Chamomile Honey Almond Cake Inspired by Rupi Kaur

It’s been an interesting year for me with a lot of emotional ups and downs. For some reason, turing 30 suddenly made me feel very inadequate in both my personal and professional lives. I know there are no standardized life metrics, but I can’t help but feel like I’m not quite the person I thought I’d be by now. I’m not as accomplished or knowledgeable as I want to be and I wish I had my life a little bit more figured out.

Maybe this is a mini midlife crises?

I say “mini” because it’s not all encompassing where I’m moping around and sulking in bed all day. It’s more that I have random moments when I feel a overcome by my insecurities. Normally a little cuddle sesh with my pup or a trip to the grocery store (my happy place) will help kill the blues, but the other day I had an unexpected, urgent need to read Rupi Kaur’s new book of poems, The Sun and Her Flowers. It was probably the millennial in me, but somehow I felt that within her text I would find the encouragement and healing I needed to feel better.

I spent the good part of one morning driving around to three different bookstores in LA to snag a copy (I guess there are a lot of us going through mini midlife crises haha) and slowly soaked in her words over the course of a few days. I’m no poetry expert and only time will tell what kind of literary impact her work will leave, but like so many others I felt an instant connection to the simplicity of her verse. She covers a range of topics from love, loss, femininity, and immigration, I felt there was a lot I could relate to and a lot I could learn from. It’s not the complete healing remedy I imagined I would get in my urgent state of mind, but there’s a level of comfort knowing that it’s ok to be flawed, complicated, and have a mini crises now and then.

I made this cake in hopes of creating a dish that evoked that same level of comfort I got from Kaur’s book. It’s a little rough around the edges but homey and includes chamomile, which is known for its calming and relaxing qualities. The nuttiness of the almonds really gives it that warm, winter-blanket feel, but best of all it’s super easy to make. You can make it as a pick-me-up for yourself or to bring as a cheer-me-up to a friend who’s having a rough day. I recommend just having the recipe filed away in your medicine cabinet. Food sometimes is the cure to your pain.

Chamomile Honey Almond Cake

• Author: Jessica
• Yield: One 8-inch Cake
• Category: Cake
• Method: Baking

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Description

A cozy almond and honey cake infused with chamomile.

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Ingredients

Almond and Honey Cake

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (75g) almond milk
3 tablespoons (5g) chamomile tea
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (50g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (50g) whole wheat flour
1 cup (90g) almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (165g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) sugar
1/4 cup (80g) honey
2 eggs
1/3 cup (35g) sliced almonds

CHAMOMILE HONEY SYRUP
1 tablespoon (25g) honey
1 tablespoon (15g) sugar
2/3 cup (75g) water
2 tablespoons (3g) chamomile tea

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Instructions

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Heat the almond milk in a small saucepan. When it comes to a simmer, add the chamomile and let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain and press leaves to extract as much infused liquid as possible. You will need 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (75g) of almond milk. Measure out the infused liquid and add more almond milk as needed. Set aside to cool.

3. Sift the flours, almond meal, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and honey together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and then add the chamomile infused almond milk. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients in two additions.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top of the batter and sprinkle the top edge with the sliced almonds. Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool inside the pan for 15 minutes.

5. While the cake is cooling, make the chamomile syrup. Bring the honey, sugar, water, and chamomile tea to a boil. Reduce until the liquid becomes slightly thick. Strain and discard the chamomile.

6. Remove the cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper. Place on a wire rack and spoon or brush the syrup onto the top of the warm cake. Use as much or as little syrup as desired.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Keywords: chamomile, almond, honey, cake, rupi kaur, tea