In preparation for Our Little Delos Noumenia rite I’ve been reading up on the types of offerings given to the gods. I want to try making offering cakes. They’re a type of honey cake with ingredients that are commonly offered tot he gods, such as barley, wheat, milk, and honey. I want to make an attempt at making them, though they’ll have to wait to make them with all the grain ingredients because I’m not sure where to acquire whole wheat and barley flour. I called Fairborn Natural Foods (937-878-7649) at 146 N. Broad St. and talked to a really nice lady there. She just put in an order for me for barley flour, and said she’ll call me when it comes in. That’s so exciting. This is the recipe I would like to start with, though after I make it once it may get modified:

• 1 1/2 c. spelt or whole wheat flour
• 1 c. barley flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. milk (goat’s milk or buttermilk may also be used)
• 1/4 c. honey
• Optional flavoring: 1 tbsp. rose water or 1 tsp. vanilla, almond, or lemon extract
• Optional additions: sesame, poppy, or sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350 F. and lightly oil a cookie sheet. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flours and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, mix one egg, milk, honey, and any flavorings until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and knead into a firm dough, adding more flour as necessary. Form cakes by hand, or roll out and cut into shapes. Place on cookie sheet. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush the tops of the cakes with it. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Bake 15-20 minutes for small cakes and 25-30 for large ones, or until done. Makes 2 small or 4 large cakes.

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For this Noumenia I think I will be making just simple honey cakes with the flour I’ve got, using this recipe:
For the cake:

• 4 cups sifted flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 T caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 egg white

For the topping:

• 1 cup honey (heather)
• 3 T ground almonds

Rub the butter into the flour, and gently heat the sugar and honey until it is well mixed, then stir in the baking powder. Add this to the flour mixture, alternately with the egg yolks beaten with the milk. Mix very well, and finally add the salt and mix again. Roll out on a floured board very lightly and cut into rounds or shapes. Put on a greased baking sheet and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F) for about 20 minutes. Remove to a rack, paint the tops with lightly beaten egg white, and spread over the thick honey mixed with the ground almonds. Put in a very cool oven for no longer than 5 minutes to set. Eat either hot or cold. An alternative method is to serve these light little cakes hot from the oven with warm, melted heather honey poured over. Makes approx. 24 cakes.