Yardena Gavish was raised in a small town called Targu Neamt in Romania. For Rosh Hashanah, local women made the same cake, a honey cake laced with orange juice and lemon zest. Beat the egg whites hard enough by hand and the cake’s interior will turn almost white, a point of pride for the town’s cooks. “When I first met the Israeli honey cake, it was dark with tea,” she recalls. She couldn’t bring herself to eat it. “For me, it must be white.”
Read more about her family here.
Ingredients
unsalted butter, for greasing pan
6 eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 cup of sugar, divided
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup of neutral oil
⅝ cup (7.5 oz) honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of half a lemon
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tablespoon baking powder
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Butter and flour a large bundt pan (12 cup).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks with a ½ cup of the sugar, until they become pale and creamy, about 2 minutes on high.
- Add the orange juice, oil and honey (use the same measuring cup for the oil and honey for easier handling of the honey), vanilla and lemon zest, and mix well to combine. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until just incorporated. Transfer batter to a large mixing bowl.
- Clean and dry the bowl to the stand mixer. Add the egg whites and beat on medium-high speed until frothy. Gradually add the remaining ½ cup of sugar continuing to beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks are formed.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the batter ⅓ at a time, until evenly combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with dry crumbs, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan, then proudly slice in front of your guests to reveal the white interior.
