Honey Cake

HONEY-CAKE

“In most parts of Central Europe the honey-cake baker has been done in by the more sophisticated pastries provided by the sugar-baker. But small numbers of stubbornly traditional honey-cake bakers survive in Hungary, still kneading honey into their flour and still forcing the dough into hand-carved antique wooden molds. The thick, malleable dough retains the imprint of the design through the baking process. The cakes were the original predecessors of today’s picture magazines and art reproduction books; in times past they were the only graphic art circulating among the common people. They were decorative, long lasting, and whenever one finally got tired of the picture, one had the pleasure of eating it.” (Joseph Wechsberg, The Cooking of Vienna’s Empire, Time Inc., New York, 1968)

The making of honey-cakes was known since ancient times. The round and flat form point to ancient pastry offerings. Hungarian pilgrims to Aachen probably introduced the craft of making honey-cakes in Germany at the time of Lajos the Great in the 14th century. In neighboring Köln honey-cakes are still made. In the 16th and 17th centuries a more elaborate style of molds was developed in Nürnberg (Germany), therefore it is suggested erroneously, that honey-cake baking came to Hungary from the West. The shapes and decoration of the honey-cake molds made in Hungary are typically Hungarian.

The craft of making honey-cakes belongs to the branch of woodcarving. The craftsmen themselves carved the designs in reverse, about 6-8 mm deep, into pear-wood. The carved honey-cake molds show a high degree of artistry. In earlier times they were of religious character, which also proves that they were used as offerings to particular saints on holidays or special occasions. Later, molds displaying herdsmen, outlaws, soldiers, dancing couples, babies, animals, horses in trappings and even politicians in clothing of the time became more popular. To this day the most favored shape is the heart. Some times the mystical numbers three and eight were carved into the mold, symbolizing the relationship between a girl and a young man.

Honey-cakes were made of boiled honey, sugar and flour. The dough was pressed into the carved mold, dried and baked. The carvings were so beautiful, that the cakes did not need any other decoration. Today the shapes are cut out of the dough, painted red and decorated with colored sugar, pictures and mirrors. They have no artistic value at all. The beautifully carved molds of earlier times are almost forgotten.

However, the honey-cake vendor is still a favorite at any fair in Hungary. His “merchandise”, a small token of friendship and love, is a charming gift for anybody. And there will always be children and lovers who never cease to cherish his honey-cakes.

Emese Kerkay

American Hungarian Museum, No. 7, 1991