I first heard about this wonderful charity drive from Penny at Jeroxie.com, and decided to jump aboard this wonderful sweet wagon of goodness! Check out Penny’s recipe here.
CSR Bake a Difference is a wonderful event that encourages everyone to bake their Christmas presents this year instead of buying them and donate the money they save to Mission Australia through http://www.csrbakeadifference.com.au/.
The great thing about this is that CSR Sugar will match each donation dollar for dollar up to $100,000 so there’s the potential to raise $200,000 that will go directly towards helping disadvantaged Australians!!!
If you’d like to make a donation, all donations need to be made via the CSR Bake a Difference website, or you can simply go to the Donate page here and follow the instructions.
I’d been hankering to bake a cake for a while now and I really wanted to try the Boy’s family’s “secret” Honeycomb Cake recipe. This cake is also known as Kek Sarang Semut (Ant’s Nest Cake) in other parts of the world…
Given that my pantry is already filled with a variety of CSR sugars (there’s more… I know I have the raw sugar somewhere and I really want the cane sugar variety!) *sugar addict I am*
So for Christmas this year, what a better way to put on my chef’s hat and apron and bake something up for my colleagues at work and showcase some of my culinary skills (and Malaysian heritage) and do some good as well?! Brilliant plan 🙂 *BEAMS DELIGHTFULLY!*
Honeycomb Cake
Ingredients:
For the Caramel Syrup
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ cup water (hot)
Method:
Melt sugar over low fire (stir until it becomes liquid). Once liquefied, add hot water and stir over stove until dark amber.
** Warning – This is when the liquefied sugar will splutter and hiss and bubble uncontrollably (DO NOT WORRY!) This is what is supposed to happen, just take care to not panic. The sugar will eventually dissolve and you should have a smooth silky watery syrup.
Remove from heat and keep cool over cold water.
Ingredients
For the Honeycomb Cake
½ tin of condensed milk (200 ml)
4 eggs (or 5)
1 cup plain flour
1 ¼ teaspoon of bi-carbonate soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
4 ounces (half) of butter
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat (you don’t want to burn the butter).
In a mixing bowl, stir in the condensed milk, mixing the eggs one at a time.
Add the melted butter, plain flour, bi-carb soda and baking powder. And finally add the cooled caramel liquid.
Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased baking tray. The mixture will be watery (so don’t worry!)
Bake the cake in 180 degrees Celsius for an hour. Depending on your oven, the time might differ slightly (to be sure, do the wooden skewer test! If the skewer comes out clean, your cake is ready!)
Let the cake rest for a while before turning it out onto a plate.
Cut them up to serve. This cake is actually best eaten overnight as it allows the flavours to settle.
It is a very rich and dense cake, and yet quite airy (due to the honeycomb like texture).
It was a success (if I must say so myself) and because I AM AWESOME!
If I can do this anyone can! I am a self-confessed failed baker.. so this was an amazing surprise (even to myself and the Boy who had his doubts!)
For more recipes utilising CSR Sugar, visit their recipe ideas!
The recipe has been followed as closely as possible, but again, with secret family recipes the measurements do tend to be a bit hit and miss (pinch of that, slight drop of this, etc.)… so I also followed the steps and pictures from the House of Annie to be sure.
Enjoy this recipe and have a Merry Bakefest Christmas!!!
Ermmm… any leftovers?? me want! Thanks for joining lovely!
That cake is amazing! A feast for the tastebuds *and* the eyes 🙂 Thanks so much for dropping by from Ren's – I love meeting new bloggers and so happy it led me to your wonderful blog!
Ah, so that's what they are called! I've had them before but they've been made by Vietnamese ladies so I didn't know the English name for them hehehe they look very yummy!
I have never seen anything like this in my life! You are awesome. So, so awesome. Oh, heavens, I want this!
Seem like it's going to be chinese new year dessert!
Penny: Thanks for hosting this event!
Jude: You're welcome! Thanks for dropping by too!!
Ames4eva: There must be a variation of this in all the SEA countries!
Hannah: I AM AWESOME!! HAahahahah
Cityw: It does, doesn't it? 😛
Hey! Look at the texture – that is so cool 🙂
That looks divine! I'm definitely going to have a stab at making that… well, actually, I really just want to EAT it, but will clearly have to make one first.
Agnes: It was super cool!
Injera: LALALALAAAAA… Next time I make another batch, I'll give you some 🙂
What a great thing to do instead of all the endless buying of crap no one needs!! Good cause, awesome cake.
Trix: Thanks for the comment 🙂 Edible gifts are the way to go 🙂
Oh I haven't had this for awhile. Yummy!
bookmarked! I've had this once before and loved it. Thanks for sharing the "secret" recipe.
Great looking cake; well done! Now I’ve got a hankering for some honeycomb cake heheheh
Thanks for the linkback!
Hi, wish to check if it would be possible to skip the condensed milk? Or maybe replace it with something different? Cause wish to bake it for a diabetic person. It’s a bit too sweet for them.
Unfortunately, you can’t skip that ingredient as the condensed milk is a key ingredient to the success of this recipe 🙂 I’m not sure what you could do to make this healthier, as this is definitely not a healthy cake. You could try using less condensed milk, but I’m not sure how that would make the cake turn out.
Thanks Ms I-Hua, will give a try with reducing the sugar content.
Will update you on it. =)
Good luck!!
Hi Ms I-hua,
Your beehive cake was so tempting!! yumyum!!
May i know what is the measurement you use here as per 1 cup? Would like to give it a try~ 🙂
Hi ya 🙂 One cup is 250 ml. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Hi, would it be possible to use golden syrup (store bought) in place of the caramel syrup? Thanks!
I am not too sure that the sweetness of the cake would quite match the golden syrup if you don’t use the caramel.
May i also ask what size baking tin to use? Thanks! 🙂
Oh.. hahaha… err.. I think it’s the square 22 inch tin? It doesn’t really matter what tin or shape, as the thickness or length of the cake doesn’t really matter!
Do you use top and bottom heat when u bake it in the oven.
Errm… I’m not quite sure what you mean? I usually bake in my middle rack of the oven?
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’ve been trying to make this cake on and off for 10 years without success. This is the very BEST honeycomb cake recipe I have ever tried. My only comment is that is was a little sweet for my taste. Would it be possible to use 1 1/4 cups sugar instead? Will it affect the recipe very much? I do not want to mess with a winning formula!
Hi, I just loved your bee hive cake, can it be done without eggs? pls advice replacement for eggs. Thanks 🙂
Hello! Unfortunately, I have no idea if it will work without the eggs!
What do you mean by 4 ounce (half) butter? Does that mean 2 ounce of butter? Thank you.
How much caramel liquid should you end up with after boiling? About 1 cup or 1.5 cups?
Hi what does 4 ounces butter means and also can we use sweetened milk or full cream condensed milk
Hi… thanks for the recipes. Wish me luck. Am waiting for the cake to be awesome as yours atm… it’s doubly watery but I trust I follows all the steps u’ve instructed… Cross-Finger!!
hope the cake would treats me good….