A light, tender honey sponge, baked golden and dusted with sugar, often served with fresh berries: a soft Adyghe tea cake.
Chenchekhalyu (Honey Sponge)
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C and line a round tin.
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar to a thick, pale foam.
- Warm the honey until runny and whisk it in.
- Fold in the flour, soda and salt gently, keeping the air.
- Pour into the tin and bake 30–35 minutes until springy.
- Cool, dust with powdered sugar, and serve with berries.
Fold the flour, don't stir: knocking out the air makes the sponge dense.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Kitchen words in Circassian
The words for what is in this dish, in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), with audio from the Circassian app’s lessons and audio course.
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| honey | фоfo | шъоуshow |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchəghu |
| food | шхынshkhyn | шхыныshkhənə |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу'eshIu |
| This is delicious! | Мыр IэфIщ!Myr 'ef'shch! | Мыр IэшIу!Myr 'esh'u! |
More sweets & drinks
Free on iPhone & Android
53 Circassian recipes in your pocket
Every recipe in English, Russian and Turkish, with a servings scaler, plus short Kabardian and Adyghe lessons.
4.9 on the App Store 50,000+ people in 100+ countries
Chenchekhalyu: questions
How long does it take to make Chenchekhalyu?
About 50 minutes, according to the recipe in the Circassian app.
How many people does this Chenchekhalyu recipe serve?
It serves 8. The servings control above the ingredients recalculates every quantity for 1 to 40 people.
What is Chenchekhalyu made of?
The ingredients are: 4 eggs; 3/4 cup sugar; 3 tbsp honey; 1.5 cups flour; 1 tsp baking soda; pinch of salt; berries and powdered sugar, to serve.
Is Chenchekhalyu an everyday or a festive dish?
The Circassian app files it as a festive dish (Sweets & Drinks).
Where does this Chenchekhalyu recipe come from?
From the Recipes section of the Circassian app. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section, recipe “Chenchekhalyu (Honey Sponge)” (recipe data last changed July 2026). The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Circassian app: audio course, Kabardian and Adyghe (the kitchen words: cheese, meat, milk, bread, tea, water, food, delicious), and the lessons’ vocabulary (chicken, salt, butter, honey).
53 Circassian recipes in one app
Circassian chicken, Adyghe cheese, haliva and 50 more, in English, Russian and Turkish, with servings you can scale. Plus short lessons in Kabardian or Adyghe.
Download free50,000+ people in 100+ countries
