Recipe by Dragon
I first discovered these delicious little honey cakes when I visited Portugal as a teen. I went to a cafe with my older cousins and they ordered me an espresso and a bolinho de mel (honey cake)....it was love at first bite. Now, every time I visit Portugal, I must have one or two or ten little cakes. These moist and flavourful cakes will steal your heart too.

Makes: 4 mini cakes or 1 loaf or 1 bundt cake
Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated (you'll need 4 yolks & 3 whites)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup honey (use a floral honey)
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup flaked almonds
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour 4 little cake pans (1 1/2 cups) or loaf pan or bundt pan.
2. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and beat them (about 3 minutes). Add the honey, lemon zest and lemon juice to the egg/sugar mixture and beat for another minute.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and oil, starting and ending with the flour, and beat until just a few wisps of flour remain.
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter, half at a time until the batter is just combined. Don't over mix.
6. Fill the cake pans up to 3/4 full. Bang the cake pans on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Top the batter with some of the flaked almonds.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover the pans with foil if the tops are getting too brown.
8. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes then remove them from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
9. Store in a covered container for up to 4 days at room temperurature.

5 comments:
Cakes looks damn pretty..
I can't wait to make these little cakes for my future SIL. I know he would enjoy them and rave about them to his mom, who is the best Portuguese cook in the world:D
Besides the obvious: these are pretty and delish...one can really the honey here!
These look amazing! We've posted them on our Facebook page! :)
www.facebook.com/redpathsugar
- Anna
Hi Paula,
Thanks to facebook, I came across your wonderful blog.Your love for food and cooking are quite evident in your recipes. I have bookmarked your honey cakes recipe, which, I hope to try soon. All the best!
Anupama
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