"Hunny" and Rosemary Cakes
These “hunny” and rosemary cakes, topped with a billowy, cloud-like cream cheese frosting and drizzled with a rosemary honey, are inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh, and are perfect to share with your kids and grandkids. Who doesn’t have a soft spot for at least one of Christopher Robin’s childhood adventurer pals: Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, and Owl? Given the opportunity, most people would scoop up that silly old bear and give him a big squeeze.
With very little effort, reading a Winnie-the-Pooh book, authored by A. A. Milne, will have you drifting back to childhood when a stick became a sword, a few skinny trees could be an enchanted forest full of daring adventures, holes in a tree trunk became a home for your very best friends, and every day was a good day to do nothing and have a picnic.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Cooling time: 15 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: 5 servings (ingredients easily doubled to create 10 cakes)
Ingredients
For the cakes:
12 tablespoons butter
¼ heaping cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
For the icing:
¼ cup cream cheese
1 heaping cup powdered sugar
For the drizzle:
¼ cup honey
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin with a little bit of butter or baking spray.
In a small saucepan, melt butter, sugar, honey, and 1 tablespoon of water over medium-low heat. Stir only once, until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Add finely chopped rosemary leaves.
When the honey mixture is cool, stir in the beaten egg. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Divide the batter between 5 muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until cake springs back when gently pressed. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Cool for another ten minutes on a wire rack.
Whisk the cream cheese in a stand mixer until fluffy. Sift in powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Then mix on high for 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as necessary. The mixture will be thick but should still be spreadable.
When the cakes are completely cool, spread icing over top of cakes.
For the drizzle, make while cakes are cooling. Heat the honey and sprig of rosemary in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Once the honey is bubbling, turn off the heat and leave in rosemary sprig for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Remove rosemary sprig and drizzle honey over iced cakes.
Jennifer is an award-winning magical realism author who enjoys creating recipes based on her novels and other published works. Follow her on Instagram @jennifer7478 & on Pinterest @jenniferreneem.
