Sticky, citrussy and laced with warming cinnamon, honey cake is traditionally eaten to symbolise sweet beginnings on Jewish new year – a ritual well worth adopting in my book.
A topping of caramelised pear slices makes this the best looking example I’ve come across. I’ve adapted the recipe from Martha Stewart’s version as her original had the measurements in US-style cups instead of grams, which are a nightmare to convert by the way…
Recipe
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Whisk together 300g plain flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 1tsp cinnamon in a large bowl
In a large bowl, combine 200g sugar, 250ml honey, 120ml oil, 4 beaten eggs and the zest of one orange.
Add half the flour mixture to make a smooth batter. Mix in remaining flour mixture alternately with 250ml orange juice.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes until dark golden brown and a fork inserted in center comes out clean.
While it’s in the oven, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and stir in 50g caster sugar until almost dissolved. Add 3 pears, sliced into 1/2-inch thick wedges, and cook for about 15 minutes until soft and just golden, stirring occasionally. Pour in honey and cook, stirring, until pears are coated and very soft.
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, before running a thin knife around edge of cake and removing. Top with the caramelised pears.
Shanah Tovah! (that’s “have a good year” in Hebrew, I’m told).
projectmasterchef 
That looks great! Love the photography 🙂