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1
Warm the honey and butter
10 Mins
Low heat, ~70°C (158°F)
Put the sugar-cane honey and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is dark, glossy and runny. Take it off the heat and leave it for 10 minutes until it is warm, not hot.
Keep the heat low — scorched honey turns bitter and the cake will taste burnt.
Done when: A smooth, dark, glossy liquid that pours in a slow ribbon.
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2
Mix the dry ingredients
5 Mins
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the raisins (drained), the chopped walnuts and the diced candied peel so the fruit and nuts are coated in flour and will not sink.
Coating the fruit in flour is the old trick that keeps raisins from sinking to the bottom of a dense cake.
Done when: Fruit and nuts evenly coated in spiced flour, no clumps of baking soda.
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3
Beat the eggs and combine
10 Mins
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Beat the eggs in a jug, then pour in the warm honey mixture and the orange juice and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined — a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not beat hard or the cake turns tough.
Stop stirring as soon as the flour disappears; over-mixing is the fastest way to a hard honey cake.
Done when: A thick, dark, sticky batter that falls from the spoon in slow ribbons.
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4
Fill the tin and decorate
5 Mins
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Scrape the batter into the lined 20 cm tin and smooth the top. Press the reserved walnut halves and whole almonds into the surface in a loose ring — they are the traditional decoration and the way you recognise a bolo de mel at a glance.
Press the nuts in gently so they sit half-buried; nuts left on the surface can fall off as the cake rises.
Done when: Batter level in the tin, nuts pressed into the top in a visible pattern.
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5
Bake low and slow
50 Mins
160°C (320°F)
Bake in the centre of the oven at 160°C (320°F) for 50 minutes. The cake is done when a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, and the top feels firm when pressed lightly. If the top darkens too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it for the last 15 minutes.
Low and slow is the point — a hot oven burns the honey on the outside before the middle is cooked.
Done when: Skewer clean, top firm and springy, edges just pulling away from the tin.
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6
Cool, rest and cut
30 Mins + Rest
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack and cool completely. Wrap it tightly in cling film or a clean cloth and rest it for at least a day before cutting — the flavour deepens and the crumb firms up so the slices cut cleanly.
Cutting it warm crumbles the cake; a day's rest is part of the recipe, not a suggestion.
Done when: Cake cool, firm and dark; slices cut cleanly with a sharp knife, no crumbling.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Cut the rested cake into thin slices — it is rich, so a little goes a long way — and serve with coffee or Madeira wine. Wrap any leftovers tightly; the cake keeps improving for a week or two.
Portugal
50m
