Honey-Spice Cake

Honey cake is a traditional dessert served on Rosh Hashanah, as the sweetness of the honey represent the sweetness of the new year ahead.  This year I made us a Weight Watcher's recipe.  The flavor is this cake is great -- the honey and spices blend together so well.  I found the texture slightly dry at the end pieces.  Next year I might try adding a little yogurt for moisture, or grabbing it out of the oven slightly sooner.  Nevertheless, we are enjoying the left overs!  I think it would also be a great candidate for a little vanilla ice cream topping, or perhaps even a glaze. 

I had some cinnamon flavored artisanal honey from Jansal Valley on hand that I used in here.  It was a great complement to the spices!  Because my cinnamon honey is quite spacey, I reduced the ground cinnamon in the recipe from 1 tsp to 1/2 tsp.  If you are just using regular honey, use a whole teaspoon of ground cinnamon!

Does anyone else have a great honey cake recipe?  I considered making this one again, but I wanted to try something different!

Honey-Spice Cake
adapted from Weight Watchers
serves 12

Ingredients:
1 spray cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground allspice
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup cinnamon honey (if you do not have this, just use 1/2 cup regular honey)
1/4 cup regular honey, preferably dark
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with 1 spray of cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine well the dry ingredients (flour through allspice).  Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs.  Add in the sugar, oil, and honey.  Beat until fluffy.  Add in the applesauce and vanilla and stir well.
4. Slowly combine the flour mixture with the wet ingredients.  Mix well, but not too much.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the 3 Tbsp chopped walnuts on top.  Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out dry.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes, and then on a wire rack until at room temperature.
6. Slice into 12 slices.
(Each slice is 3 Weight Watchers Points.)