Oh. . . The Smells of the Chagim
When I share the menus and recipes that I am making for Shabbat or for an upcoming holiday many people respond by telling me they wish that they could smell my house. On social media I receive multiple messages like this. “Oh, I bet your house smells amazing!” or “I wish I could smell your house”. My personal favorite “Why hasn’t anyone invented ‘smellovision”?”.
Scientifically it is known that smell can trigger memories and that certain smells are associated with specific events. When people get a whiff of some things it not only may make them hungry it can and often will bring a recollection of past experiences. Most foods we link to holidays are like that. The aromas of fresh baked bread, roast chicken and simmering chicken soup always makes me think of Shabbos. The smell of latkes frying instantly brings back memories of Chanukah. Popcorn, movie theatres. Peanuts roasting, the boardwalk in Atlantic City. The smell of honey cake and cookies and baked apple anything and I am in my bubbies kitchen making food for Rosh Hashanah and for a brief moment time goes backwards and stands still.
When I first got married and started having my own children. I wanted them to have these associations as well. I took it a step further and would include recipes and cooking in my classroom curriculum when I was teaching. If the smell of something baking, simmering or frying could connect a child to what I was teaching them I made the effort to give them that memory. The greatest reward is when my children or my students call and ask for a recipe. The joy is explosive.
Last night my DH returned home from work and with a huge smile on his face says to our four legged toddler “Imma was baking today!” I could have fed him cardboard (I would never actually do that) for dinner at that point because he was somewhere else from the smell of the house. Today I will be baking honey cakes. Not our favorite thing to eat but Rosh Hashanah wouldn’t be the same without them. Sweet, moist and sticky, with a flavor that can’t be mimicked and are the perfect ending to a Rosh Hashanah meal or the perfect bite with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Honey cakes also make a lovely hostess gift if you are going to be eating at someone else’s table.
Shoshana’s Honey Cake
Ingredients:
· 3 eggs
· 1 1/3 cups Honey
· 1 ½ cups Sugar
· 1 cup Boiling Water
· 2 Tablespoons Instant Coffee
· 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
· 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
· 3 Tablespoons Vegan Baking Butter, at room temperature
· 4 cups All Purpose Flour
· 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Prepare a 9” x 13” baking pan OR two 8 ½” x 4 ½ “loaf pans by either spraying them generously with oil spray or lining them with parchment paper and then spraying with oil.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, with a strong hand mixer beat the honey and eggs.
4. Add the sugar and continue to mix.
5. Dissolve the instant coffee with the boiling water and add the baking powder. Add the room temperature vegan baking butter and mix this into the creamed honey, eggs and sugar and continue to mix.
6. In a separate bowl mix the remaining dry ingredients.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture until well incorporated.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan/pans and bake for 55 minutes to an hour.
Notes:
§ I use Clover Honey but you can use any honey you want. Fruit honeys will impart a different flavor in the finished product
§ You can use brewed coffee in place of hot water and instant coffee.
§ This can be made as cupcakes using paper lining cups in the muffin tin.