5 New Apple and Honey Desserts for Celebrating Rosh Hashanah
Ring in Jewish New Year with these sweet treats.
For many in the Jewish community, Rosh Hashanah is a time of celebration, self-reflection and prayer. Often lasting two days, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of Jewish New Year and ushers in the 10 holiest days of Judaism, ending with Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement. Like other New Year’s celebrations, certain foods are prepared in accordance with Rosh Hashanah. One of the most important dishes is apple slices dipped in honey, which symbolizes the wish for a sweet new year ahead. Inspired by this traditional combination, we rounded up five delicious ways to make apples and honey a part of this year’s celebration. From flaky baklava to spongey bundt cake, here are all of our favorites. Shanah Tovah!
Apple-Honey Bundt Cake (pictured above)
This delicious bundt cake is perfect for this fall holiday! Not only does it taste just like fall thanks to its warm combination of nutmeg, cardamom, allspice and shredded apples, it smells just like it too! Brushing the cake with a simple syrup made from water and honey before covering it with a yummy glaze made of even more honey, water and confectioners' sugar keeps each slice beautifully spongy and ultra-moist. It’s the ultimate sweet treat to pair with a hot pot of coffee or cup of tea at the end of the night.
Though you’ll use fewer walnuts and pistachios for this recipe than you typically would when making classic baklava, this fragrant apple-honey version is just as impressive. You’ll need a bit of time to assemble and bake it — plus three hours to soak it — but this one-of-a-kind dessert is totally worth the effort. Recipe developer Melissa Gaman sprinkles breadcrumbs in between her phyllo dough layers to keep them nice and crisp. The breadcrumbs also help absorb any excess juice that might leak out from the apples while they bake. Be sure to cut your baklava into triangles before placing it into the oven — doing so will help you avoid a big mess later on when you’re plating!
Chantell Quernemoen | Brett Quernemoen
“I know they’re going to be a hit,” Molly Yeh says about these glistening apple butter rolls. Having made them ourselves, we couldn’t agree more! Using almond milk to activate your yeast infuses your roll batter with a nuttiness that wonderfully compliments the rolls’ apple butter and almond paste filling. We couldn’t get enough of the decadent honey marzipan frosting, which can actually be made one day in advance and stored in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it!
Pies aren’t just for Thanksgiving; in fact this apple-honey one is so scrumptious, you might be tempted to make it every weekend following your Rosh Hashanah celebration. Using buckwheat honey for the pie’s filling and topping infuses it with the same warm flavor customarily found in molasses. You’ll also use an assortment of apples like Golden Delicious, Fuji and Honeycrisp to make the filling, so be sure to keep this recipe close by for the start of apple picking season.
Olive oil cake often gets pushed to the sidelines because of its subtle flavor. Thanks to this light and airy recipe, however, it’ll quickly become your dessert MVP. We can’t get enough of the accompanying honeyed apples. To make them, recipe developer Steve Jackson coats chopped Granny Smith apples in an aromatic syrup made from — you guessed it — honey, lemon zest, dry white wine and vanilla.
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