Callum Liddicoat's burnt butter, rosemary, thyme and honey cake

This moist delicious cake is one of the Park Hyatt Auckland's executive pastry chef's go-to recipes, which he sometimes eats for breakfast with crispy bacon, but it's equally good with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Ingredients

500g	unsalted butter, chopped (for the burnt butter)
3	large sprigs rosemary
8	sprigs thyme
270g	honey
125g	milk
2 eggs	lightly beaten
10g	vanilla extract
300g	self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp	baking soda
100g	caster sugar

Swiss buttercream icing

200g	egg whites (approx 7 eggs)
250g	caster sugar
425g	butter, at room temperature

Directions

1. For the Swiss buttercream icing: Place the egg white and caster sugar in a mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water and whisk until the mix is hot, the sugar has dissolved, and the egg mix is fluffy.
2. Place the bowl on the mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk until the mix is thick fluffy and then cool.
3. Once the mixture is cooled, start to add your cubed butter slowly. The mixture will drop and look like a hot mess but keep adding the butter and your buttercream will come around and end up being thick fluffy and ready to use.
4. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 160C .
5. Prepare a 20cm cake tin or a good size loaf tin.
6. Place butter, rosemary and thyme in a pot and turn into burnt butter stage – strain straight away and discard herbs.
7. In a large bowl put 100g of the burnt butter, honey, milk, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
8. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar and whisk until smooth.
9. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes (don't open oven for the first 40 minutes). Once baked, take out and let sit for 5 minutes.
10. Bring the remaining butter to a simmer and pour or brush over the top of the cake. Once the cake has cooled flip on to a cake rack. Spread the Swiss buttercream icing on the top. Best eaten at room temperature.