Spiced Honey Food

SPICED HONEY

Steps:

• Cut the lemon into 6 thin slices and press 2 cloves into each slice.
• Put the lemon slices, cinnamon sticks and honey into a saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Place two lemon slices and 1 cinnamon stick into each hot jar and then ladle honey into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps.
• Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner (adjust for altitude).

SPICED HONEY-GLAZED RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325˚ and set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Put the cumin and coriander seeds in a resealable plastic bag and crush with a heavy skillet. Transfer to a bowl and add the brown sugar, paprika and red pepper flakes. Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper, rub all over with the vegetable oil, then rub all over with the spice mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the ribs meat-side up to the rack.
• Stir together the honey and vinegar in a small bowl. Bake the ribs, rotating the baking sheet after 45 minutes, until well browned, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. Brush half of the honey mixture on both sides of the ribs and bake 15 more minutes, then brush with the remaining honey mixture and continue baking until the ribs are deeply browned and tender, about 15 more minutes. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and let cool slightly before carving.

HOT HONEY FRIED CHICKEN STRIPS

Steps:

• Place one sheet of plastic wrap on a clean cutting board (see Cook's Note). Put one chicken piece in the center of the plastic wrap and top with another sheet. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 even strips. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
• Pour 1 cup buttermilk over the chicken. Marinate at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes or overnight in the fridge if time allows.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Pour about 1 inch of oil into a deep, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 to 375 degrees F.
• Stir together the 1/4 cup honey in a small bowl with as much hot sauce as you like (I use 1 tablespoon, but I like it spicy.) Set aside until ready to serve.
• Stir together the flour, paprika, cayenne, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the garlic powder and onion powder if using.
• Stir the remaining 1/3 cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture until it has a chunky consistency.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture so that each piece is fully coated and place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Working in batches to avoid crowding the pot, add 3 to 4 pieces of the coated chicken and fry, undisturbed, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and fry until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the fried chicken strips to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, season with a pinch of salt and hold in the warm oven. Check the oil temperature and adjust the heat as needed to bring it back to 350 to 275 degrees F, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Serve the fried chicken strips immediately with the hot honey.

SPICED HONEY CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9" cake pan with nonstick spray and line bottom with a parchment paper round. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl to combine.
• Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, honey, egg, and egg yolk in another large bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; discard pod. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat mixture until pale and thickened, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually pour in orange juice and whey. Beat until frothy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add dry ingredients; beat just until smooth and homogenous (it will be thin, like pancake batter).
• Pour into prepared pan and bake until cake is golden brown and center springs back when gently pressed (a cake tester will not come out clean), 45-55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pan, 20 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cake to loosen and invert onto rack; let cool completely.
• Do Ahead
• Cake can be baked 3 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
• Frosting and Assembly:
• Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; discard pod. Beat on low speed until mixture is very light and thickened, about 2 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl. With motor running, add coconut cream by the tablespoonful and beat until very soft peaks form (save coconut milk for another use).
• Pile frosting on top of cake and spread to edges (it's okay if it cascades over the sides). Decorate with bee pollen, fennel fronds, flowers, and berries, if desired.

SPICED HONEY PRETZELS

Steps:

• Line a jelly roll pan (15x10) with foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
• Place pretzels in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, combine honey, butter, onion powder and chili powder. Pour over pretzels and toss to coat evenly.
• Spread pretzels in prepared pan. Bake at 350 8 minutes., stirring once.
• Cool on a piece of parchment or wax paper, stirring several times to keep separated.

SPICED HONEY DRIZZLE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until creamy. Whisk in the honey, egg, milk, spices and a pinch of salt (don't worry if it curdles slightly, it will become a loose batter), then fold in the flour.
• Tip into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze, melt the butter and honey in a small pan until smooth. Leave to cool until thickened, then drizzle over the top of the cooled cake. Leave to set before serving.

SPICED HONEY-GLAZED HALLOUMI & FIG SALAD

Steps:

• Heat the grill to its highest setting. Put the fig halves on one half of a baking sheet and drizzle with half the honey. Dry-fry the ras el hanout in a hot pan for 1 min. Mix the remaining honey with the toasted ras el hanout and 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Toss the slices of halloumi in the mixture and spread out on the other half of the baking sheet. Grill everything for 3 mins, flip the halloumi over and put back under the grill for a further 3 mins or until the halloumi is golden and the figs are softened.
• Whisk the remaining oil with the sherry vinegar and season to taste. Arrange handfuls of the rocket on six plates and drizzle with the dressing. Top with the figs, halloumi and prosciutto, then finish with the toasted almonds.