Rooibos and Honey Bundt

A perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea, this cake smacks of autumn thanks to the warm spices and is has a delicious fruity undertone due to the inclusion of the rooibos tea

Rooibos has been around for decades and is quintessentially South African. Nothing soothes me, before bed, than a warm cup of rooibos tea – perhaps because it has no caffeine in it.

In addition to no caffeine, advocates also praise rooibos for its potential health benefits, claiming that its antioxidants can protect against cancer, heart disease and stroke.

I have not done research into how true this is, but can definitely testify to its delicious, slightly fruity taste. Most people like to sweeten it with some honey, and so I decided to add some honey to the cake batter as well. Honey is tricky to bake with, as it can lead to a drier texture, so I swapped out the regular sugar for muscavado sugar.

Here, I have adapted my saffron milk cake recipe to a rooibos and honey version. Rooisbos does not have a distinct taste within the cake, but gives the cake a wonderful aroma, enhances the fruitiness from the orange and enhances the warmth from the spices.

If you make this recipe, please share it with me by tagging me on Instagram @adventureswithsugar or on Facebook at Adventures with Sugar.

ROOIBOS MILK

• 7 rooibos teabags
• 270ml full cream milk
• 70ml boiling water

METHOD

1. Add the rooibos teabags to a medium size pot and add in the water, allowing the water to come to a boil and letting the rooibos tea infuse into the water.
2. Then add in the milk and continue to heat until the milk begins to simmer and just come to a boil. Do not let the milk boil.
3. Remove from heat and keep in the refrigerator to infuse overnight.

ROOIBOS AND HONEY BUNDT

• 240g salted butter, at room temperature, plus 3 tablespoons for the bundt pan
• 200g muscavado sugar
• 120g honey
• 1 tablespoons orange zest
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 300ml rooibos milk (see above)
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground rooibos leaves
• 320g cake flour, plus 4 tablespoons for the bundt pan
• 100g ground almonds

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celcius. Begin by preparing your 12 cup bundt pan. Melt the three tablespoons of butter and generously brush the entire interior of the bundt pan. Use the four tablespoons of flour to coat the inside of the bundt pan. The flour should stick to the butter. Make sure to tap out all the excess flour from the pan, so that only a thin film is left. Place the bundt pan into the refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, rooibos tea leaves and ground almonds into a bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter, orange zest, honey and sugar until light and fluffy, this should take about 5 – 8 minutes.
4. Then, add in the vanilla followed by the eggs. Make sure to add one egg at a time, let it properly incorporate before adding the next one.
5. Then add in half the sifted dry ingredients and mix until combined. Then add in half the roiboos milk and mix. Repeat with the remaining half of the wet and dry ingredients.
6. Place the batter into the bundt tin and bake for 60 – 70 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack, to cool completely. Do not leave it in the tin for longer, or the sugars will crystalise and the cake will stick to the tin.

ROOISBOS GLAZE

• 200g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 50ml rooibos tea

METHOD

1. Sift the icing sugar.
2. Add in the honey and rooibos tea and mix until the desired consistency is achieved.
3. For a thicker glaze, you will use closer to 40ml and for a thin glaze closer to 50ml.
4. Drizzle over the cooled cake.