Rosh Hashana, and it was no time before I hit upon the perfect thing to bring to dinner this year: Honey cake.

Not wanting to mislead, I would call this tender loaf a Rosh Hashana Cake instead, but for all any of my family knew, it was the original thing. Amber agave lends a slightly caramel-like sweetness, and that tiny drop of orange blossom water adds that tiny floral hint that honey always seems to carry. By adding a good deal of applesauce into the mix, you’ve got the two staples of the holiday right there in one easy to make cake, and with a thick slice after dinner or even for breakfast, it’s almost a guarantee that this new year will be a sweet one.

Yield: Makes 8 - 10 Servings

Rosh Hashana Cake

Rosh Hashana Cake

Amber agave lends a slightly caramel-like sweetness, and that tiny drop of orange blossom water adds that tiny floral hint that honey always seems to carry. By adding a good deal of applesauce into the mix, you’ve got the two staples of the holiday right there in one easy to make cake, and with a thick slice after dinner or even for breakfast, it’s almost a guarantee that this new year will be a sweet one.

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1 Cup Amber Agave Nectar
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Orange Blossom Water

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9 x 5 greased loaf pan.
  2. Sift together both flours, baking powder and soda, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate dish, measure out the oil, agave, applesauce, vanilla, vinegar, and orange blossom water, whisking thoroughly to combine.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry via the “muffin method,” and stir the mixture together using as few strokes as possible to prevent over mixing. Once the batter is smooth and no pockets of wet or dry ingredients remain and pour into your prepared loaf pan.
  4. Bake for 45 – 55 minutes. Since agave causes baked goods to brown much faster than sugar, cover your pan after it’s been in the oven for about 35 minutes to prevent it from becoming too dark.
  5. When it’s done, a skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan before slicing.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 299mgCarbohydrates: 78gFiber: 6gSugar: 19gProtein: 10g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: Jewish / Category: Cakes & Cupcakes

 

23 thoughts on “Ringing in a Sweet New Year”

  1. thanks for the recipe, Hannah! what a beautiful sweet bread, indeed! it sounds divine, and looks just perfect! i love that it’s got agave + apple sauce! mmmmmmmmmmm! i’m such an agave nut! yay!

  3. The trouble with being so busy is that you feel your memory is going but there are just too many things to think about. By the time you get back to “remembering” something it might have passed. I now make my phone remember things for me, or my computer. Things beeping at me. That helps.
    The sweet bread looks so yum. I too am an agave nut (I always have spare bottles of it in my cupboards).

  4. Looks and sounds delicious! With a wealth of different New Years – of various traditions – available to the multi-culturalist, there are so many opportunities to “start afresh” or turn over a new leaf. Thank goodness! I quite fancy having this cake on each and every one of them…

  13. Don’t feel bad, I almost forgot that it is Thanksgiving in two weeks (Canadian). I haven’t even bothered to invite people over.
    Great looking loaf.

  22. amazing! I used to adore honey cake, and I was just looking for a recipe recently that I could adapt to add caraway seeds to (to make it medieval). So bookmarked, thanks!

  23. I’m so happy to have found your blog! Of course all the credit goes to Pride & Vegudice for sending me the link. I’m very very newly vegan and very Jewish :), and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about Challah (which is eggy and honey-y) and what to do on Rosh Hashannah (with apples and honey). I look forward to reading all of your tips. Please check out my blog–also very very new.

    xo
    Talia
    http://www.dewtakeflight.wordpress.com

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