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My moist and sweet honey cake is an easy dessert you can make for any occasion. With glistening honey on top and a fluffy, moist crumb, it’s sure to impress!
Love baking with honey? Try my baklava cheesecake, tanghulu, almond flour blueberry muffins, and flourless muffins next.
Whenever my famous honey cake lands on the table, my family can’t help but immediately reach for a slice! It’s been a childhood staple for me (my culture’s version of the standard yellow cake) and brings back so many memories whenever I indulge in a slice. It’s also super popular during Passover and Rosh Hashanah.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Perfect for honey lovers. If it wasn’t obvious enough, honey is the star of this recipe. It sweetens the cake, lends a captivating floral honey flavor, and gives every slice its irresistible shine and taste.
- The easiest dessert. Other honey cake recipes call for multiple steps and ingredients but not my one. Mix the batter in one bowl, bake, and enjoy!
- Versatile. I like to bake this as a pairing for coffee, but it works well as a post-dinner treat or sneaky breakfast, too.
Ingredients needed
- Honey. Any type of honey you like will be splendid in the cake, but I am partial to manuka honey or wildflower honey.
- Eggs. Remember to use room temperature eggs so the batter doesn’t separate and your cake bakes evenly.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor.
- Hot water. This thins the consistency of the cake batter and enhances the flavor.
- All-purpose flour. Nothing fancy is needed here. All-purpose flour will do the trick!
- Light brown sugar. Use brown sugar for the softest, most tender, and richly flavored honey cake. Otherwise, you can use white sugar or coconut sugar instead.
- Oil. Neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oil, makes this cake moist and delectable.
- Baking powder and baking soda. To help the cake rise.
- Salt. A pinch of salt does wonders to make the rest of the flavors shine.
- Ground cinnamon. For a warm and comforting flavor.
How to make a honey cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Pour in the hot water and mix to combine.
Step 2- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet mix. Stir to combine.
Step 3- Bake: Pour the mixture into a cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step 4- Decorate: Drizzle the rest of the honey syrup over the cake when it comes out of the oven. Let it cool, then slice and enjoy!
Arman’s recipe tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Remember to only fold the wet and dry ingredients together until no dry flour streaks remain. If you overmix the batter, your cake will turn out dense or gummy.
- Did your honey crystalize? No problem! To make it runny again, place the honey container in a saucepan filled with a little bit of water, then gently heat over low heat.
- Bake in a loaf pan to make a honey loaf cake.
- Make an almond honey cake. Sliced almonds + honey = love. Feel free to whip them into the batter, press them on top of the cake before baking, or sprinkle them on top as decoration (along with the honey drizzle).
- Add other spices and flavor boosters, like orange zest, lemon juice, orange juice, cardamom and cloves.
Storage instructions
To store: If you’re planning on saving the cake for leftovers, do not drizzle the remaining honey on top. Instead, let the cake cool, then wrap it or the individual slices in plastic or store them in airtight containers. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze: The cake or slices (without the honey on top) can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the leftovers in a layer of plastic or aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.
Frequently asked questions
For sure. Simply double the recipe and bake the batter in two 8-inch cake pans. Make a honey buttercream frosting or use any cream cheese frosting of choice.
If you swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free blend (that contains xanthan gum), this recipe is suitable for celiacs.
I haven’t tested it without eggs but you can experiment with an egg substitute and see. Because of the delicate structure of the cake, a pre-formulated egg replacer would be the best option (as opposed to a mashed banana or yogurt).
More simple cakes to try
Honey Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup honey divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or any neutral flavored oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180C/350F and grease an 8-inch round cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the honey, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs. Add the hot water and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle the remaining honey over the top.
- Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published October 2023, updated and republished October 2024
Could you use maple syrup instead of honey
Made this honey cake and my family loved it. Easy recipe and so delicious. Plan to make it again.
This cake is so delicious, I may “play” with the spicing a little the next time, I’m thinking of adding ginger and/or nutmeg to it. It was a very easy recipe to make, which helps me out on a chronic illness pain day. Will definitely make it again soon.
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By accident I put the full amount of honey in the batter. I noticed my mistake when I started to read the instructions. I knew it would be too much liquid, so I added another 1/4 cup of flour and the cake turned out perfect. I didn’t add any extra drizzle of honey on the cake since it was all in there already. It came out super moist and is delicious!!!! 100 percent I will make this again!
This seems very sweet-sugar, honey. What do you think, how big portion it should be?
Made this for a dinner party of fussy foodies. GONE! I did add a cup of raisins. Like good old fashioned spice cake from the 60s!
I made this cake many times and all the time it comes out great!!! Very easy recipe. It freezes beautifully.
Because I can never actually execute a recipe exactly as written, I did play just a little with this one. I added half a handful of dried cranberries, a pinch of nutmeg and substituted dark brown sugar for light…it was…perfect. Thanks so much for the best honey cake recipe I have seen anywhere.
I could have eaten this whole cake in one sitting that’s how delicious it is!!! I didn’t even drizzle it with extra honey and it was still to die for. Also it really is so quick and easy to make.
Very simple to prepare and delicious! Would also be good with the addition of chopped walnuts or pecans.
It tastes soooo good!! I love honey and this honey cake just hit the spot, it’s just heavenly
Great flavor, and I can see how all your suggestions will take it over the top. However, on my first try, using an 8″ round pan and baking for the indicated time, the cake was not cooked in the middle (though it appeared so). Second time, I used a 9″ round pan, and baked for 35-40 minutes, and it was perfect.
Have you successfully tried any gluten free flours in the honey cake?
You could try a gluten-free flour blend with added xanthan gum in it 🙂