Rosé Honey Berry Cake

Back in Singapore, one of my favourite desserts was Semolina cake (or Sugee cake). Oh, my goodness… dense, chewy slices drenched in syrup and coated in crunchy almonds - I remember my aunt making it for Christmas and birthdays, and telling me about how she’d soak the entire cake in syrup to give it its gorgeous shiny sheen.

This New Years Eve, I found myself with half a bottle of leftover rosé. My husband and I had just spent the day on house renovations and I felt my sweet tooth kicking in. I’ve been feeling really homesick lately, so I decided to try making my own spin on a Semolina cake using the leftover rosé for the syrup, with simple pantry ingredients.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the Rosé Honey Berry Cake. I am obsessed. It’s light and fluffy with a tang from the berries and waves of sweetness from the honey that leaves a decadent hint of rosé in its wake.

I made this for my family on New Years Day, and then tried out a vegan version for the first flower-making workshop of 2022 in my studio. I love finding fun new recipes to treat my loved ones and workshop guests to and this one, (ahem), takes the cake!

When I shared this on social media I got lots of requests for the recipe, so I’ve included both the vegan and non-vegan versions below. It was an absolute crowd-pleaser so give this a go the next time you’ve got loved ones to treat and a little rosé on hand!

Rosé Honey Berry Cake

Makes one 8-inch cake (double the recipe if you’d like a thicker cake).

Ingredients

Cake (vegan)

• 1 cup plant-based milk (I’ve used oat and almond)
• 1 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/4 cups mixed berries (either fresh or frozen)

Cake (non-vegan)

• 1 stick butter melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 & 1/4 cups mixed berries (either fresh or frozen)

Syrup*

• 1/4 cup Rosé (either sparking or non-sparking, you may also experiment with other light alcoholic beverages e.g. prosecco and let me know how it goes!)
• 1/2 cup honey OR vegan alternative e.g. golden syrup or treacle

*PS - most of the alcohol gets boiled off during the syrup-making process, but if you’re concerned about consuming alcohol (e.g. for pregnant women or children), I’d recommend leaving the syrup to the side.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180C standard or 160C fan-forced. Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan greased with vegetable oil.

Non-vegan

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar, then whisk in milk and stir well. Pour in the melted butter and whisk everything together till combined.

Vegan

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar and salt, whisk to combine.

Add vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Pour the batter into the cake pan, and sprinkle berries over the batter.

Steps

1. Bake batter for 30 minutes.
2. While the cake is baking, make the syrup by combining rosé and honey in a saucepan over low heat. Watch the saucepan closely in this step to avoid over-boiling. The mixture should reduce and thicken slightly over 5-10 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, remove the cake from the oven and apply the syrup to its surface. For a richer taste, generously pour the syrup over the cake. For a lighter taste, brush a layer of syrup onto the surface of the cake using a silicon brush/spatula.
4. Bake the cake for another 5 minutes until golden brown.
5. Let cool and dust with icing sugar if desired, or have fun with the decorating and garnish with icing of your choice, edible flowers and extra berries.
6. Optional - create a berry sauce (non-vegan) to complement it by blending frozen berries, lemon juice, water and meringues (use up those Christmas leftovers!).
7. Serve and enjoy! Honestly, I like this cake warm or cold. Keep in the fridge up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.

Food can be so sentimental and I love cooking as a way to remind me of home, plus the added joy of sharing it with others. I’m excited to make more for our flower-making workshops this season. I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know what you think if you try it!