To make this vegan honey cake just as sweet as the original, agave nectar or maple syrup (or a combination) create an authentic flavor.
In the Jewish tradition, honey cake is served at special occasions, whether formal holidays or not, and is especially beloved in the Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) repertoire. As we know, strict vegans don’t use honey (though some who do use carefully sourced honey are called “bee-gans”).
Symbolic foods in Jewish celebrations: As with almost every sacred celebration, food plays a central role to the Jewish New Year and is filled with symbolism. When making the challah bread for the holiday, for example, the baker might pinch off a bit of dough and burn it in the oven as a metaphoric sacrifice.
Carrot dishes served at Rosh Hashanah symbolize a wish for prosperity in the coming year — the Yiddish word for carrots means “to increase.”
Rosh Hashana is more than a New Year celebration. In a sense, it can be compared to the true meaning of Thanksgiving. The holiday has ancient roots as a harvest festival, and enjoyment of the abundant produce of early autumn remains central.
The foods served emphasize the holiday’s optimistic spirit. The choice of produce used for a Jewish New Year meal will differ somewhat depending on whether one is of Ashkenazi or Sephardic descent.
Ashkenazi dishes feature apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, beets and other foods native to Eastern Europe; Sephardic dishes feature all those plus apricots, dates, pumpkins, and turnips. In both cases, the food used to create holiday fare symbolize abundance, prosperity, and sweetness.
Don’t forget the apples: Sliced apples with honey to dip them into is another holiday tradition, so if you’re a honey-free vegan, you can serve the apples with maple syrup, agave, or a combination of the two. And to extend the theme of sweetness, serve this traditional treat with this delicious vegan honey cake.
Recipe adapted from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas.
Vegan Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah
To make vegan honey cake that’s just as sweet as the original, agave nectar and/or maple syrup combine to create an authentic flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry or spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
- 1 cup dark agave nectar or pure maple syrup, or or half of each
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup safflower oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dark or golden raisins
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325º F.
- Combine the first 6 (dry) ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until completely blended.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the agave and/or maple syrup, applesauce, oil, and vanilla.
- Stir together until the wet and dry ingredients are thoroughly combined, then stir in the raisins.
- Cut two pieces of baking parchment to fit the bottoms of two loaf pans. Lightly oil the sides. Divide the batter between the two pans. Sprinkle the almonds evenly over the tops of the loaves.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf tests clean. Take care not to over bake.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely. Use a knife to go around the sides of the loaves to loosen if need be, then carefully remove the loaves from the pans by tipping them into your hand, then setting on a platter. Cut each loaf into 12 slices to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 180mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 4g
Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and exact products used. This is given for informational purposes only and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
More vegan Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) recipes
Moroccan-Inspired Tofu with Apricots, Almonds, and Tofu
Vegan Potato Kugel
Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes
Vegan Matzo Ball Soup
… and Seven-Vegetable Couscous
Photos: Susan Voisin, FatFreeVegan.com
Jews traditionally don’t eat nuts on rosh hashana
This is true, though other sources refer only to certain kinds of nuts, especially walnuts, being forbidden. Feel free to leave them out, of course!
can you make GF??? flour?
Hi Lisbeth — I haven’t tried to make this GF, but my best guess is that it would be good. I would go for the obvious choice, Bob’s Red Mill GF flour. If you make it, can you come back to report how it turned out? Happy Rosh Hashanah to you!
Love this cake! I ate !/2 a loaf for break fast, but it’s very crumbly, while still moist. Is there a way to make it hold together more?
Thank you for all your recipes!
Hi Leslie — I’m not sure how to answer this, as it holds together quite well for me. In fact I made too much for my immediate family (no guests this year, sigh …) and it was still holding together after almost a week. Did you make any adjustments to the ingredients? If so, I may be able to troubleshoot. If not, perhaps consider adding a “flax egg” (google it, as I don’t do this) or a bit of Ener-G egg replacer.
Hi Nava! I followed the recipe, and it came out of the baking pan perfectly, but when I sliced it the crumbling into bitesize chunks started. Altho the end slices stayed together. i can try again w/a flax egg, or maybe just do your recipe again. My non-vegan son baked it in NY and said it was perfect1 We had a zoom holiday w/friends and we both used your cookbooks. He took my 5-Ingredient Vegan (I bought another copy) but I still have your Vegan Holiday Cookbook. Shana Tova.
Leslie, I’m so sorry this happened. I wonder if you might have taken it out of the pan before it had a chance to cool completely — I’m just guessing here! Thank you for using my books and I hope that 5781 is a better year for all of us!