Baking with honey and spices goes back centuries in Scandinavia. These are full of flavour and become even better as the days go by; they can last for two or three weeks. Black tea with honey bombs, served toasted with butter, is a match made in heaven.
Makes 16-18
honey 150g
soft brown sugar 150g
butter 150g
eggs 4
plain flour 400g
bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp
ground cinnamon 4 tsp
ground cloves 3 tsp
candied mixed peel 200g
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/gas mark 4.
Gently melt the honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Leave the mixture to cool a little, then beat in the eggs one by one. In a separate large bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then stir this into the honey mixture and add the mixed peel.
Divide the batter between mini tart tins, each 8-9cm in diameter, so that it lies about 1cm deep (you will probably have to cook these in batches). Bake for 20-25 minutes, then leave to cool on a wire rack while you cook the rest.
From Scandinavian Baking by Trine Hahnemann (Quadrille, £26)
