Sweets

Have you ever had one of those long meandering mental discussions with yourself while you're doing something else less interesting that leads to certifiable genius? At least, until you realize that you just dreamed up something that already existed? My friend asked me that same question once, telling me how while she was on a long drive she got to thinking about how much easier commuting would be if there were wider, less twisty roads that had a higher speed limit on the outside of towns, something connecting all of them where you could just go fairly straight and fast for a while to burn through distance before turning onto winding city roads. It would be perfect! And then she realized that she just invented the highway.

Well, I thought she was crazy too until it happened to me. Not long ago I was idly Googling cake recipes because I was really craving a slab of nice, sweet, squishy, frosting-covered goodness. At the same time, I was thinking to myself how it would be totally impractical to make a cake because, really, I am one person and I do not  need an entire cake all to myself. I'd probably get sick of it after eating half anyway and the rest would go bad. I should really wait until someone's birthday or something... but the next birthday was probably months away. What if I could make cakes smaller? I thought. Little for-one sized cakes that I could still put frosting on. Like... muffin sized! Cakes are kind of like muffins, I could even make cake in a muffin tin! I could make muffin sized cakes and eat them right out of my hand! GENIOUS!

And then I realized... that's called a cupcake, and people have known they're genius for quite a while.

Anyway, long story short, I was hungry mid-afternoon today in that blah stretch of time between lunch and dinner when I start grumbling for a snack. Lately I've taken advantage of these "lupper" time munchies by brewing up something hot and eating myself some bland sweets, tea-time style. And, not having much else to do, today I decided to make cakes.

I didn't want them to be too sweet, but I knew that I wasn't going to bother frosting them, so they should hold up to grab-and-munch eating. I decided that, today having marked the first full week of spring, I should make some traditional honeycakes to eat with my tea. Light but fragrant and with a little spiciness, I think this recipe is a keeper.

They went very well with a tender nectarine and a big mug of Disney's "Mad Teaparty Blend" black tea, which was supposed to be apricot-ish, but tasted to me like black pepper. In the future these little cakes might be nice with diced apples inside, or even peaches.

Even the main squeeze liked 'em! I'll post the recipe below.

True to style, I made this recipe myself and only grudgingly measured things because I didn't want to anger the cooking spirits and wind up with yummy smelling inedible hockey pucks. Thus I can give you a little more accuracy than usual in this recipe.

Miniature Honeycakes

2 C flour (I used 1 C whole wheat and 1 C white, but it shouldn't matter)

1 C honey

3 eggs

1/2 C milk

1/2 C butter

1/4 C orange juice (fresh-squeezed if possible)

2 T baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

two big pinches salt (less if you use salted butter)

1/2 C chopped nuts and/or fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin tins. This will make about 15 cupcakes, give or take.

Melt the butter, then combine it with the other liquid ingredients-- milk, orange juice, eggs, and honey. In another bowl, mix together the baking soda, flour, cinnamon, and nuts and/or fruit if you're using them. Gently pour the liquids into the dry ingredients. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin hollow, then bake for about 30 minutes or until the edges of the muffins are beginning to brown and crisp up and the center springs back when you poke it.

Best enjoyed with tea. Even if you drink yours with more sugar than brew ;).