Twice Baked Honey Cake | The Hobbit
This is what he promised to do for them. He would provide ponies for each of them, and a horse for Gandalf, for their journey to the forest, and he would lade them with food to last them for weeks with care, and packed so as to be as easy as possible to carry-nuts, flour, sealed jars of dried fruits, and red earthenware pots of honey, and twice-baked cakes that would keep good a long time, and on a little of which they could march far. The making of these was one of his secrets; but honey was in them, as in most of his foods, and they were good to eat, though they made one thirsty….
-The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
If you’ve ever dreamt of indulging in the delectable treats from the enchanting world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, you’re in for a treat! This twice-baked honey cake recipe is your passport to relishing the flavors of Middle Earth, perfect for your next Hobbit Day celebration.
The Hobbit’s Culinary Inspiration
Creating recipes inspired by beloved literary works, like The Hobbit, can be a journey of its own. Hours of research are invested to unearth the perfect rendition that aligns with the world Tolkien created. Fortunately, devoted fans have long scrutinized The Hobbit since it was published back in 1937, delving into its pages to unravel the intricacies of J.R.R. Tolkien’s enchanting world.
To find out more about cram, honey cake and lembas, I began my understanding from this Middle Earth/Tolkien blog.
Decoding Middle Earth’s Travel Fare
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s narrative, travel food is a category of its own. Like lembas and cram, twice-baked honey cake would be designed to last for a journey, providing sustenance.
Comparisons have been drawn between cram and hardtack, sturdy sea biscuits known for their longevity. The taste hierarchy is clear: lembas reigns supreme, while the honey cakes, as eloquently put by Gimli, rise above the ordinary.
” `Indeed it is,’ said Gimli. ‘Why it is better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best bakers that I know of…”
High praise indeed!
Blending Tradition and Fantasy
There are several key factors to explore when it comes to Tolkein’s honey cakes. One factor is the technique of twice baking.
First of all, the word “biscuit” is derived from the Latin word biscoctus, derived from (panis) bis (“twice”) + coctus (“cooked”). Historically, double baking was used to extend the shelf life of foods, reducing their moisture content and helping them endure the rigours of long voyages across land and sea.
It was noted during the Middle Ages that both Italians and Scottish had a far tastier twice-baked hardtack recipe than English hardtack. The Italian sea biscuit ‘gallette’ and the Scottish ‘oatcakes’ are ones to explore as a base.
Given that these are honey cakes, suggests, however, that they are sweet in flavour.
It’s possible the inclusion of honey may be a nod to the historical use of honey, not only as a sweetener, but also as a preservative due to its high sugar concentration.
Given the following ‘cakes’ are likely to be served at a Hobbit day feast, I’ve taken the liberty of including some additional ingredients, more in line with Italian biscotti.
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Twice Baked Honey Cake | The Hobbit
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
This delicious yet easy recipe for twice baked honey cake is perfect for your next Hobbit Day party!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups plain flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350of/176oC
- In one bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the mixer, beat together the sugar, honey, eggs, butter, lemon zest and juice and vanilla extract.
- Bit by bit, add in the dry mixture of ingredients into the wet mixture.
- Once all combined, shape into squares. Use a butter knife to trim the edges for a cleaner look.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove and cool.
- Place back into the oven, reduce heat to 150C/300F and bake for another 10 minutes each side.
- Remove from oven, transfer and cool.
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
These look scrumptious.
What a great blog concept! And a fabulous recipe idea. (Much better than the raw fish Gollum ate.)
Excellent article. I was looking for recipes for twice-baked bread and this one revealed my reason for searching for it, haha! I will definitely have to try a version of this.
And I will definitely look through your site more!
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I’m about to try this recipe, but I noticed it doesn’t say how many squares to make. I’m going to try 12 and see how it goes.
did middle earth have vanilla and lemons?
I’m really disappointed mine didn’t turn out as cute as yours did. 🙁
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This totally made my day!
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Great recipe! I ended up with 6 round cakes (personally liked them rounded), and could have made them smaller to make more. I served mine with cream and fresh cherries! I bet these would be great as a softer once-baked tea cake recipe too!
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These are so delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe; the perfect bake while watching An Unexpected Journey for the first time. I substituted the lemon zest and juice for fresh orange juice and orange zest. They turned out delicious. Can’t wait to try with lemon next time!
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I made these but didn’t twice bake them and they are so good. Perfect snack or for breakfast.
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