Honey sponge with semolina filling

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 Today I'd like to share a recipe for a popular and well-liked honey cake.

 

The cake is soft, with pleasant caramel notes, and not too sweet at all. Traditional semolina filling is not only delicious, but also very stable; it makes it possible to cut the cake easily, despite its height. A sweet and effective idea for weekends and parties alike! 

You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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Ingredients

Cake

  • 160 g unsalted butter
  • A bit over 1/2 cup honey (~180 g)
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 4 eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup (~150 g) sugar
  • 2 cups (~250 g) wheat flour

Filling

  • 750 ml milk
  •  6 tbsp (~90 g) semolina
  • 1/2 cup (~100 g) sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g unsalted butter

Method

  1. Prepare honey batter. Into a large non-stick pan put 160 g unsalted butter and 180 g honey. Heat them together at low heat, stirring constantly, until fully combined. 
  2. Once you obtain a uniform liquid, add 1.5 tsp baking soda. Stir for a few minutes at the lowest possible heat, until you get a deep, caramel colour, at which point take the pan off the heat. The liquid will foam up after adding baking soda!
  3. Pour the honey caramel into a separate bowl. Stir energetically for one-two minutes to remove air and set aside to cool to room temperature.
  4. Into a separate bowl add 4 large eggs and a pinch of salt. Beat the eggs with a mixer until doubled in size. Add 150 g sugar in two batches. Continue beating for a few minutes until eggs become thick and fluffy.
  5. Still beating, trickle honey caramel into the eggs.
  6. Sift 250 g wheat flour directly into the batter. Fold it in gently with a whisk to get rid of any lumps. 
  7. Pour the batter into a large sheet pan lined with baking paper. I'm using a standard pan I got with my oven, 46 x 38 cm. Slowly spread the batter to create a thin layer. 
  8. Bake the cake in a conventional oven preheated to 180 deg C for about 15-20 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  9. Take the cake out of the oven and set it aside in a pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Then turn the cake out onto a wire rack and peel baking paper off. Cool the cake to room temperature.
  10. Prepare the filling. Into a non-stick pot pour 750 ml milk. Add in 100 g sugar and heat up until combined, stirring.
  11. Bring the milk to a slow boil and add 90 g semolina. Do it slowly, continuing to stir. Once all of semolina is in cook the mixture until it thickens up. Take it off the heat, pour into a separate bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to cool completely.
  12. Into a separate bowl, add 200 g butter softened at room temperature and beat it with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add cool semolina in batches, ideally one tablespoon at a time. Beat the filling after each tablespoon until fully combined. At the end, mix in a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  13. Cut off irregular sides of the honey cake to get a rectangle, roughly 40x30 cm in size. Keep the scraps for decoration. Cut the cake in half through both edges to get 4 smaller layers.
  14. Assemble the cake. Place the first cake layer onto a rectangular serving dish and put about 1/5 of filling on top. Spread it across the full surface to get a rather thick filling layer. Place the next cake layer on top and repeat with all the layers.
  15. Spread the remaining filling on top and sides of the cake. Put the cake into a fridge for a bit to firm up.
  16. Crumble cut-off cake scraps. Scatter them generously on top of the cake. Scatter them at the bottom of the sides too and cover the sides with the crumbles with a vertical motion of a wide spatula.
  17. Enjoy! 

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

  • 361 kcal
  • Carbs: 42 g 
  • Fat: 20 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

1 slice (assuming 16 slices)

  • 373 kcal
  • Carbs: 43 g 
  • Fat: 21 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

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