Classic Honey Cake Recipes

HONEY CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 340°F/170°C. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom/nutmeg. Set aside.
• In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, and honey on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. On low speed and with the mixer running, slowly add the oil and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Turn off mixer. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the coffee/tea in 2 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Beat until smooth. Do not over mix.
• Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too fast while baking, cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
• The cake tastes better a day after it's made. It's best served at room temperature. Cake will keep for 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

CLASSIC HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Melt the honey, 50g of butter, 1 glass of sugar on the water bath. Continuously stir and make it sit melted for 5 mins until it is fully combined. Add the soda, and stir for one minute more.
• 2. Set aside the honey batter from the water bath and let it cool for 2-3 mins. Add 2 eggs, stir quickly with a whisk, and then add 350g of flour so far the eggs aren't curdled. Stir the pastry well and then put in into the freezer.
• 3. Put the pastry out of the freezer; divide it into 8 parts of the same size. Shape every piece in a ball and put them into freezer one more time. Heat oven to 200C.
• 4. Put one ball out of the freezer, roll it out on the flat work surface dusted with flour. It should be shaped as a thin circle.
• 5. Use the bottom of the round plate of spring form pan to trace a circle of pastry. Remove the trimmings and set them aside.
• 6. Line the baking tray with baking parchment, put the pastry on it, and round it with pastry trimmings. Bake for 3-5 mins.
• 7. Meanwhile the one layer is in oven, you should make the second one and prepare it to be baked. Make the 8 more layers. Put them aside and cool.
• 8. Combine half of a glass of milk, 1 egg, a glass of sugar, and 30g of flour. Bring the remaining milk to the boil. Pour the warm milk into the egg batter, and stir it well. Cook the cream until it is dense.
• 9. Add the vanilla sugar to the cream, stir and set aside from heat. Add 50g of soften butter, and whip the cream with whisk. Cool the cream.
• 10. Poke the pastry layers with forks therefore they will soak in the cream better. Spread the cream (2-3 tablespoon for every layer) over the pastry layers, and put them one upon one. Generously coat the top and every side of the cake with cream.
• 11. Crumble the pastry trimmings up. Sprinkle the top and sides of the honey cake with them.
• 12. Put the honey cake in a cool place for a night (at least 8 hrs).

HONEY CAKE III

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, honey, oil, eggs and orange zest. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the orange juice, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

OLD WORLD HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Beat the eggs and sugar together until they turn light, approximately five minutes.
• Then beat in the oil, honey, and coffee to the egg mixture.
• Sift the dry ingredients, and add them to the egg mixture with stirring, along with the almonds and raisins.
• Oil 2 9-inch loaf pans line the bottom with wax paper, then oil again.
• Fill each pan until approximately 1" from the top.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 65-75 minutes, or until the cakes test done.
• Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pans. Coat with glaze.
• Directions: Boil liquid ingredients until thick watch carefully honey will burn. Remove from heat, and pour over cake.

RUSTIC HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-in. cast-iron skillet., In a large bowl, beat butter and honey until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in yogurt and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture. Transfer batter to prepared skillet., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Serve with fruit, additional honey and, if desired, chopped pistachios., Freeze option: Securely wrap cooled cake in foil; freeze. To use, thaw at room temperature and top as directed.

RUSSIAN HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Trace circles around a 9-inch pie or cake pan onto 12 baking-sheet-size pieces of parchment paper. Set aside.
• Make a water bath: Fill a small saucepan with 1 inch of water, and set over medium heat.
• Place 3/4 cup of honey in a 2-quart saucepan, and set over high heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium. After about 3 minutes, the honey will begin to foam intensely. Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, keep a close eye on the honey. Cook until it begins to smoke, then turn off the heat and carefully add water. Allow the honey to sputter until it stops bubbling. Whisk to combine, and pour into a heatproof measuring cup with a spout, then place in prepared water bath to keep honey liquid.
• Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water, and bring to a simmer. Combine 1/4 cup burned honey, 3/4 cup honey, sugar and butter in a large metal mixing bowl, and place over the pot of water.
• Crack eggs into a small bowl, and set aside. Stir together baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon sea salt and cinnamon in a separate small bowl.
• When the butter has melted, whisk the honey mixture to combine. Use your finger to test the temperature of the mixture. When it's warm, add the eggs while whisking. When the mixture returns to the same temperature, add the cinnamon mixture, and continue whisking for another 30 seconds. The batter will begin to foam and emit a curious odor. Remove the bowl from the heat, and allow it to cool until it's warm.
• Place the flour in a fine-mesh sieve, and sift over the batter in three batches, whisking to incorporate the flour completely with each addition. The batter should be completely smooth. The batter will spread more easily when it's warm, so pour half into a small bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot, such as atop the preheating oven.
• Place a piece of parchment tracing-side-down on a baking sheet, and spoon in a heaping 1/3 cup of batter. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the batter to the edges. It will seem like just barely enough batter; do your best to get the layer even and perfectly circular. Repeat with remaining layers until you're out of pans, and then continue with remaining batter and parchment sheets, laying batter circles out on a flat surface. You'll end up with 11 or 12.
• Bake as many layers at a time as possible, for 6 to 7 minutes, until the cake turns a deep caramel color and springs back at the touch. For the first round, set the timer for 4 minutes to rotate pans if needed to ensure even cooking. Check the cakes again at 6 minutes. Do not overbake!
• When each layer is done, slide the parchment off the pan to prevent overbaking. If reusing baking sheets while they are still hot, reduce cooking time to 5 to 6 minutes.
• When the cake layers are cool enough to handle, examine them. If any spread outside the traced circles as they baked, use a sharp knife or pair of scissors to trim them. Before the cakes cool entirely, pull each one carefully from the parchment, then place back on the parchment on a flat surface, and allow to cool completely.
• When all the layers are baked, reduce the oven temperature to 250, and allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes. Return the least attractive layer (or 2, if you got 12) to a baking sheet, and place in the oven to toast until deep reddish brown and dry, about 15 minutes. Allow it to cool, then use a food processor to grind into fine crumbs. Cover and set aside.
• Place 1/2 cup burned honey, dulce de leche and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt into a medium bowl. Whisk by hand until combined, then slowly pour in 3/4 cup cream and mix until homogeneous. Chill until completely cooled, about 30 minutes.
• Pour 4 cups heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer, and affix whisk attachment. Whip at medium speed to soft peaks, about 6 minutes, then add honey mixture and whip frosting to medium stiff peaks. If your mixer holds less than 5 quarts, make frosting in 2 batches and then combine in a large bowl, or use a large bowl and a hand mixer.
• Assemble the cake on a 10-inch cardboard circle or flat serving plate. Place a cake layer in the center of the cardboard, then spoon a heaping cup of frosting onto the center. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly, leaving a 1/4-inch ring unfrosted around the edge. Place the next layer atop the frosting, center it and continue as above. Don't be afraid to manhandle the cake to align the layers as you continue stacking. If necessary, make up for any doming in the center by spreading more frosting to the outer half of each layer than the inner half. After you place the 10th layer, spread another scant cup of frosting over the top. Use any leftover frosting to smooth out the sides of the cake, but don't fret if the edges of some cake layers poke through the frosting. Sprinkle the top and sides with cake crumbs.
• Chill overnight. Serve chilled. Cake can be made up to two days in advance. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. and generously butter a 12-cup bundt pan.
• Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cloves. In a small bowl lightly beat eggs. Make a well in center of flour mixture and add eggs with remaining ingredients, whisking until combined well.
• Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 20 minutes and turn out onto rack to cool completely. Cake may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.