LOTR | Helm’s Deep Honey-Cider Cake

Hail, Geeky Gluttons, Fans of Tolkien! If you are now joining us, my husband and I like to lounge-out New Year’s Day over a Lord of the Rings Trilogy marathon in our jammies with friends. That’s right. After a night partying like Merry and Pippin on Bilbo’s birthday, we watch all three films in their extended 12-hour glory while binging on Tolkien-esque treats like Merry and Pippin after the battle of Isengard. I’ve already posted up recipes for Peregrin Took’s Carrot Seed-Cakes and Legolas’s Mirkwood Lembas. Today I finish out our Middle Earth Menu with a recipe for a Honey-Cider Cake in remembrance of the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

Click here to skip to the recipe for Helm’s Deep Honey Cider Cake.

Helm’s Deep, Fortress of Rohan

So I admit it was a good long time since I’ve read the Two Towers to remember the stark differences between the book and the movie regarding the Hornberg Fortress of Helm’s Deep. In the books, Helm’s Deep serves as a fortress and battlefield during the War of the One Ring, its women and children taking up shelter in Dunharrow — away from the fighting. The film’s King Théoden has everyone holing up in these caverns under the threat of 10,000 roaring Uruk-hai. No wonder Ian Mckellan Gandalf is pissed!

To give the filmmakers credit, they probably have a few storytelling-based reasons behind this change. Courage is one of the driving themes behind Lord of the Rings. Tolkien also bases Rohan on the Anglo-Saxons whose traditions included boasting, bravery in combat, loyalty, and sacrificing one’s life for glory. We also see Théoden waking up from Saramun’s possession to find his son dead. What we see is Théoden’s reaction to feeling helpless and unable to protect his people. It is his attempt to fulfill his responsibility as King and either save Rohan or go down gloriously fighting.

Courage is meaningless, though, without hope. The film’s Théoden realizes this but doesn’t have much of his own in the current circumstances. Banking on the story of his predecessor, King Helm Hammerhand, who had weathered the Long Winter under siege from the Dunlendings during the third age, he attempts to assuage a sense of hope in his people against Saruman’s forces. Even if Théoden cannot preserve his people’s lives, he can at least defend their values by giving them a death worthy of songs.

Feast with The Rohirrim

I wanted this recipe to reflect what the Rohirrim could serve following the battle of Helm’s Deep in celebration of victory, but also in remembrance of the fallen. Since the books and film both reference King Hammerhand’s stay in the long winter, it’s safe to assume that the fortress holds a well-stocked larder of slow-perishable items. That’s why I chose to whip out my Nordicware Castle Cake Pan and make a cake using two things that last for ages: honey and apples.

Apples held a strong significance in many of the Germanic tribal traditions and religions other than just the Anglo-Saxons. The Norse held them as a symbol of immortality. The Celts and early Britons associated them with the Isle of Avalon and regarded them as symbols of rebirth. Apple trees also mark the entrance to the otherworld. I decided to assemble an army of apples in this recipe: apple cider, granny smith apples, apple butter, and apple cider vinegar.

Since mead and cider are both choice Anglo-Saxon drinks, toasted this cake with a ton of honey. To add another note of remembrance, I added fresh rosemary — an herb associated with it that also lasts long into the winter. I also mixed in some fresh thyme — an herb thought to ward off negativity.

Once again, this recipe can also be made gluten-free with 1-to-1 gluten-free flour. I did this for one of my friends attending our party. Now if gluten-sensitivities are not an issue and you want your cake to come out a little less battle-worn than mine did, use baking spray. Baking spray contains the slightest bit of flour that will make the cake more easily release from the pan.

Sing for Your Supper!

If you plan to cook the recipe off the site, keep scrolling. However, while access to recipes on the blog will always be free, I now have printable PDF recipe cards and thematic cook-along Spotify playlists as rewards for those who choose to support the blog.

The printable recipe card and playlist for Helm’s Deep Honey-Cider Cake will be available as a $2 donor reward on my Ko-Fi page until January 31st, 2019, at 8 pm EST.

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“May this be the hour when we draw swords together.”