Acclaimed baker Zoe Kanan’s grandmother Helen was an unlikely Texan. A born-and-bred New Yorker, she moved to Houston to be near her daughter and granddaughter — and Jim, not the son-in-law she expected. One year, with a sprained wrist, Helen was forced to hand over the Rosh Hashanah cooking duties to 10-year-old Zoe and Jim, an Irish Catholic former punk rocker whose attempt at homemade gefilte fish included jalapeño. 

Try Zoe’s riff on Helen’s honey cake recipe here.