Chocolate Honey Cake

Ingredients

• Cake: 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1 1/3 cups soft light brown sugar
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 cup boiling water
• Optional: 1 teaspoon espresso powder and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sticky honey glaze: 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and line a 9-inch springform pan.
2. Melt chocolate in microwave or over low heat on stove. Set aside to cool.
3. In a standing mixer, beat together sugar and soft butter until creamy, then add the honey.
4. Add 1 egg, beating it in with 1 tablespoon of flour, then add the other egg with another tablespoon of flour.
5. Fold in the melted chocolate, then the rest of the flour and baking soda.
6. Add the cocoa, pushed through a fine wire mesh strainer to avoid lumps, then beat in the boiling water. Mix to a smooth batter and pour into the pan.
7. Bake up to 1½ hours, but check the cake after 45 minutes. If it is getting too dark, cover the top lightly with aluminum foil and check every 15 minutes so it does not scorch.
8. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a rack.
9. Glaze: bring the water and honey to a boil in a saucepan, then turn off the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate, swirling to melt. Let sit a few minutes, then whisk together. Add the powdered sugar through a fine mesh strainer and whisk until smooth.
10. Pour glaze over the cold cake and spread it around. The glaze remains tacky — more like a sticky ganache than buttercream — so make ahead and let it sit for a bit.