Honeycomb Cake

This Honeycomb Cake is my childhood favourite though I did not know it was called Honeycomb Cake back then. I only knew it by the dialect name 'Or-Kueh' (黑糕). Dad used to bring back the cake as part of the "中元节＂(aka Ghost Festival) goodies that came in a red pail. I do not remember eating this cake during other parts of the year, other than during this Chinese festive.

This cake remains only as part of my childhood fond memories until I chanced upon it again a few years back in some neighbourhood bakery shops. It goes by the name "Honey Cake". I recognized this long missed cake from its distinctive bee-hive patterns. While the cake looked the same as the Or-Kueh that I missed so much, somehow the taste is not quite the same. I was quite disappointed until I saw a Honeycomb Cake recipe that included a picture of my familiar cake. I wasn't sure if this was the Or-Kueh as I couldn’t find any honey in the ingredient list. Nonetheless I decided to give it a try and bingo! It tasted exactly the same as my favorite Or-Kueh! From then on, I realized that Honeycomb cake gets its name from the honeycomb like patterns, not because it is made with honey.

This is actually a traditional Malaysia cake which has a bouncy texture. It is sweet with a hint of bitterness due to the caramelized sugar.

Since then, I have baked my own Or-Kueh numerous times with the same recipe. Last Thursday evening, I baked the cake again at the request of my elder daughter. As I was too lazy to search for the old recipe, I retrieved from the internet for the recipe from House of Annie which I saw some time back. This recipe that Annie shared is similar to the one that I had.

Honeycomb Cake Recipe

Adapted from House of Annie

Ingredients:

• 210g sugar (I used 160g raw sugar)
• 240g water
• 80g butter
• 6 eggs
• 160g condensed milk (I used 130g)
• 180g all-purpose flour
• 2½ tsp baking sodas

Method:

1. In a saucepan over low heat, caramelize the sugar until it turns a dark golden brown.
2. Carefully pour the water into the caramel. (The caramel will be very hot!) Stir until the caramel is dissolved in the water and it becomes thin syrup. Remove from heat.
3. Add the butter and set the pan aside to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 175 degree C.
5. Mix together the egg and condensed milk in a bowl.
6. Sift the flour and baking soda together into the egg and milk. Mix well.
7. Pour the caramel butter sauce into the batter and mix well.
8. Pour the batter into a greased, 9-inch round cake pan. Let it sit for 5 minutes for the bubbles to begin developing.
9. Bake at 175 degree C for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.