Torte per colazione – ginger, lemon and honey cake

December is a time of celebration and as the year draws to a close, many of us are planning our Christmas feasts, buying or making presents and spending time celebrating with family and friends. I am very much looking forward to spending some time in the kitchen, trying a few new recipes and preparing food that makes me happy – such as simple cakes, the ones that work every time you make them and the ones that go well with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning Italian-style. So I am continuing with the breakfast cake (torte per colazione) series that I started a couple of months ago with a torta di pere frullate (breakfast pear cake); and today I made a butter-free cake that uses the last of the lemons from mamma’s trees, plus a good dose of ginger and honey.

I based my recipe on one I found on this blog, altering some of the proportions and pouring the batter into a bundt tin that belonged to my mother. Using the tin always reminds me of her and I will take a slice or two when I visit her tomorrow – she is not a big fan of ginger though even at 89 years of age, she is willing to try new tastes and I bet this will be right up her alley. I love the softness of this cake and as I used Manuka honey, it has a sweet but slightly floral taste that works beautifully with the warming ginger and the lemon – and it works even better with a side of breakfast coffee. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to take photos using the red bougainvillea that my friend Verdi had given me on Saturday. It is such a gorgeous colour, vibrant and Christmas-like – for Christmas in Australia that is.