I looked at this recipe several times before deciding that it might be a good one. The fact that it includes olive oil on the ingredients list threw me off at first, but my curiosity got the better of me and I am grateful for it. It was an exceptional good cake with a lot of flavor and a very soft texture. Yes, it asks for a lot of honey, but in the end it was just the right amount. I can't seem to find a tube cake pan in Denmark, which I think would benefit this cake a lot. Something like this:

(Note: image from: http://cozinheiraprimeiraviagem.blogspot.com.)

I noticed that the sides of the cake baked a lot faster than the middle part, which could be solved with a pan like the one in the photo resulting in a moister cake.

And on the subject of cakes, the following quote from 1945 can be found on this chapter’s introduction:

“A feitura dum bolo é a mais feminina de todas as actividades caseiras da mulher."

Which can be translated to:

“The baking of a cake is the utmost feminine of all of women’s home activities.”

That is beautiful.

Ingredients (12 servings)

• 5 eggs
• 250g (2 cups) flour
• 250g (1 1/4 cup) sugar
• 300mL (1 1/2 cup) honey
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• zest of half a lemon
• pinch of ground cloves

Instructions (Time: 50 minutes)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease a baking pan with butter and sprinkle some flour on it. 

Beat the eggs with the sugar until thick.

Add the olive oil and the honey and mix well until you have an uniform batter.

Add the zest of the lemon and the cloves.

Mix well. Add the flour and the baking powder and beat the batter until the bubbles start to rise.

Transfer the batter to the baking pan (see description for pan’s details) and bake for 40 minutes.

For the first 20 minutes you should place an aluminium foil sheet on top of the baking pan. Use a toothpick to check if the cake is baked in the middle. 

Serve as it is or add some extra honey.