Honey Cake Taste Test: Top Picks for Rosh Hashanah Revealed

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, a taste test evaluated 14 honey cakes from various bakeries, showcasing a wide array of modern interpretations featuring ingredients like pistachio, caramel, and mascarpone. While the price of honey itself has decreased by approximately 11% this year, with the Ministry of Agriculture releasing 400 tons of imported honey duty-free at an average consumer price of 16.6 shekels per kilogram, many honey cakes have seen price increases. Bakery owners attribute this to the rising costs of other ingredients.

The "Kugelhupf Honey Cake" from HaOpet bakery was crowned the overall winner, receiving the highest weighted score. This cake, made with pure honey, spices, and almonds, also earned the top score in the desserts category for its accompanying trifle, which features vanilla cake, fruit coulis, mascarpone cream, honey, and fresh summer fruits.

Other notable entries included the "Honey Layer Cake" from Magazino Bakery, a visually impressive cake with layers of moist honey cake, cinnamon frosting, white chocolate, and toasted almonds, priced at 235 shekels. The "Honey-Chocolate Cake" from Biscotti was a winner in its category, praised for its combination of honey cake and quality chocolate, featuring a honey caramel cream and dark chocolate crumble.

Several other bakeries presented unique and well-received honey-based desserts. These included a pistachio and kadayif roll from Ne'eman Bakery, a "Japonaise" white chocolate mousse cake from Miki Shmu, a festive honey tart from Pitzu bakery, and a caramelized apple tarte tatin from MIMI. Additionally, gluten-free options, apple strudels, and citrus-infused honey cakes were also evaluated, highlighting the diverse and innovative approaches to this traditional holiday dessert.