Make a Walnut Honey Cake recipe for elevensies

Follow in the footsteps of the iconic wizard Gandalf and make this Hobbit-inspired Walnut Honey Cake recipe for second breakfast, elevensies, afternoon tea or supper. Hobbits are pretty keen on cake, or any other British mid-century comfort food as anyone who has read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings or watched the movies would know.

Don’t know about Hobbits? These mythical creatures (some would dispute that) are human-like but half the height, with hairy feed and long brown fingers. My favourite Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins, of course.

Hobbiton, the traditional home of Hobbits, is a village built as a set for the films in Matamata on New Zealand’s North Island and is one of many film locations on both islands where visitors can experience Middle-earth for themselves.

Gandalf exploring Cathedral Cove, Coromandel.

Walnut Honey Cake for elevensies

Hobbits may be small, but they are prodigious eaters.  Seven meals a day is not unusual!  Think of it as more of a constantly revolving opportunity with breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper all right and proper hobbit eating times.  Don’t you love the sound of elevensies?

If you can’t get enthusiastic about a second breakfast, how about Honey Walnut Cake for elevensies?

As a hobbit would say, “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him.” Start baking!

Lik – Honey Walnut Cake

Light and not too sweet, this delicious cake recipe created by Sara Ghedina is perfect for a hobbit second breakfast or mid-afternoon snack. Humans may prefer to try it for morning or afternoon tea.  For dessert, serve it accompanied by raspberries generously topped with whipped cream, a Hobbit favourite! Skip the honey glaze to make it less sweet or dust the cake with sugar for sweet tooths.

Hobbits have also been known to eat this cake with marmalade as befits a second breakfast.

HONEY WALNUT CAKE

Set the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and generously butter and flour a 22 cm (9 inch) springform pan

Ingredients for the cake

• 1½ cups flour
• 170 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¼ cup raw sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• ½ cup plus 1 tbsp. milk
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• ½ tbsp. ground cinnamon

For the glaze

• ¼ cup raw sugar
• 60 gm. unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup honey
• ⅓ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Method

• In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar until smooth and fluffy. Then add the honey and eggs, one at a time, and keep whisking.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir this into the cake mixture with the milk and whisk. When the batter is smooth, fold in the walnuts using a rubber spatula.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake the cake at 180°C until golden brown on top. A cake tester inserted into centre should come out clean. Allow about 45 minutes to bake.
• Transfer the pan from the oven to a wire rack and let it cool for about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Place the butter, honey, and sugar in a medium saucepan. You must cook this at low heat until butter is melted, and sugar is dissolved completely. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the pan, and place on a serving plate. Using a spatula, gently spread the glaze on top of the cake and on its sides. Sprinkle walnuts all over and serve.

If you’d like to do a Hobbit tea party, add in scones with butter and jam (Use my tips for the perfect scone), lemon poppy seed cakelets, mincemeat pies, and molasses cake. Some Honey Bunny Cupcakes would also be just perfect!

Disclaimer: Sara Ghedina’s Honey Walnut Cake recipe was shared to mark International Hobbit Day.