Paleo No-Honey Cake

Traditional Jewish honey cake called “lekach” is ancient, its rich flavor imprinted deep in my memory. I know honey is Paleo and natural, however it sends my blood sugar sky high! This unique recipe tastes just as satisfying as the original, but contains no honey at all! Instead of honey and refined flour, the surprise ingredients are chicory root sweetener, shredded coconut, almond meal, and sweet potato! Fluffy and flavorful, this is truly a guilt-free treat, low in those naughty sugars and carbs that cause weight gain – using zero carb sweetener, low carb almond meal and coconut butter instead of processed flours. Yay! This gluten-free, grain-free cake tastes even better topped with Instant Coconut Whipped Cream.

Lekach honey cake signifies a sweet year. On the day before Yom Kippur it is a tradition to ask for it and receive it from someone like a mentor or parent. The idea is that if during the year, it is decreed by God that you should need to ask for a handout to eat, just this gesture will satisfy the requirement. A noble wish. I love this tradition, but I do not care for honey cake, because it sends my blood sugar thorough the roof. After one piece of honey cake, they’d need to scrape me off the floor and I’d eat nothing but vegetables for a week. What is it about honey?

Honey is a true Paleo sweetener. But it’s also high in sugars. With 50% fructose, 44% glucose, and 1% sucrose, it’s molecular composition is surprisingly close to table sugar. Even though it comes directly from Nature, honey will give you a nice big blood sugar rush, which destabilizes metabolism and promotes weight gain. A little honey once in a while is a good thing, but a regular pattern of honey in your diet will lead you down the path toward hypoglycemia, diabetes, and obesity, that modern epidemic that affects millions of people. As wonderful as it it, honey will NOT help you kick the sugar habit. For more info about pros and cons of honey, check my article Top 5 Paleo Sweeteners.

Old fashioned honey cake is a traditional at Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah. Other authentic recipes hail from all over the Middle East – Egypt, Yemen, even India. In biblical times honey cake was made from semolina wheat flour, eggs, oranges, succulent spices, and had a pleasingly grainy texture. If you’re gluten-free, or avoiding glycemic sweeteners, try this recipe and you’ll see what I mean about the rich, biblical flavor. Store the cake for 4 days in the refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes one 9 to 10-inch round cake (I used a spring-form pan), or a 9 x 9-inch square. Serves 6 or 8 depending on how you cut it.