"If everything is honey and I am what I eat,
I must be made of honey, and life is very sweet." - Winnie the Pooh
Recipe adapted from Chef John at foodwishes.com
Ingredients:
120g all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup wildflower honey
3 tbsp plain yogurt
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
⅓ cup sliced almonds
for the syrup:
⅓ cup wildflower honey
3 tbsp water
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the base with parchment. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl; set aside.
Beat butter and honey together in a bowl until light and fluffy. I hate this instruction, because who knows what light and fluffy is when it comes to fat and sugar?! I dunno, just do what feels right.
Add yogurt, vanilla, 2 eggs, and about 1/3 of flour mixture. Mix until everything is incorporated. Add the remaining 2 eggs and flour; mix just until flour disappears. Use a spatula to get the rest of the flour off the sides of the bowl and gently incorporate into the batter.
Use a spatula to move the batter into your prepared pan, then spread it out from the center toward the edges. Sprinkle the almonds onto the surface: you're looking for a thin layer, try not to clump them together.
Pop it into your preheated oven until a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the syrup! Toast the honey in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Keep it moving to keep it from boiling over, until the foam turns a light brown and the whole kitchen smells like honey. Turn off the heat and add the water, swirling the pan to stir in the water, and let it cool a bit.
Get the cake onto a plate - you can top it with a cooling rack, flip it out onto the rack, then top it with the plate and flip it out onto the plate. Soak the top of the cake evenly with the toasted honey syrup. Let the cake cool completely, then top with fresh flowers, honeycomb, or bee pollen (yes, that's bee pollen) and serve.
