Having just made the banana bread with streusel with my new mini loaf pans, I felt like making something else in small loaves. So I found these honey tea cakes in the Miette cookbook, and since I like honey, they sounded like as good a recipe as any to try next.
Who would’ve thought that honey would go with small little loaves of pound cake, though? It’s as if somebody were trying to make something special out of something ordinary…
“Wait so let me get this straight, God destroyed two cities just because they were having too much anal sex?”
“Yeah, I think that’s what happened.”
“Wow, imagine if that happened today. The whole world would be in ruins!”
“And think of all the people who’d be like Lot’s wife, who would turn back to look because they were curious to see the anal sex. Everyone would either be buried under rubble, or turned into pillars of salt! I know I would’ve been one of the first to get turned into salt, there’s nothing hotter than people getting it on through their butts…”
Gary Lum, Jr. was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation. He could see his gay friend Leo’s eyes growing larger, his pulse quickening as he talked about anal sex. He was beginning to incorporate hand gestures. And Gary just wasn’t into that. He did have a girlfriend, and he considered himself totally straight.
“Haven’t you ever thought about it, Gary? What it would be like?”
“Umm… not really,” Gary answered, squirming in his chair while he crinkled his nose. “It just doesn’t really interest me that much.”
As the words escaped his mouth, he felt a pang of guilt inside. As if he felt in his heart a tiny speck of interest that he dare not verbalize, not even to the one man on this earth he was close enough to to tell.
Gary left Leo’s place and drove over to his girlfriend’s home. Jen lived in a townhouse that was much closer to work than his apartment was, so Gary often stayed over. Tonight was one of those nights. A comfortable kiss was their greeting, and they snuggled together on the couch soon after, relaxing in front of the television. He had had a long day, what with work, then practicing with his dance group, the Consortium of Exceptional Performers, and then going over to Leo’s place to catch up and have a couple of drinks.
But, like any other man, he also had physical needs that he needed fulfilled before the day was over. He gently coaxed Jen upstairs to her bedroom, where they fell onto the bed together, lips locked together in a passionate embrace. Her top easily slid off of her, and there she was, her bra-covered breasts beckoning him like two headlights shining straight into his face. His tongue went deeper into her mouth, as he reached around her to unclasp her bra. In one swift motion that he could now do in his sleep like a dance move he had practiced a thousand times with the Consortium of Exceptional Performers, he undid the clasp and the bra fell to her waist. With unfettered access to her ample breasts, he fondled them with both hands, demonstrating an ambidexterity that otherwise never surfaced.
She reciprocated, tugging up his shirt until his head and arms escaped it. She ran her hands across his smooth, hairless chest, reminding herself that yes, she had made the right choice in staying with an Asian man, despite her friends’ insistence that there was a whole world out there of non-Asian men to explore. But like attracts like, and she liked what she got with Gary. Handsome. Caring. Maybe a little bit of a mama’s boy. But he’s Taiwanese, what can you do?
Both of them topless, Gary aimed to get ahead, unbuckling Jen’s pants and sliding them off of her in one continuous motion like a choreographed dance. Soon after, as she ran the fingers of one hand around his chiseled six-pack, she unbuckled his pants with the other, his throbbing erection visible underneath, poking against the front of his boxer shorts. The front of her panties moistened perceptibly, the sight of her man’s arousal causing her heart to start beating like a hummingbird’s. He reached his fingers underneath the waistband of her panties, exploring the entrance to her sex, gently stimulating her clitoris that was now engorged with blood.
She moaned and threw her head back unconsciously, as she reached through the hole in his underwear to grasp his member. He let out a low, guttural moan as she started stroking it up and down. The fabrics impeding their actions, he tore off her panties while she yanked off his boxers, and they sat facing each other, wearing nothing but the intense expressions on their faces. Their lips darted at each other with magnificent force, but as if they had practiced it hundreds of times before, they softly met in the middle, as their tongues both extended into each other’s mouths. The back-and-forth gestures being performed on the other’s genitals got more urgent, as their natural lubrications were becoming visible like sweat on the outside of a cold drink.
The moment of penetration was inescapable. Without exchanging a single word, they assumed the missionary position, restarting their passionate kissing as he thrust his penis into her with the intensity of a cheetah lunging toward its prey. Lubrication abound, the insertion was effortless, skin gliding against skin, blood rushing towards their groins. Their moans seemed to be synchronized, their voices amplifying each other as they approached their crescendo of pleasure. Body fluids went from a trickle to a stream, their nether regions gushing like leaky faucets with a purpose.
The rhythmic creaks from the bed were happening more frequently, as Gary’s thrusting became more urgent. Jen could see the fire in his eyes. The intensity. His stare went right through her, his gaze piercing her inner soul. As if there were some transference of sensation between them, simultaneously the orgasmic feelings whose pleasures were unparalleled began in their groins. Their body temperatures rose in tandem, their cries reaching a fever pitch while the bed creaked as if it could give out at any moment.
Jen wrapped her legs tightly around Gary’s back, as she angled her pelvis to get maximal penetration from his throbbing tool. She was nearing her climax, and she wanted every last bit of her man inside of her, reaching the right spots in the far reaches of her vagina. She screamed out like a monkey in estrus, her nails digging into her man’s back as the extreme release of energy had nowhere to go. As her vagina pulsated around his phallus, Gary also let out a primal scream, shooting gobs of his semen deep into the recesses of Jen’s vagina. The pulsations seemed interminable, as squirt after squirt came out, the juice of life shooting out of an abundant fountain.
Before his penis had even lost a hint of turgidity, Gary withdrew it from his girlfriend, completely spent from their lovemaking session. Jen, tired from her long day and the passion she had just experienced, rolled over and seemed to instantly fall asleep, going against everything she wanted to do postcoitally. Gary sat on the edge of the bed as she slept, looking out through the window. The carnal delights he had with his girlfriend were like no other, and yet, he kept thinking back to his conversation with Leo. Despite how uncomfortable it made him, there was something strangely enticing about it. The mystery. The novelty. The forbidden territory yet unexplored.
Gary left his faithful girlfriend to rest in slumber, as he put on his clothes and got into his car. He drove back to Leo’s place. He knew that he would be up, being the night owl he was. Leo came to the door and greeted him with a big smile. “What brings you back?” he asked.
Without saying a word, Gary closed the door behind him and threw his lips onto Leo’s. It was the first time he had even kissed a man, and yet he seemed so unafraid, so uninhibited. Leo had secretly fantasized about this several times in the past. But he thought it would never happen with his straight friend. How could he not fantasize about this man, though? Tall, handsome, a great dancer, with great abs to boot.
Somehow they found themselves naked on Leo’s bed, Leo on top of Gary, rubbing his nipples while his tongue explored his mouth. Gary’s girlfriend never did it quite like this. But Leo, being a man, understood how to please another. Their muscled chests rubbed against each other while Gary just lost himself in the moment, allowing his old friend to pleasure him in ways he never imagined he would allow another man to.
Leo seemed to be able to read Gary’s mind when it came to things that he liked having done to his body. Despite having had sex less than an hour ago, he was once again producing his natural lubrication, and still in abundance. It was soon time for the act that intrigued Gary, the act that he never thought he would allow himself to experience. Leo penetrated him, sending sensations through Gary he had never before experienced. His mind went blank. His thoughts seemed to explode into the air, as if Gary had shot them out of his head to make room for whatever feelings were about to rush in. Any hesitation and restraint he had minutes before were now gone, and he allowed himself to feel the pleasure of Leo’s hand stroking his penis.
Fully relaxed, eyes closed, Gary could feel himself reaching that familiar plateau of elation, only this time he was being penetrated. Leo’s strokes grew more urgent as he could feel his friend nearing his climax, and soon he was having his second orgasm in the span of an hour, the joys of being a young healthy man with libido to spare. Instead of going into his girlfriend’s vagina, his semen shot onto his own chest, the warm, sticky sensation feeling strangely comforting in this unexplored territory. Leo’s moans were growing louder, and he pulled out of Gary’s rectum immediately before ejaculating all over his chest.
The enormity of what just happened struck Gary, as he lay on Leo’s bed with both of their fluids on his chest. He had just allowed his closest male friend to insert his penis into his rectum. And he liked it. What did it mean? What about Jen? He cleaned himself up and bolted out of Leo’s place in a panic.
Jen was fast asleep, just the way she had been when he left for Leo’s place. He crawled into bed, head spinning, and fell asleep from exhaustion.
Racked with guilt and confusion, Gary wasn’t himself the next day. His girlfriend was hosting a party, and he had been charged with making a cake-like food as a side dish. How could he concentrate on baking when he had just had gay sex?
But it had to be done. Otherwise she would be hopping mad, and probably wouldn’t sleep with him. For Gary, like for many other men, the fear of sex withholding was a great motivator. So he whipped up some rich pound cake batter, with butter, egg yolks, sugar, and flour. Jen had some cute little loaf pans in the kitchen that she adored, so he poured the batter into those to make some small pound cake loaves. He put them on a tray, which he slid into the oven to bake.
While they were baking in the oven, he puttered around the kitchen, trying to keep his mind off of the sexual encounter he had last night with Leo. He thought that if he shoved the feelings he was having about it down far enough in his psyche, he could keep them there until he was ready, and they would surface, one at a time, just slowly enough that he could deal with them. But he wasn’t strong enough to deal with them. Not now. He reached into the cupboard and grabbed the first thing he could find, which was a bottle of clover honey. Honey would make a great sauce for the otherwise plain pound cakes, he thought to himself. He had to occupy himself with work. A honey sauce would gild the lily just enough to impress Jen without making it seem like he was trying to hard to repress something. Something like having a penis in his butt.
He warmed up the honey in a small pot and thinned it out with a bit of water. It made a beautiful, light amber syrup, drizzling so smoothly off of his spoon. The timer went off, and he pulled out his small cakes. They were baked to perfection, the toothpick coming out clean, but they were so soft, so moist to the touch. He drizzled his honey syrup over the top of each small cake, the pans sizzling slightly as the sweet liquid hit them around the edges of the loaves.
Jen was delighted at her boyfriend’s creation. It was the perfect accompaniment to the tea she was serving. Her friends would love it. She thought she had the best boyfriend in the world. And Gary wanted her to keep thinking that.
That was really fortunate that honey happened to be the first thing in the cupboard. Imagine if it were like… ketchup or something.
Anyway, onto the recipe.
Honey Tea Cakes
from the Miette cookbook
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Honey Syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons water
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Butter and flour four 5×3-inch or two 8×4-inch loaf pans.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir together the egg yolks, whole eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla extract.
- Mix together the flour mixture and the 1 1/2 cups sugar.
- Add the butter and half of the egg mixture, and beat until combined.
- Add the remaining egg mixture and beat until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the loaf pans.
- Bake at 350F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes for the small loaves, or 35 to 40 minutes for the larger ones.
- While the loaves are baking, make the honey syrup by warming up the honey and then diluting it with the water.
- When they come out of the oven, brush the tops or drizzle with the honey syrup.
- Let the loaves cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before inverting the cakes onto a wire rack and wrapping them in plastic wrap once cool.
The original recipe said 20 to 25 minutes for the smaller loaves, which wasn’t nearly enough time for me, since they took about 35 minutes in my oven.
The dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.
The batter after adding the butter, eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. It’s a nice yellow color from all the egg yolks.
Here’s my attempt at evenly dividing the batter between the loaf pans.
While they were in the oven, I prepared the honey syrup.
After about 35 minutes, they’re done.
This might look exactly the same as the last picture, but now they have honey syrup poured on top.
They rose quite a bit. I think there might be a tad too much baking powder.
The inside was nice and soft, though I couldn’t really taste the honey. Maybe it evaporated. It did taste like a nice rich pound cake.
Unfortunately, these cakes dried out fairly quickly. I’m not sure if wrapping them more tightly than I did would help, but I’m sure eating them quickly would.