
AND congratulations to Tammy Howard from Keep in Touch with Mommakin, the Winner of the FoodNetwork Favorites cookbook giveaway. Tammy, email me your address!
Now, onto the sin.
Chocolate HoneyBee Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
* 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
* 1 1/3 cups soft light brown sugar
* 2 sticks soft butter
* 1/2 cup honey
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon cocoa
* 1 cup boiling water
Sticky Honey Glaze:
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/2 cup honey
* 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Bees:
* 1 ounce yellow marzipan
* 12 flaked almonds
* Special equipment: 9-inch springform tin
Directions:
Take whatever you need out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come to room temperature, and while that's happening, melt the chocolate from the cake part of the ingredients list in a good-sized bowl, either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and line a 9-inch springform tin.
Beat together the sugar and soft butter until airy and creamy, and then add the honey.
Add 1 of the eggs, beating it in with a tablespoon of the flour, and then the other egg with another tablespoon of flour. Fold in the melted chocolate, and then the rest of the flour and baking soda. Add the cocoa pushed through a tea strainer to ensure you have no lumps, and last of all, beat in the boiling water. Mix everything well to make a smooth batter and pour into the prepared tin. Cook for up to 1 1/2 hours, though check the cake after 45 minutes and if it is getting too dark, cover the top lightly with aluminium foil and keep checking every 15 minutes.
Let the cake cool completely in the tin on a rack.
To make the glaze, bring the water and honey to a boil in a saucepan, then turn off the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate, swirling it around to melt in the hot liquid. Leave it for a few minutes, then whisk together. Add the sugar through a sieve and whisk again until smooth.
Choose your plate or stand, and cut out 4 strips of baking paper and form a square outline on the plate. This is so that when you sit the cake on and ice it, the icing will not run out all over the plate. Unclip the tin and set the thoroughly cooled cake on the prepared plate. Pour the glaze over the cold honey bee cake; it might dribble a bit down the edges, but don't worry too much about that. The glaze stays tacky for ages (this is what gives it its lovely melting gooiness) so ice in time for the glaze to harden a little, say at least an hour before you want to serve it.
If you are going to make the bees, keep the pan of glaze as you will need it to make the stripes on the bees.
Divide the marzipan into 6 even pieces and shape them into fat, sausage-like bees' bodies, slightly tapered at the ends.
Using a wooden skewer, paint stripes with the sticky honey glaze left in the pan from icing the cake. About 3 stripes look best, and then very carefully attach the flaked almonds at an angle to make the bees' wings, 2 on each one. They might snap as you dig them into the marzipan bodies, so have some spare. You can easily add eyes by dipping the point of the skewer in the glaze and thence on the bees.

54 comments:
JM - with this post, you are simply adding to late-year-dietary-ruination world-wide!
I could do without the bees, but the rest of it reads like HEAVEN to me!
okay, i think this might just be the most perfect post i have read today.
Chocolate and honey in a cake? I'm getting my mixing bowl out as we speak...Seriously.
Oh, no way! Cool!
Chocolate, honey, and three hormonal women in my house... yeah - that could work...
Mmmm ... truly scrumptious!
Save me a piece :)
okay...it's in the oven now. :)
this looks absolutely facedown delicious...
and Nigella is a goddess
Peace ~ Rene
ok - you really are an enabler! This looks heavenly! Can't wait to make it!
Makes me want to lick the screen ...
why? why must you do this to us fluffy people?? why?
It looks amazing, but you lost me at marzipan. I don't think I could handle this. Will you overnight me a slice?!
Oh...so yummy.
ooo that sounds so good...and pretty too!
I'm sure the 'stinging' would be worth it! Delicious!!!
This is serious, hard core food porn!
What a great recipe! I'm definitely trying this one!
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe! As a Bee(z), I would be doing myself a disservice to NOT give it a try...
Oh my gosh. Those bees are quite possibly the cutest things I've ever seen!
Oh I love anything chocolate! Thanks for posting!
Looks yummy. Wish my husband baked. lol
How sweet are those bees? And I hate bees. They sting. But, I think I can outrun these...
:)
My husband fell in love with the chocolate/honeycomb candy Violet Crumble when he lived in Australia and he has them shipped to us... it turned me on to the wonderful flavor combo! This sounds AMAZING!! And it looks cute, too! (although I doubt I would get that crafty with mine ;)
Why is SIN so much fun?? Thanks for the treat and congrats to KITWM for winning the cookbook!
Your posts are delicious and funny. Come by OJ today...I have something for you! - G
The bees are so adorable!!!!
Looks amazing. And I love marzipan!
Looks sinfully delicious to me!
The bees are adorable. The cake sounds yummy and very sweet. I love anything having to do with chocolate. I may have to try it.
Oh yummy, yummy, yummy!
Oh wow that sounds amazing, i've saved this post! x
Looks YUMMY!! Left an award for you on my blog. :)
Good God does this look yummy. And the bees look so cute! Thanks for the recipe :)
Oh my! How good that sounds!
Looks Delicious! Happy Saturdays Sharefest!
http://life-accordingtoamanda.blogspot.com
I've designated Sundays as days where my daughter helps me bake something. I think this goes on the must bake as soon as possible list; though not tomorrow because we'll be at a wedding.
Why does it not surprise me to learn this is a Nigella Lawson recipe?
-Joshua
I think I have all the ingredients I can't wait to make it. Headed for the kitchen right now. Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest
Making me hungry again...chocolate and honey..yummy.
Sounds delightful! Not to mention delicious!
I'm not going anywhere near the kitchen after reading that recipe! You are killing me, thanks.
That is a great cake! I think I'll try this one.
oh now this sounds DANGEROUS! but oh so yummy :) I may have to give it a whirl in the kitchen!! xo
You seriously have the best recipes! Yum!
OMG! That sounds delicious.
I've got an award for you at mine, if you want it.
Love RMxx
Looks soooo good. And cute.
Instead of the recipe, I would rather you just make one and send it to me! :)
Seriously, you should live next to me. All these baked things. We'd be such great friends. lol.
This one actually looks like a great one for little kid school treats...I mean...if it were for like a very special occassion. Sweet!
This is sin... 5 weeks before Xmas and I'm already stuffing my face with sweets, chocolatey things, bad bad bad. I particularly like the marzipan bees.
I will try the recipe, since you insist, hahaha.
That is the most adorable cake ever!
I *heart* Nigella. How adorable are those cute little bees!?
Oh if it's from Nigella it must be great. I watch her and am amazed at how she radiates sex appeal just by stirring some sauce and talking...okay maybe licking her finger too. It totally cracks me up.
xxx
Are you recruiting? I would be interested in applying for the role of "taster".
I am going to try this it sound D*lish
kiss kiss
Oh, these sound so scrumptious!
Cheers.
I wanna try these. They are absolutely adorable adn look sooo good.
That's the cutest, sweetest thing I've ever seen!
You had me at the butter. And the chocolate. And the...well, there is nothing I don't love about this cake : )
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