Spice Cake with Orange Compote

This moist, tender spice cake is perfectly complemented by the fruity compote of oranges soaked in spiced honey syrup.

Ingredients

Cake:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup light sour cream

Compote:

1/4 cup orange juice

1/8 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

2 whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

2 naval oranges

Honey Tips

How Honey is Made

To make honey, bees drop the collected nectar into the honeycomb and then evaporate it by fanning their wings.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 &deg. Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and then honey until well blended. Mix in orange zest and vanilla.

In a bowl combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream to wet ingredients, stirring with a spoon after each addition.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes until cake tests done. Cool in pan on a rack.
Compote:
In a small saucepan mix together juice, honey, cloves, cinnamon and zest. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes until mixture thickens.
Using a knife, peel oranges being sure to remove white pith. Cut oranges crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices and then separate slices into sections. Place sections in a medium bowl. Pour thickened sauce over oranges and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, place a slice of cake on a plate. Remove whole cloves from compote. Spoon compote over cake.
Serves: 8