Short and Sweet : COOK’S TIPS

We had several queries from readers who were disappointed when Joan Nathan’s Star Bakery’s European Honey Cake recipe (“Rosh Hashana Begins Sweetly and With Hope,” Sept. 24) turned out to be only about 1 1/2 inches thick. Was the recipe correct? they wanted to know. Yes, it is a dense cake.

However, the Times Test Kitchen has some tips that do make a difference when making these honey cakes:

* Be sure you beat the eggs enough to incorporate some air before adding the other ingredients; just stirring them to combine the yolks and whites won’t do.

* Be sure you alternate adding the flour and the rum to the honey mixture. If the ingredients are added all at once, the cake will lose airiness.

* Use a loaf pan, not a round cake pan. This “cake” looks like a bread.