A few days ago, someone emailed me asking me if I had a recipe for honey cake. You see, honey cake is something traditionally eaten on the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), which falls next week as eating honey is supposed to encourage a sweet New Year, doubly so if paired with apples.
But every honey cake I have been forced to try has been wretched (apologies if it was yours). They were dry and never sweet enough. They were coarse and totally unloved. And if I find myself at an occasion where I see a honey cake, well, I wonder why they didn’t ask me to make dessert instead, but then I steer clear of it just the same. This life is too short to eat terrible cake.
I said as much to this reader, and that’s when it hit me: Right, this is my job! This is what I do! I take things that I think are terrible and I try to find a better way to go about them. That’s why this person emailed me, right? (Sometimes I forget.) And seeing as I don’t dislike honey, and I don’t hate spices and I don’t hate tradition or the Jewish New Year, well, it was time.
I did a bit of research and learned that there was a recipe out there by one cookbook author Marcy Goldman that everyone is quite mad for — in a good way. And I was feeling pretty good about the copious tastes I’d had of the batter (um, before remembering how much booze was in there and look at that! It’s party time in here!) when it went in the oven but then.
Well then something terrible skitted across the floor and I just don’t want to talk about it. I screamed–like movie starlet screamed, ungh–and dropped the spatula. And by the time I got off the phone with Alex [“Come home NOW. Come home NOW. Come home NOW.”] and somewhat talked myself off my I’m-leaving-NYC-and-never-coming-back ledge, I realized that the cakes had fallen in the oven.
And now, dear reader, I am torn as to whether this recipe needs to come with a warning. Was it my scream and the ensuing trauma that made the cakes fall? Are there issues with my baking soda (quite likely, it’s old as dirt)? Is there something wrong with this cake recipe? (I doubt this, nobody else who has mentioned it made reference to a sunken midsection.) Are you completely horrified that I shared this story (despite my mother asking me nicely to spare you our shameless details)?
I’ll tell you what I do know, though: This honey cake is perfect. It’s warmly spiced and crazy moist and soft and plush with a little crisp edge about the corners and if you know someone with a thing for honey cake, be they bringing in the year 5769 with revelry or not, you’ve got to wow them with this one. Concave or not, it is everything honey cake was once supposed to be, and with this recipe, might be again. [Note: The concavity of the cake has since been remedied, hooray.]
2023 Note: It has been fifteen years since I first shared this cake, which is crazy as I haven’t gotten any older at all. If you grew up with dry or bland and heavy honey cakes for Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish new year in which eating honey symbolizes our hopes for sweetness in the year ahead — Marcy Goldman’s honey cake is a dream: plush, fragrant and phenomenally delicious. Yes, it has 17 ingredients and yes they’re as seemingly random as orange juice, coffee, and whiskey but together they’re exceptional, as special as a cake you make once a year should be.
However, I’m long overdue to update the recipe with some of the minor changes I’ve made over the years, and to address ongoing questions and concerns (like the cake sinking, reference in the post). I hadn’t meant to make this cake approximately 10 times in a 6-week period, but hey, my apartment smells amazing and nobody minds. A rundown of notes, tweaks, and updates are at the end of the recipe.
Majestic and Moist Honey Cake
- 3 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (445 grams) all-purpose flour (see Note)
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (see Note)
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup (200 grams) vegetable or another neutral oil
- 1 cup (320 grams) honey
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (110 grams) light or dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (235 grams) warm coffee or strong tea (I use decaf)
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) fresh orange juice, apple cider, or apple juice
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) rye or whiskey, or additional juice
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) slivered or sliced almonds (optional)
Prepare pans: Generously grease pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray. Additionally, I like to line the bottom and sides of loaf pans with parchment paper for easier removal. For tube or angel food pans, line the bottom with parchment paper, cut to fit.
Heat oven: To 350°F.
Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, granulated sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee, juice, and rye. [If you measure your oil before the honey, it will be easier to get all of the honey out.]
Using a strong wire whisk or in an electric mixer on slow speed, stir together well to make a well-blended batter, making sure that no pockets of ingredients are stuck to the bottom.
Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using. Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (which helps the cakes bake evenly and makes it easier to rotate them on the oven rack).
Bake the cake(s): Until a tester inserted into a few parts of the cake comes out batter-free, about 40 to 45 minutes for a round, square, or rectangle cake pan; about 45 to 55 minutes for 3 loaf pans; 55 to 65 minutes for 2 loaf pans (as shown), and 60 to 75 minutes for tube pans.
Cool cake: On a rack for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. However, I usually leave the loaves in the pan until needed, as they’re unlikely to get stuck.
Do ahead: This cake is fantastic on day one but phenomenal on days two through four. I keep the cake at room temperature covered tightly with foil or plastic wrap. If I want to bake the cakes more than 4 days out, I’ll keep them in the fridge after the first 2 days. If you’d like to bake them more than a week in advance, I recommend that you freeze them, tightly wrapped, until needed. Defrost at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Notes:
- Size: These days, I bake this cake in two filled-out loaves, as shown, instead of 3 more squat ones. My loaf pans hold 6 liquid cups; they’re 8×4 inches on the bottom and 9×5 inches on the top; if yours are smaller, it might be best to bake some batter off as muffins, or simply use the 3-loaf option.
- Flour: After mis-measuring the flour many years ago and baking the cake with 2 tablespoons less flour and finding it even more plush and moist, I’ve never gone back. The recipe now reflects the lower amount.
- Baking powder: The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder, but I found that this large amount caused the cake to sink. From 2011 through 2023, I recommended using 1 teaspoon instead. But, after extensive testing this year, I’ve found that a higher amount — 1 3/4 teaspoons — keeps this cake perfectly domed every time, and even more reliably than the 1-teaspoon level.
- Salt: The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon but I prefer 1 teaspoon.
- Liquids: This is address the question that comes up in at least 30% of the 1115 comments to date: “What can I use instead of whiskey?” and/or “What can I use instead of coffee?” The original trifecta of liquids in this cake [coffee, orange juice, and whiskey] is unusual and wonderful together, and I still think the perfect flavor for this cake. But if you want to omit the whiskey, simply use more orange juice or coffee. If you want to omit the coffee, simply use tea. If you don’t want to use tea, use more juice. If you don’t want to use orange juice, my second choice liquid here would be apple cider (the fresh, not the fermented, kind), followed by apple juice. Apples and honey: It’s a whole thing!
- Sweetness: The recipe looks like it would taste assaulting sweet but you must trust me when I say it doesn’t. But, if you reduce the sugar, any one of them, you will have a cake that’s more dry. You can still dial it back, but do understand what the adjustment can do to the recipe.
- Flavor: Finally, this is every bit as much of a spice cake as it is a honey cake. Honey isn’t the most dominant flavor, but it’s one of many here that are harmonious and wonderful together. It smells of fall in a way that a simmer pot of $60 candle could never. I hope you get obsessed with it too.
Oh this is great – i was actually scouring the web for honey cake recipe today! You must have read my mind. The New Year is less than a week away – how did THAT happen?
The problem with sinking is not just the excess of baking soda that you did adjust. It is also because of ridiculous amount of liquid and almost half of the kg of sugar! I removed half of liquid and 3/4 of sugar and it came out fantastic! The recipe needs a serious adjustment.
Ugh I wish I had read this before I put it in the oven. Was thinking the same thing – so liquidy!! Will let you know how it turns out…
So his posted recioe been updated with the correct liquid measurements?? I sure wish someone would. I tried this cake 2 yrs in a row. Threw it out too dry. So upset. I used Spruce Eats recipe.Portions size of ingredients seemed better, but I hoped for help here. Looks like I cant make this anymore.Burned outside and inside (the fruits raisins )each time. So upsetting
Use the new recipe, it comes out super moist and the best honey cake. These cakes are called Lekach and i used to hate them because they were dry and bread like, this recipe is soft, pillowy, it’s great. It needs the liquids, just put it in a kitchen aid and mix it for 2-3 minutes, it because a texture of honey.
I’ve made it every year for over 5 years, exactly as written, and it’s perfect. No need to change the liquid or anything else.
I’ve made your Honey Cake each year since 2011. It’s always delicious and loved by everyone. I usually make cupcakes as well as a smallish loaf cake. They are easier to serve, especially to children!
However, there is a problem with today’s recipe . One and a half cups of granulated sugar weighs 300g not 150g.
About to make this. Did you do cups or grams of sugar?
About to make this cake. Rosh Hashanna is upon us! Is there a reply to Anne’s comment? I presume we go with cups of sugar & not worry about the grams ( error?) . Thanks
I’ve made this several times but not this most recent update. I only acquired a kitchen scale in the past year so I’ve used measurements, not weight. I use less sugar than the recipe calls for, nearly all the liquid (maybe about 1/8 c. less) and it’s delicious.
I live in the UK but if I am following a US recipe I use cups rather than grams even if they are given – I have found that it just works better that way.
I’ve been making this cake for years and it is the best honey cake I have ever tasted. It is a very liquid batter though (at least for me). I remember being a bit anxious when I read “spoon the batter into the pan” as it’s definitely a pouring batter and not a spooning batter.
I believe UK cups are 10 fl oz but in the US, they are 8 fl oz. Maybe that’s why your batter was very liquid?
I believe you are referencing the Imperial measure. It was used in Canada, the UK, Australia, etc. Canada converted to metric in 1975. The UK officially converted as well. I don’t know when. Still some people use the old measures or a combo. Also, in Canada at least, some dry measuring cups not manufactured in Canada exist and are used. I spend a lot of time adapting my measures when making US recipes. It’s particularly challenging when a recipe calls for a can of something in ounces. Is it liquid ounces or is it by weight? Having used both systems in baking, the metric system is far more accurate. It would be great if measures in both the US and metric systems were offered.
Yes, I am making it right now. Going with the 1.5 cups instead of 300 grams. Hope it’s right!
Oh wait, 1.5 cups *is* 300 grams. Mystery solved.
This looks fantastic! I’ll be trying it this weekend for sure. Thanks for the recipe (and sorry about the skittering).
Sunken or not, it looks absolutely delicious! Paired with a hot cup of coffee and what a perfect breakfast … snack … lunch … snack … or (and?) dinner it would make ;)
Hi – I love you.
I just thought I dictated a letter to you ,unfortunately that is the story of my life. I just read some of the comments and was shocked. This is the third or fourth year for me . It’s a wonderful cake. I had a few issues this year but all in all it’s just delicious. I am going to make your apple cake next.
Anita meddin
Oh wow, yum. Honey is my favorite cake sweetener of all time (I use it in carrot cake, it’s grand) and this looks wonderful. Also love the story of how ‘this is your job’. *sigh* Jealous.
I completely agree about all the honey cakes I’ve ever tried too, so you’ve intrigued me. I don’t like the taste of alcohol though–is there something I could substitute, or do you think I should just give up and serve some non-jewish, non-lucky dessert for Rosh Hashanah instead?
Made this last year omitting the alcohol and aside from sticking to my bundt pan a little (my fault, I used the wrong grease) it came out fantastic! Tasted delicious and made my house smell AMAZING while it baked! Added to my favorites. Yes the batter is pretty liquid-y but mine still turned out fine – it does help to thoroughly mix your wet ingredients together before adding them to the dry so the honey gets fully incorporated and doesn’t sink to the bottom.
you are so funny! i actually made this cake over the weekend in a 10 inch tube pan, and it was magnificent and delish. an absolute do over for the jewish holidays.
Thanks so much – my grandma finally let go of total control over Rosh Hashana dinner and let my mom and I make dessert. I think this cake will be the perfect ending to our holiday meal!
I like the sunken look–it gives the cakes character, and I didn’t immediately judge them to be in the same category as zucchini bread or pound cake. And it’s all about taste, right?
This looks delicious! I don’t celebrate Rosh Hashana but I think this is in my future anyway.
As for your creature, we just realized we have an unwelcome houseguest as well the other day. We even have a cat too, which blows my mind (though he is pretty lazy and friendly to all creatures, so maybe they hang out during the day). But we bought some of those no touch, no see traps the other day– when the trap is shut, our visitor is gone and we don’t have to see a thing. Highly recommended.
I like this recipe vey much but I do some changes. I like honey cakes with an orange twist, so I use 1 cup orange juice and half a cup of strong fruit tea ( berries, lemon or any tea-not coffee) instead of the other way around. But I also add 2 tablespoons of grated orange peel ( 2 oranges) at the beginning and mix with the liquids. Agree with those who suggested mixing all the liquids, sugar and honey by hand and adding the flour and dry ingredients in the mixer. And lastly I always bake the first 20 min at 350 F and reduce then to 325F until the end. This keeps moisture, in my opinion.
This cake looks delish even sunken! I am sure it was a baking powder issue. I would serve it with a bit of vanilla ice cream on th side (although I am not sure it would be kosher! :-)
No matter if it is sunken or not…it looks delicious!
This sounds great! I’ll make it for our (late) New Year party. I’m wondering how this would fare in cupcake form.
Mmmm… these do look fabulous – and it’s finally cool enough so i can start baking again! Yay!
Do you think i can just leave out the rye/whiskey? Or should I substitute some other non-alcoholic flavoring instead (maybe more coffee/tea?)
Looks so good….two questions though: Would the warm coffee start scrambling the eggs? Also, what would be a good non-alcoholic substitution for the rye/whisky? Thanks deb :)
I haven’t read through to see if your question was answered yet, but warm liquid won’t scramble eggs.
If you’re worried about taste, it doesn’t come through. I don’t like the taste of any type of whiskey, and didn’t even taste it in the batter.
How many eggs???
recipe says 3 large eggs at room temp.
I use Grand Marnier, complements the orange juice.
This has become our favorite for Holiday or everyday.
Enjoy!
I made this in a Bundt pan. I thought the pan was thoroughly greased with shortening but the cake would not release. I finally wrestled it out but there was a good bit of sticking. The cake is light and delicious, but not pretty. I’ll try again.
my comment is that this is a sticky cake, and a bundt pan has lots of little crannies and edges for a cake to stick to. I’d be more apt to try a one-piece tube pan instead, if you want one large cake. I’ve never had a problem getting these cakes to release from loaf pans or round cake pans.
I made it again today using 3 loaf pans, 2 Pyrex and 1 Nordic with a pumpkin motif. I sprayed heavily with Baker’s Joy. The one that released the best, perfectly, was the Nordic, nooks and crannies and all!
So I need some help: I want to make this cake, but in loaf tins to gift to people in a Rosh Hashana lockdown, but I’m unsure when you say you made 2x full size loaf cakes and 2 miniature ones! What sizes are the full side ones please? I’d like to make 3 loaves for gifting.
Use the 6 inch or 7 inch loaf pans should make 3, i have the 8.5 in and it makes 2 full beautiful loafs. I also did a batch with mini pans and this recipe fills 8 mini pans (5×2). I fill them a tad over half the height and the rise beautifully.
Same thing happened to me. I used two small Bundt pans and thoroughly prepped the pans. Both stuck to the pan and into the trash it went. What a disaster. I don’t know what happened. :-(
For the record, when I tried this recipe again the prep was Baker’s Joy. Also, THIS time I did set the pans on cookie sheets as directed in the directions. Maybe that actually matters.
I’ve had this totally stick to a pan, too – but no need to put it in the trash! i broke it into pieces and made a trifle with whipped cream and stewed pears.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been making Marcy Goldman’s Moist Majestic Honey Cake for a years and I always had the same sinking problem you did. I thought it might be the weight of the almond, (because why not?) But it was the baking powder, I cut back from 1 tablespoon to 1 teaspoon and perfection! Yay and L’Shana Tovah!
Use cold butter to grease the pan instead of oil
Instead of alcohol, you could add more orange juice. White grape juice or apple juice could also be used.
I very much love your site and think it is so delightful. I just wanted to let you know that Goldman is spelled Goldblum in the recipe section…I only noticed this because I was so excited to see Marcy Goldman’s name on your site (I have a six degrees of separation connection with her..well I suppose everyone does come to think of it!) Anyway, thanks for posting this (and many other) delicious recipes. They make my day!
to replace the whiskey/rye you can use straight orange juice or apple juice and if its not the flavor you object to, toss in a bit of the extract.
This even LOOKS moist from the pictures. YUM, I can’t wait to try it!
My sympathies about the little skittling nightmare–I just recently had my first encounter with one of this you know whats (assuming we are talking about the same thing) and all my mother could do to console me was say “Well, you ARE in New York City!” Truly terrible…but the cake looks truly delectable!
I make this cake all the time, it’s by far the best honey cake. The only change I make is that I use Grand Marnier instead of the whiskey. BTW, my cakes always sink a bit as well!
Okay, answers: You can replace the booze (btw, I used brandy because that’s what we had open) with more tea or more coffee. If you’d like to pick up the orange flavor, you might add a little of the zest of your orange, too. (I might do this next time.) The coffee should not be hot–that would scramble the eggs–warm coffee should not.
It actually tastes a bit like zucchini or banana bread, because the spices and moisture level are so similar. In my mind, this is a very good comparison.
Btw, if I had a husband who wasn’t totally raisin-phobic, I’d add them next time. Tossed in flour so they (hopefully) don’t sink.
Now I know what I’ll be eating on Rosh Hashana, after I read my torah portion. :)
Isn’t Marcy Goldman also responsible for “matzoh crack”–that addictive toffee-chocolate-matzoh treat? I’ll have to try this cake–sounds like the perfect autumn treat.
Ooh my, you’re right! That stuff is a delight. Though I had it first made with Saltines which is even better. I should refresh that before Halloween, hmm…
Try it on graham Crack-Ers. Nomnom.
You mentioned pairing the cake with apples, which sounds fantastic… If you add some diced apples to the cake, would you recommend reducing some of the liquid(s)?
Any thoughts on replacing the honey w/ some maple syrup?
This looks so tasty I got to find out what booze my husband is stashing and go and grab some spices… looks yummy. Love your website I follow it daily
I don’t see why maple syrup wouldn’t work. The only thing I’d warn about is that I find it a lot harder to get the taste of maple syrup–even in that quantity–to come through, which always feels like a waste of something with such strong flavor right from the bottle. But it would still be delicious.
Oooh. Not a honey cake fan, for the reasons you spoke of – it’s sort of been the culinary equivalent of a desert. But this looks oooooooh.
Love your site!
I’d love to add apples or pears as well – any tips on amounts/method/other adjustments?
No clue if you’d still be interested after all this time, but I poured caramelized honey in the bottom of my sheet tray then layered on apple slices before pouring in my batter!
Only because it’s you, Deb, will I try this recipe. I have never had a good honey cake in my life although Molli Katzen has a recipe for one that’s saved by chocolate and not too bad. But you’ve never steered me wrong so I’ll be making this next week.
L’shanah tovah!
This looks fabulous! I look forward to your website everyday. Saw you on Martha now I am a regular. Your pictures are eye candy.
I find myself at a loss for alcohol. What would make a good substitute?
A few people have mentioned substitutes above, such as more OJ or tea or coffee. This cake is very forgiving, and I suspect it would be fine even if you skipped it.
Allie — I think you could just add them. You could cut them very small and toss the chunks with flour so that they (hopefully) don’t sink. Or, you could grate them, for added texture as well. My god, that sounds so good, actually. Will you share?
Ooh, thank you! I’ve been looking for something honey to go along with Apfelstrudel (assuming I have the energy to stretch strudel dough, ha) for Rosh Hashannah this year.
Hey, at least they didn’t explode. My mother’s first attempt at cake baking resulted in four hours of scraping chocolate box cake mix out of the inside of our non-self-cleaning oven.
We’re still not sure how she made box cake explode.
When I lived in Washington, a mouse did a similar skitter across the kitchen floor while I was putting away dishes. I screamed so loudly i gave myself an instant headache, then called my husband hysterical — he could not come how right away, so I went and hid, and I mean hid, at Starbucks for like 3 hours, then went to a yoga class, then met up with my husband and went home with him because I was too scared to go home alone.
This is perfect!! My father keeps bees as a hobby so we always have a supply of golden, local honey. He loves honey so much but I have not been able to find a recipe where the honey is the true star. With 1 cup of honey, I’m sure the mild flavor of his fresh clover honey will really shine!! Thank you.
My mom has a recipe that’s pretty similar except it doesn’t use alcohol and has grated apple in it. It’s amazing…really really flavorful and super moist. It’s even better the next day. Thankfully it’s a big recipe…otherwise it wouldn’t last. For the past two years I’ve actually asked her to make it as my birthday cake (to my credit, though, I WAS born on Rosh Hashana. :D).
Your recipe looks amazing though. I might make both (yours and my mom’s)…after all, here in college, there are hungry students abound. :)
Shana tova!
I have added grated apple and pear to many a tea bread without hardly any blip in the finished product other than an amped up ‘OMG!!!’ factor. I just recently made zucchini bread with grated Honeycrisp apple in it. FAB!
I need a dessert recipe for this week and am seriously thinking about this cake. Seriously, but….a cup of oil??? My arteries!!
What about subbing applesauce for some of the oil?
it has come to my attention that the addition of honey makes pretty much anything 10x better :)
this is so funny! I just saw your cake’s picture on Flickr and I said to myself: okay, so another honey cake recipe to try before Roch hashana and just to compare with the wonderful honey cake I baked yesterday.. Guess what? it’s the exact same recipe, I just had to read the title of your post!!
This cake is incredibly moist, full of flavor (i used more coffee instead of whisky not because I don’t like alcohol in my cakes.. I DO love alcohol in my cakes lol, I used a flavorful spanish honey), I used only 1 tsp of cinnamon and substituted the other spices by 1/2 tsp of Piment de Jamaique. This cake is soo good, but let’s face it, it doesn’t look good. I bake mine in a Kaiser springform pan (what was I thinking..??) and although well greased, I had a hard time unmolding it.. yours look much much more better!!
I don’t think I should be allowed around honey. I buy it in the huge 1/2 gallon size at Sam’s Club. There is no savoring honey in my house, it’s on everything. I love it and adore it, and now I have to make this cake.
Your cakes have belly buttons.
Swapping some oil for applesauce–though I haven’t tried it in this recipe–tends to work very well in cakes like this. Go for it!
Thank you for this gorgeous recipe. I absolutely hate the taste of tea/coffee (sorry!) – do you have a suggestion for a substitution?
Purnima – How about apple juice or apple cider? This sounds really good, deb!
Wow, there sure is a lot of moisture in this cake! There’s 3 3/4 cups of liquid not including the eggs and the moisture in the sugars! It sure looks mighty good! I’ve never had honey cake before.
Any suggestions on using whole wheat flour instead of white? Pretty please.
Your timing could not be more perfect! (No, I am not referring to the Jewish New Year.) I just started field-testing honey cake recipes for a baby shower-themed tea I’ll be hosting on November 1st.
My testing phase may well now be over! Would this cake adapt well to double layer “sponge-type” cake construction or is it best left as a loaf cake?
If two slim, round, stacked layers are achievable, what would you use for the filling?
I will be making this honey cake tomorrow, pronto! Can’t wait to try it! Here’s hoping that you will offer up a few suggestions…THANKS for all the great recipes, and especially for this latest one.
This looks delicious. It reminds me of a “honey cake” recipe I saw on a website two years ago when I was researching WWII-era recipes. That honey cake was based on ingredients you could use limited rations on and was probably really different. I love honey though–sometimes I just eat a spoonful at a time, and I drizzle it over cereal–so both of the recipes sound good. Truth be told though I’m addicted to cloves, so I’d probably just pile so much cloves in this recipe it’d come out tasting like gingerbread.
thank you, thank you, thank you. I was just starting to make a mental list of the baking I need to do this weekend (challah, honey cake) and thought to myself, “I hate my honey cake recipe. I must try to find a new one” and here you are, with a new one just for me!
Shana Tova U-Metukah!
oh, my sympathy for your kitchen trauma. I am terribly, terribly disturbed by such things, and unfortunately, there’s no getting away from it (especially in New York apartments…)
I’ve never had honey cake (these holidays were always just apples and honey in our house) but I do love that honey-seller in Union Square…
I am so happy you did this post. I can’t wait to make it for the new year!!! And I have the same feelings when those little fury creatures trespass (or are we). Don’t worry, I refused to sleep one night when I saw one.
If requests are allowed, I’d love to see a challah recipe, as well as a great roast chicken. Just my 2 cents.
I have not made this cake with whole wheat flour but I generally recommend starting with a half-swap of whole wheat before going 100 percent. I am sure it won’t be terrible.
IsDahara — The first line of the recipe tells you all of the different sizes and shapes you can make the cake in. It can definitely be made thinner.
Maybe it’s the Montana girl in me coming out, but when I was in high school and would be laying on the couch late at night, I’d see an occasional furry thing run across the floor and it never really bothered me. Now, if it’s a spider or a roach, I’ll be on the counter shrieking. :-)
I hate that my first comment is a meanie -this year will be 5769, not 5770. more importantly – the cake looks yummy and I’ll totally try it this year! thanks!
Don’t panic about it falling, and don’t assume it was the scream or “old” baking soda/powder. You may be right, but there’s another possibility that’s familiar to those of us who live at high altitude. (Colorado Springs is at 6,000 ft, and the northern half of the city is higher.)
You may have had too MUCH leavening, especially with the sugar, honey and alcohol which feed the leaven. In Colorado, we have to reduce sugar and fat somewhat, add more flour & water, and drop leavening in HALF, or our cakes look like a truck ran over them.
Why is a flat/fallen cake fixed with LESS leavening? When there’s more leavening and “rising food (sugar),” the cake rises a little too fast, and the cells of air try to keep expanding. The cell walls (that’s the flour/eggs/etc) are fragile, and end up bursting, and the cake collapses. Since it rises the highest in the center, the center is most at risk. Despite being totally counter-intuitive, it may take less sugar, less leavening, and a little more flour/liquid to solve the problem.
Since you live at sea level, I wouldn’t go so far as we do to adjust recipes. Since you like the flavor, add maybe a tablespoon or so of flour per cup of flour, maybe a tablespoon or two more coffee or tea, and drop the leavening by 1/8 or 1/4. It might surprise you.
oh yum. and uh that happened to me too…the something terrible skitting, i was baking cupcakes. though i don’t know if it was the same something terrible. still, terrible. cakes looks sooo gooood though, even if its a bit sunken.
I’m so glad you posted this….I was just about to begin my quest for the perfect honey cake recipe and now I don’t have to look anymore! I can’t wait to try it out. L’Shana Tova!
Looks delicious. Your pictures are always fantastic.
A fabulous cake! All that ooey gooey honey makes me drool!
Cheers,
Rosa
The cake looks lovely! About the falling in the middle — I had the same problem when I was developing some citrus tea cakes a few months ago. I looked in the Cake Bible — and according to the amazing Rose Levy Beranbaum, that can be caused by too much baking powder. (I thought leaveners made things rise, who knew??) I cut back on the bp, and poof! The cakes rose just perfectly. So if you’re inclined to try this again, I’d cut the bp and see what happens. Hope that helps!
mmmm. this looks incredible, and I’m going to make it with raisins this weekend, plus I’m gonna see what happens when I sub canned, pure pumpkin for the oil (usually works out gorgeously in my experience, plus ups the fiber content). Thanks for persevering through a terrible fright–I once opened a drawer and discovered evidence of a visitor much like yours. I also screamed. You have my sympathy (btw, my entire pantry–other than canned food– is now completely in tupperware boxes b/c of this experience. ugh).
Thanks for this wonderful post. Could you tell me how long this cake will keep? I am baking things to send to my boyfriend who is currently in the Middle East with the army and knowing his love of honey this would go down a treat, but don’t want to send something that will arrive a mouldy mess – lol.
hi, its look good and tasty!your pictures are so fantastic!
Your cake looks great! I just tried a fabulous apple honey cake (all traditions in one dish) from allrecipes.com that used 3/4 cup honey and three apples (called Apple Honey Bundt cake on the site). Easy, delicious, moist and surprisingly light and — unusual for me — not sunken. As others suggested, I substituted some of the oil with applesauce and chopped the peeled apples. It made two pretty tube cakes, one of which will go to my daughter in college (I think it will travel well) and one of which is half gone already.
Your recipe will be in my oven this weekend — love a bakeoff!
Did you and Dave Lebovitz (http://www.davidlebovitz.com/) plan your posts today? Too yummy!
When I was a child, the synagogue across the street used to have a “kiddush” after morning services on Shabbat (Saturday). Three staples were always there: Sweet kosher wine, honey cake and sponge cake. I always ate the sponge cake because the honey cake had nuts in it, and I still feel to this day, that nuts spoil the consistency of both cake and ice cream. I’m probably in a minority on this, but so be it. Having said that, sans nuts, I would have loved the honey cake.
So … not just for Rosh Hashonah. :-)
I can’t wait to try this – looks wonderful! Will probably substitute about 1/2 cup wheat flour (can’t ever bring myself to do a complete swap of 1/2 the flour, total; usually just a little wheat, some wheat germ and maybe, hmn, some oatmeal … and diced apples?). Anyway, thanks so much.
You don’t mention the whiskey in the body of the recipe, only in the list of ingredients. I assume it gets added at the end with the rest of the liquids?
I made this cake last night, and just had my first piece for breakfast. It was very, very good. I left out the alcohol and just added more coffee. It is very moist, and baked beautifully in a bundt pan.
Ooh I have to try this! My husband and I LOVE honey and always keep a stash of this amazing Colorado honey called Western Slope Ambrosia. Looks like another baking weekend for me.
Barbara,
I’m in Denver and I’ve found that lowering the baking temperature helps prevent the dip in the middle of my cakes. I might have found that idea on this site!
I’d like to bring this to a Rosh Hashanah dinner I’ve been invited to next week. Making it in 9-inch layers would be more impressive…any ideas on what to use for frosting? It sounds like the cake is already sweet.
Natalie — You’re right. I did Google it, but the site was either wrong or I read it wrong. Fixed now.
Deliceux — Goldman says this cake actually gets better with age. I think you could have it at room temperature for at least a few days, if your place wasn’t too warm. However, longer than that, I like to store mine in the freezer. I wrap it in either waxed or parchment paper and then in plastic wrap. I’ll sometimes slide that package into a freezer bag, too. I’m terrified of freezer smells affecting my precious cake.
Dad — You’ll get to try some in a few days. You can tell me how it compares.
Kathy — Yes, add it with the other liquids. I’ve fixed the recipe now.
Lisa — I think that cream cheese frosting could be a natural flavor pairing, but it might be quite intense/sweet. However, you could dial down the frosting sweetness a lot, and it would be a nice balance.
meh — My sister pointed out to me that I didn’t respond to your comment! Thanks for noticing and I fixed the error right away. It is Goldman, not Goldblum. I think Goldblum is someone I went to summer camp with!
yay! new recipe to try! thanks! luv luv the cookies — any halloween cookie recipes you can share?
OOOOh–fallen or not that cake looks delicious! I already had your famous Kugel on my list for Jewish Holiday season and now I think I have to add this too!
I have a great recipe for Honeycake – made with strong coffee and grated apples. Lots of spices too.
Yum!
So, to this Gentile,it sounds like honey cake is the Jewish version of fruit cake!Or should I say fruit cake is the pagan version of honey cake? (har har)
I once woke up and went to step in the shower only to find a tiny mouse jumping in the tub trying to get out!!! I took a digital photo in order to explain my tardiness at work! Uh, photo of the mouse, not me- although I bet that would have been a funny picture!
Seems like we’re both thinking on the same wave length… one thing crossed off the list for Monday.
There’s an award on our blog for you.
I’m so excited about this recipe! This semester’s been so busy that I haven’t baked in WEEKS. Now that the high holy days are coming up, I’ve got en excuse to procrastinate for a bit and enjoy the new year.
The LA Times just posted a honey cake recipe in the food section yesterday too. Now I want to bake both and have a honey cake party this weekend.
I love LOVE your site and have even gotten my computer-illiterate mom into it! (She loves your barley, haricot vert, arugula and corn salad.) Re: the honey cake, I’m thinking of making it for the holiday but am wondering what kind of honey I can use – just plain old honey, or would you experiment with other varieties, i.e. buckwheat?
Thanks, and Shana Tova!
Honey is definitely amazing in the right baked goods! I made honey cookies one time that baked up very strangely, but were absolutely loved by everyone that wrapped their lips around them! I will have to give this recipe a try! Thanks for the recipe and the story!
Omitted the whiskey, added more coffee, added zest from 1 orange…and couldn’t be happier. The cake is tender and not too sweet (suprisingly). I want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I baked mine in a 9X13 pan and still had major sinkage in the center after 70 minutes of baking. This recipe is a keeper!
This looks wonderful! I don’t celebrate Jewish New Year, but I think I might have to make this in time for it anyway…with some kind of substitution for the eggs.
I hope that situation you don’t want to talk about gets sorted tout de suite! :-)
You echo all my feelings about honey cake — always dry, dry, dry! And tasteless! Then I came across this recipe — and I’ve been making it every year for the past four years or so. It is a seriously good cake. One suggestion: if possible, use buckwheat honey. It makes a tremendous difference.
I just made this cake and yes, it fell, but it was in a bundt pan so no worries! I also substituted the whisky for a tiny bit more OJ, a bit more coffee, and added floured raisins and a brushing of an OJ glaze. SO. VERY. GOOD. I’m not Jewish, but I may have to be after this.
O.k., I just went out to Lyman’s Orchard and bought 40 pounds of apples, with intent to make a pie this weekend. Now that I see this, I want to make this cake! I guess I will have to wait a week to try it…..but it is going to kill me!
Wow this looks awfully good. I’ve always avoided baking honey cakes b/c they just taste so darn yucky despite good ingredients. The result never seems to equal the sum of the parts. But this version looks awesome, I can’t wait to try it for the holidays this year.
Oh Yum. You are so right–no one wants to eat dry honey cake! your version sounds great, though-can’t wait–sunken mid section and all!
I have never heard of honey cake, but this looks and sounds divine. I must try it!
Hey everyone — So, in regards to the sinking-in-the-middle issue. I at first thought it was just me, but it seems that early test/commenters (#87, #90) are having similar results, leading me to think that there might be too much baking soda and baking powder in the recipe. One tablespoon plus one teaspoon is a lot, even for three loaf pans.
If you’re feeling like taking a risk–I sadly won’t be able to test this level, or at least not before the holiday–you might consider these options instead: a) Using one tablespoon of baking soda, and no baking powder. This is the level I used for my perfectly-domed banana bread, adjusted for this volume of batter, or b) simply dialing back the baking powder to two teaspoons instead of a tablespoon, and leaving the baking soda level as is.
If you want to get even more bonus points, if you try either adjustment and want to let us know how it went for you, I am sure many others trying this cake this weekend will appreciate it. As will I. I figure it’s a near win-win, as we know that the cake in its current format is a little sinky.
Looks delicious! I’ll have to give this a shot. It amazes me how you take such lovely photos. My camera would be covered in honey, no doubt!
Amy
What a lovely blog (just found it). And your photographs are amazing. And, of course, great recipes.
I loved my grandmother’s honey cake, but it was always SO DRY! You could choke on it!
I will make this for Rosh Hashanah on Monday, thanks for the nice recipe!
Stacey Snacks
Btw, I read a lot of honey cake recipes before trying this one out, and I noticed something: the vast majority have just one to four tablespoons of oil. I am not sure the reason it would be that way, but I do know that it could definitely be one of those things that makes most traditional honey cakes so dry.
I find it comforting to know that your baking soda is old. I always assume that everyone else is positively saintly when it comes to pantry staples.
I think I’ll make this because it sounds like a fabulous way to ring in 5769.
That honey cake does INDEED look perfect – lovely!!
Jelena — Also old in my pantry: Self-rising flour I didn’t even know I had, or why I’d need it; three bottles of sesame oil chucked yesterday; lentils in three different colors; sad, dried out vanilla bean; I could go on and on.
That looks delicious.
I once found a mouse in my washer. I ended up putting towel on the bottom and a snap trap on the towel. I know the snap traps sound awful but they are very fast…I don’t think the mouse knows what’s happening.
Awesome! Love the story, and might even make my own Dutch version of honey cake when I’ve finished writing this damn essay!
A NYC apartment is not a real NYC apartment unless it has at least one uninvited guest AKA a mouse. Even my dogs were resigned to this fact when the occasional freeloader ran though the living room. This honey cake looks fabulous. I can’t wait to make it. Thanks and I love your site….from an ex-pat NYC’er in Portland, OR. Happy New Year.
Oh my god that tub of drizzling honey was pure, unadulterated food porn. Wonderful.
I can weigh in on the baking powder issue, I think–I made it this evening [the cakes are just cool enough to dig into, though I would’ve let them cool a little longer if my roommates hadn’t been begging to be allowed to eat them]. I followed the recipe almost exactly* as is–1 tbs. baking powder plus 1 tsp baking soda, baked in 3 loaf pans–and the 3 cakes turned out beautiful, with a pretty little cake-ridge on each loaf. Also, it was freakin’ delicious. Perfectly moist, perfect flavor…I’d make this cake again in a heartbeat [though next time I might scale down the recipe, as I rarely need 3 loaf cakes all at once.]
*The only change I made was in the sugar. I was running low on white granulated, so I used only 1 cup of that and added an extra 1/2 cup of brown.
Oh. my….
You know what gets me? It’s this part
“with a little crisp edge about the corners ”
The photo of the honey in the cup is outstanding but when you add the little crisp edges… well this one’s totally getting made in our household. :-) Thanks for the gorgeous photos and recipe!
this is currently baking in my oven….
(I made it on my lunch break)
oh happy friday :O)
x
This looks like the best honey cake I’ve every seen. YUM. Also, holy crap, this is your 110th comment on this post…
I tried the recipe and it tasted wonderful. Big hit at the office. But, it came out fluffier than expected. I mean FLUFFY! Anyone have tips on how to produce a slightly denser honey cake?
Thanks for adding to my Rosh Hashanah dessert repertoire! I’m really excited to try this out.
I made it! My experience: I followed the instructions almost to the “T”. I replaced 1/2 cup of flour with wheat flour, but otherwise, everything else was as stated. I had the recipe with the bourbon omitted from the instructions, so I added it with the rest of the liquids. The batter wasn’t as thick as I was expecting; it wasn’t “spoon”able – it poured. I used a greased 13×9” glass baking dish and sat it on two stacked jellyroll pans and baked it for 40 minutes;it was still liquid in the center. Then I baked it 10 more minutes and it was still liquid in the center. So… I added 10 more minutes and yet, 10 more … then my cake started to smell as if it was burning. I took it out after it had been in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. The center was bounce-back finger tested “done”, but slightly sunken (gee…!) It didn’t have much time to cool, I didn’t remove it from the pan and we ate it warm – after baking it extra long, it was nearly 9 p.m. and the kiddies needed to go to bed. YUM. It did have sort of a crunchy shell to it, good flavor, moist. NOT burned, by the way. I whipped some heavy whipping cream and a dash of sugar to go with it, since nothing else sounded good at the time. I think it took so long to bake because it pretty much filled, as it rose, my cake pan — not kidding, it’s at the top ledge of the edge of the dish. If I make it again, I think I’ll split the batter between the 13×9 pan and my 7×11 pans, so it will be thinner and bake quicker. Thanks, Deb, for the recipe!
This is just what I needed! Thanks! I love when honey cake is moist too. We always get ours from the bakery and only the center top is moist…
I just made this recipe for people at work and the entire cake disappeared within 10 minutes. It’s absolutely delicious!
while my honey cakes baked in the oven, i sat at my computer reading all of the comments about this recipe. once i got to the posts about the “sinking-in-the-middle” issue, i realized that i wrongly read the recipe and only put in one teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda (instead of one tablespoon of baking powder and one teaspoon of baking soda). oy. but, shock! my honey cakes came out perfectly plump. no sinking. (i did however, bake them in two loaf pans instead of three. i don’t know if that matters.)
Are you psychic?! I’ve been looking for the perfect honey recipe for DAYS. Thank you so much!
Just baked one to take to a friend’s for dinner tonight — mine sank in the middle too, but I could also be using super-old baking powder…
Deb, did you use tea or coffee when you made the cakes? Just curious.
I used coffee. I looove coffee. Tea? Not so much.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My partner and I have been enjoying your recipes pretty much on a daily basis for the last month, but we seriously love us some honey. I have a loaf of this in the oven right now, and I am thoroughly enjoying eating the batter left in the bowl *hic*.
Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes!
Deb-Thank you so much for the recipe. I will try it as per your suggestions.
P.S. We have had uninvited “kitchen visitors” also. We were told by animal control to clean all shelves and cabinets with light bleach solution. Also, do scrub down every surface with same light bleach solution. It helps eliminate the urine the mice leave as a marker for other mice. Their “free food and goodies here” signage is interrupted that way. Then traps need to be laid out, which for me the setting up of them is as stressful as catching the little guys (or gals). I feel so bad, but..this really worked for us. Now, I just keep traps activated and in several cabinets and check daily. They are smart enough to go elsewhere because they do sense danger from traps snapping and that just may translate to the little critters staying out of your apartment entirely.
Oh, I forgot to add I do not use traps with bait. I only did that the first few days (drop of peanut butter, or tiny piece of Goldfish cracker), but then I started to get a slight ant problem. So, I removed all food from traps. I also bought a variety of traps.
Great recipe.. can’t wait to try it this year. thanks!
I’m so confused. After googling this recipe there appears to be two sets of levening amounts. There’s Deb’s amount 1 T bp and 1 t soda. The other recipe uses 4 t powder and 1/2 t soda. I really don’t want the belly buttons so I am still unclear what to use. Should we still reduce the levening or change it to the other version?
If you want to test your levening agents, the instructions are as follows:
for powder 1 t powder + 1/3 C hot water = foaming action (if not, discard)
for soda 1-1/2 t soda + 1 T vinegar = fizzing action (if not, use in fridge for odors)
Deb, you (and others) should absolutely try Marcy’s Chocolate Velvet Honey Cake. It’s a rich and wonderful cake, deeply chocolatey and warmly spiced. I made it a few years ago as the capper to a no-holds-barred Rosh Hashanah dinner, and people couldn’t get enough of it — they kept “slivering” more pieces as the evening went on…
http://www.clabbergirl.com/recipe-display.php?mode=recipe&recipe_id=913
Your cake is on my list ! Fabulous picture…I don’t have whiskey. I’ll try some grated apple (reine de reinettes) instead.
Hi Linda — When a recipe is passed around and reprinted as often as this one, it’s not odd to see different versions of it. I would not think that an additional teaspoon of baking powder would be a good idea–I suspect this suffers from too much leavening.
However, I still don’t have one conclusion about getting it not to sink. I made a few educated guesses in comment #95, but also consider jamie’s comment (#116) wherein she accidentally used only one teaspoon each of baking powder and soda and the cakes didn’t sink. (Thanks, jamie, btw, for the feedback.)
So disappointed to hear of everyone’s dry honey cake experiences. I have my grandmothers recipe somewhere written in her handwriting which makes it so special as she is not here anymore. It IS very much like this recipe. Good honey cake has a thick ,sticky gooey top, a little less than a quarter of an inch thick and then nothing but sweet spicy orangy moistness below. It looks like this one. I am going to search for my recipe.
Thank you so much Deb for such a great and inspiring blog. After 19 years of cooking for a family I am pretty well burned out but the combination of the season of local goodies and your blog have re-inspired me…. totally. I look forward to every weekend of not letting myself work but just cooking and baking and feeling warm and cozy. I just hope I don’t gain weight. I might have to cook those brownies again this weekend…. and the honey cake. (I’ll give half to my parents)
hii lost my honey cake recipe and found this one today and made it. i used self raising flour which is flour with raising agent in it 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teasponn of baking powder and it didnt sink. i think i tablespoon of baking soda is too much. i also used ground ginger makes because i like it. i cooked mine in an aga at about med warm for about 50 minutes and it is yummy. might not make it to rosh hashanah may have to make another one.thanks for the recipeam off to browse the site.
oh my lord, just made this and it is yummy! I used my adorable {huge} sunflower cake pan but there was so much batter (and it was NOT thick, more pourable than spoonable) that I ended up making 6 small fluted muffins as well. Well the muffins came out after 30 mins and you can guess what happened to them – gone before the cake came was even done! Like the previous poster, mine was not very dense but nice crust and delicious none the less. Not much sinking – I used less than a T of baking powder. Subbed 1/2 applesauce for the oil, left out the booze and added orange zest and a grated apple. Thanks!
Back to the apple discussion…the Washington Post published another Marcy Goldman honey cake recipe in 1999. It was this recipe except that it did not include the whiskey but did call for 1/2 cup shredded, peeled apples. I usually squeeze most of the juice from the apples, cut down a bit on the oil and add more shredded apples. Delish!
Love your blog. It’s one of the first things I do when I get in to the office every morning. Thanks so much for the honey cake recipe! I can’t wait to bake it for Rosh Hashannah dinner.
About your furry friend…I live in Boston and we have the same problem. I’ve found that peppermint oil is a harmless way to get rid of furry little pests (and it makes the house smell nice to boot). Sprinkle a bit of peppermint oil wherever you think they’re getting in, where you see them, and where you find droppings. Do this every other day for 2 weeks, and then 2-3 times/week for another two weeks (do it whenever the smell disappears) and then weekly for another 2 months. The peppermint oil is so aversive to rodents, that they should disappear totally after the first week. Continuing with the peppermint oil serves as a reinforcement in case they try to come back after a while. Hope it works for you as well as it did for me.
I love reading your blgo. I made this cake, put it in 2 loaf pans, and no falling or shrinkage occured. This cake is delicious. I omitted the whiskey and subbed 1/2 of the oil for applesauce. Next time I make this, I will add chopped apples and pecans. It definitely gets better as it sits, and is great with coffee! Thanks for sharing!
I just made this tender and delicious cake, spreading the (rather runny) batter between a 6×9 loaf pan (45″), a 3/4-cup 6-cupcake pan (30″), and a 4×2 ramekin (35″)–the last one a prize for the baker. All turned out beautifully, with no peaking or sinking. I plan to try it next with shredded apples.
For tomorrow’s Rosh Hashanah, I will bring the loaf to colleagues and the small cakes to a Brazilian Jewish family who has generously invited (Gentile wife, Jewish husband) to their home to celebrate. Thanks for the timely post and for your terrific blog, which I consult regularly.
My cake just came out of the oven. I used just shy of 1 T baking powder, and baked it in a bundt pan. No sinkage whatsoever, and it was done in 75 minutes. The cake looks good and smells amazing. I will say that I buttered and floured the heck out of the pan, but it did stick a bit. Nothing terrible, just a few large crubs here and there. Also, it really rose to the top of the pan. Next time I’ll make a bundt plus two cupcake sized minis. I’ll comment on the taste another time – we’re saving the cake for tomorrows dinner. L’Shanah Tova!
I made this cake today and made 3 loaves…used 1 tsp of baking soda and 1 tsp of baking powder and did not have any sinking. Delicious except I think it needs some kind of cream cheese frosting!!
I just pulled this cake out of the oven about an hour ago, I used 2 tsp of baking powder instead of 1 tbs but kept everything else the same except that I used extra orange juice in place of the rye. I divided the cake between 2 8×8 pans and didn’t see any sinking in the center. It tastes great, thanks for the recipe.
I followed Jamie’s suggestion (#116) and added one teaspoon each of baking powder/soda. Mine also turned out delicious and perfectly domed. Yum. Thanks!
I made this yesterday – it didn’t sink and it was delicious. Turns out I only had 1/4 c honey so used brown rice syrup for the remaining 3/4 c. I think this made the cake less sweet but with all the other sweeteners I don’t think the taste was compromised.
i just took this cake out of the oven *NOT EVEN TEN MINUTES AGO* and everyone in my household has a already got a piece on a plate (i think it’s the allspice). i kept sqealing “wait til it’s cool, wait til it’s coooooool!”…..they wouldn’t listen. the piping hot piece i took from my mom was very tasty, though. i added shredded apples and did the 1 tsp. each of soda and powder and came out with a very nice fluffy texture although i think i a denser cake would be more my thing. maybe next time i will use even less leavener (or powder only) and 4 egg yolks…. and by next time i mean now, because i’m pretty sure i can hear my brother scraping the last bit off the bottom of the pan….
p.s. i did NOT substitute the whiskey :)
I, too, just ate the first slice of this cake, about forty minutes out of the oven. Delicious!
I followed the recipe as is, with no substitutions and it was wonderful. I had only the slightest sinking in the middle, and with the almonds on top I kinda like the way it looks.
I also made mine in two loaf pans and two minis. Two minis go to friends, one big one for me and the other big one in the freezer.
this recipe appeared on several blogs and i was quite enthusiastic but my cake did not turn out as well as i’d hoped and did not get raves from guests. i followed the instructions here pretty exactly (i used dark rum instead of whiskey because i had the former and not the latter), and baked in a 13X9 metal pan (on top of one turned-over baking sheet). my experience was that it did not over-rise and sink, but that it didn’t seem to rise fully — when i sliced it, the bottom of the slices were extremely dense, and then the top 2/3 of the slices had a good texture. it did rise a bit in baking and i took it out when the top sprang back to my finger. i’ve made honey cakes before and am a relatively experienced baker. the flavor was good (i let it sit for a day and a half before cutting). but i was disappointed in its failure to rise. the BP was quite fresh; i’ve had the baking soda for a while.
Delicious! I did not grease my Bundt pan enough, so half the cake stuck to the pan, haha. But I just doused the whole thing in a caramel sauce I whipped up to glue the cake back together. No problems with rising, either. :-)
I made this cake today and it’s absolutely gorgeous. My oven must be hotter than most (I really need to get a thermometer, shame on me) because it was done after 45 minutes and I used a bundt pan. No problems with it whatsoever. However, because I can’t leave a recipe alone, I think I’m going to tweak it a bit. More honey, more booze!
I do not see recipe cook time for bundt pan!
Shouldn’t there be a different cook time for bundt pans?
I just made three loaves of these this morning, which was perfect as I was able to leave one with my bf’s parents for the holiday — chaching! They all turned out delicious and looked great with the almonds on top. Thank you thank you Deb!
Hi Deb, The cake looks great and delicious. Can i halve the receipe and also what can i subtitute for egg as i am a vegetarian. Thanks in advance as i really plan to do this cake on Wednesday.
I baked it in a bundt tin,…and I didn’t make any changes. It didn’t sink, rose perfectly and it’s divine…so much so that everyone in the house wanted a slice immediately.
I’ve made this cake numerous times. Its great. You can also use warm, flat cola instead of the coffee/tea( I sometimes email with Marcy and she is the one who told me about the cola). She’s quite helpful if you ever have any questions for her. Do you have this cookbook? There are so many worthwhile recipes, its a great book for Jewish Baking.
can this cake be made as layers i/o loaves?
I made this last night for my Jewish coworkers – they were surprised! I also baked mine in a bundt pan, and there was *almost* too much batter! But it is delicious. I got to use the bamboo honey I bought at the State Fair this year, and then I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. Very nice!
Yummy! I made two 9″ pans last night for the holidays and the hubby and I tucked into one that was freshly baked. My oven is so small that we have one rack and could just barely fit in the two pans, but I had not problem with sinkage… even with the fluctuating temp of oven.
Is it just me, or does this cake smell really boozy? I used whiskey. Don’t get me wrong, I love it but I am wondering if what I used is too strong. The cake is too easy to not make again but next time I’ll use brandy instead of whiskey.
Hey…long time lurker, first time commenter. I made the cake last night, and brought in two loaves to the office, one will go to Rosh Hashana dinner with me tonight. I followed the recipe to the tee (whiskey? yes!), but used deb’s new proportion of baking soda/baking powder. Good news: No sinking, it rose beautifully for what is really a very wet batter. Bad news: I just don’t think it’s sweet enough…I can’t taste the honey at all. It’s moist, but I feel like I need to drizzle honey ON it. Anyway, bad jew that I am, maybe I just don’t get it. Thanks so much, Deb, you are absolutely my first go-to for recipes!! L’Shana Tova!!
Can this cake be frozen? I want to make two loaves- one for tonight’s dessert and one for Yom Kippur Break Fast.
Hi Heidi — I mentioned a bit earlier (#77) that Goldman says this cake actually gets better with age. Longer than a couple days, I like to store mine in the freezer. It keeps just fine if wrapped well.
Question: Can you taste the alcohol in this?
There are going to be several people at the dinner that do not drink. I’m fine with the whisky adding flavor but I can’t have it taste alcoholic. (Especially since this is going to be my first Rosh Hashanah dinner since marrying into the Jewish faith…. I would hate to make a bad impression….)
Any help would be Greatly Appreciated.
Thanks!
i use the evelyn rose recipie for anglo lekach which is much easier, less ingredients and takes 2 minutes to prepare. I made eigt this week and have only one left!
Wowee…this is my mother’s recipe as well…except doubled (yeah, that half egg thing never worked so well for me) and with booze.
And you’re right…it is seriously the best honey cake ever.
YUM! We made it as mini cakes for my daughter preschool class. One recipe made 16 mini loaves, but it could have made closer to 20 as many had “muffin” tops. It’s moist and takes like fall – perfect! Thanks! Oh, I did slightly reduce both leaveners and did not have any sunken tops.
Hi Deb, Please reply me. Can i substitute egg? Thanks in advance.
My favorite honey cakes don’t contain sugar, they get their sweetness and their name from nothing other then honey. They get their moistness from using moist flours like kamut, oat, and barley – and melt in the mouth with a caramelized honey crisp top. this is just a basic quick-bread recipe with some honey and liquor. Thoroughly disappointed.
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. It was way too sweet when I made it using above recipe. Trying it with out sugar this time! Do you have suggestions for the honey crisp top?
Jackie C – I rec’d lots of compliments on this cake – it was easy to make and turned out very well even with the following changes:
— 3 tsp cinnamon
— 1 c white sugar
— 3 eggs + 2 whites
— instead of coffee/OJ – I used the same volume (1-1/2 cups) of juices ( from fresh squeezed oranges (2) + lemon (about 1/2) + apple juice)
— orange & lemon zests
— instead of alcohol, I used 1/2 c of shredded peeled apple
The batter poured beautifully into my bundt pan, and as it cooked, the cake rose to about 1/2 inch above the top of the pan (but did not spill). I think that using freshly ground spices made a big difference — the raw batter was the best I’ve ever tasted!
I made this tonight, following the recipe as written. It came out great, didn’t sink, and I’ve now eaten too much of it in one sitting… l’shana tova to those of you who are celebrating!
Rajesh — I am not an expert on egg substitutes, as I have never used them. Perhaps someone else will chime in with what they use instead of eggs.
Are you sure it should be 1 tablespoon of baking powder? My two 9 inch pans are running over the sides and is now all over my oven–yikes!
Made the honey cake-filled two pyrex (glass) loaf pans, cut back just a smidge on the baking powder & baking soda, used apple cider to replace whiskey and grated in some organic orange peel. Absolutely delish, got rave reviews,as one very picky woman said, “just like mamma used to make” even though it took almost 2 hours to bake. I did use a heavy cookie sheet under the extremely thick pyrex.
Baking SODA has four times the leavening power as baking POWDER. The recipe, as formulated here (1T powder, 1 t soda), calls for the equivalent of 7 teaspoons of baking powder. This is a huge amount—it certainly seems like enough to make the cake fall. I would expect, in a recipe this size, something more like 3 tsp of baking powder, so one possible experiment would be omitting the baking soda entirely.
However, this would make the batter more acidic which will tend to prevent browning. It seems like the single teaspoon of baking soda (equivalent to 4 tsp baking powder) should provide sufficient leavening all by itself with no baking powder. Or perhaps a middle of the road approach with 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1.5 tsp baking powder?
I made this cake for Rosh Hashanah and while completely delicious and yes, moist, mine also fell in the middle. Except that’s because it wasn’t cooked long enough. Mur :( We just cut around the unbaked parts though…my mother said this is better then Mimi Sheraton’s recipe! High praise haha
We made this last night and it was amazing. The best thing about this cake is the aroma that fills the house! Should you ever need to create a wonderful, welcoming environmentin your house, bake this cake! And yes, it still smelled wonderful this morning.
I made this last night. While I haven’t had time to take a bite myself, I did bring a loaf to my boyfriend last night and he said that between his midnight snack and breakfast, he ate 3/4 of it already! I was happy, because I’ve read so much about people not liking honey cake and I’d never had it so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Especially since it wasn’t until I was in the middle of making it that I realized I didn’t have quite enough honey!
And I’m not Jewish, so I wasn’t completely sure when the new year was, but today when I got to work I saw that it is today! So it looks like I made it at just the right time. After sundown and everything :)
Mine didn’t fall in the middle, I don’t know what to say about that! And mine fit into two loaf pans…Hmmm.
I just made my honey cake and it totally sank in the middle. I live in Denver, and I’m wondering if there is a tried and true high altitude honey cake recipe. For back up, I have apples & honey. But just once, I would like to have a perfect cake. Thank you!
Regarding the mouse situation, we adopted a female Siamese cat from the Humane Society, and poof! no more mice.
I made this yesterday, and we just love it. its so good and delicious! My parents says its the best honey cake they ever had.
Thank you! I’ll save the recipe, its a keeper for new years!
BTW, my cake didnt sunk in the middle (maybe because my honey was quite runny?).
This is the first year of at least 20 that I have made a honey cake that everyone loved. What a lucky find. I followed the original recipe exactly, rye and all. I did the 3 loaves and they turned out perfectly.
I made this for Rosh Hashanah and EVERYONE raved! thanks:)
I made this and it was amazingly delicious, tasty, moist and abundant. I froze some for next week.
Update on my cakes: I made two 9′ round and delivered one to my landlord who lives downstairs. He asked me if I was professionally trained as a baker which is a testament to this recipe, not my ability to follow instructions.
I made this not once but TWICE over the weekend – the second time I cut the baking powder to 1 tsp and it was definitely denser than the first version, which was lighter and fluffier. Maybe the tablespoon of baking powder is a typo? Well either way, everyone loved it, thanks!!
I can’t wait to try this – thanks for the recipe!
because there was so much batter, i made two cakes: a bundt and a flat layer (in a pyrex pan). oddly enough, the flat cake sank, but the bundt was fine. maybe the cake needs more even cooking? with the hole in the middle of the bundt, perhaps this helps? the bundt was also more moist and more flavorful. interesting……
Interestingly, I was in a Mexican restaurant the other day in Houston, where I live, and they had Sopapillas on their buffet with the traditional honey…I thought, but turned out to be half honey/half dark corn syrup. It has a wonderful taste.
Reading this recipe, I intend to make it with that Mexican Honey/Corn syrup in lieu of straight honey.
Hi Deb – I made this cake in a bundt pan and it did not sink at all. My guests kept on asking for seconds and thirds. It was perfectly moist and spicy. It tasted like Autumn/Halloween – it was amazingly perfect.
OMG!This cake was incredibly delicious, I seriously couldn’t stop eating it! I made it on Tuesday and it’s already gone, I think I’m going to have to make another, thank you for this fabulous recipe, it’s so easy! too bad there’s a TON of sugar in it! Oh well, who needs slim thighs anyway :)
Hi, I made this for Rosh Hashanah this week. I got the same recipe from epicurious. Mine also fell but in a big way. It’s nice to know others have had that problem. I baked mine in a angel food pan and it overflowed when baking and fell on only one side so it looked really odd. I cut it up to serve it. But it was good and easy otherwise.
I made a loaf of this last night (after sundown–not quite Rosh Hashanah but close). I didn’t see the comments here about reducing the leavening but I will make note for next time. There will MOST DEFINITELY be a next time. I cut the recipe by a third (approximately) and the single loaf was gone by breakfast today. YUM. Though next time I’ll skip the sliced almonds, as many of them sank to the bottom and I never did like nuts in my quick breads anyway.
I just made the honey cakes using 2 t baking powder and 1 t soda. They were absolutely stunning and perfectly domed on top. I was bummed that a little bit stuck in one of the corners but that allowed me a little taste before tonight’s dinner. Yum. This honey cake is not like others. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I made this cake in an angel-food cake pan and it came out beautifully–but my 3 year-old was running around me in the kitchen and I forgot to add the almonds. This is the second year I made it and both times I swapped out the whiskey for dark Demerara rum. It just seemed to make more sense to me with all the spices. That and I have a hard time parting with good drinking whiskey!
Eeek! Fail! Stupid tiny oven. I stupidly put it on the middle rack, where it rose precipitiously, then burned to a crisp before the middle was anything but goo. Adios, $12 dollars of ingredients!
Oooh, this is a lovely honey cake – so much better than the ones we used to have when I was a kid. I used apple juice instead of orange juice because I didn’t have any orange juice and apples are sort of right for New Year, and went for tea instead of coffee because I just couldn’t imagine coffee working in a cake like this (although I may try it the next time I make it).
Having seen the comments about leavening, I used a scant tablespoon of baking powder and left out the soda. The cakes rose a little in the oven, and then deflated but didn’t sink – they came out very slightly risen. I have to say, I wouldn’t expect a cake like this to rise very much anyway, any more than I’d expect gingerbread to rise. Overall, I was really pleased with it. Thanks, Deb.
I have made this a few times since 2008. I really wanted to make it in my bundt tin tonight but I lost my nerve when I saw how many others warned against it. I baked the full recipe in two 8″ cake tins, I did mine on 170C (convection oven) on an upturned roasting tin as I don’t have a big enough baking sheet, for 55 mins, and they are beauuuuuutiful. Perfectly domed, slightly glossy, the almonds did not sink and have browned just enough (I always expect them to burn or sink). They smell fab. I used a mixture of peach and lemon juice as I had no oranges but had opened peaches this morning, and as usual I used demerara instead of granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar. I can’t wait to dig into this but I am going to leave them to mature overnight.
The flavour of the cake is great, and it is very moist. But it was kind of denser and gummier with 1 tsp baking powder than it was with 1 tbsp. It’s still delicious and everyone who tried it today loved it but I think I might up the baking powder next time as I miss that lovely fluffy crumb…
oh, I also used self-raising flour, but it was pretty old and I doubt there was much rise left in it.
Back again for Yomtov 2023. I buttered and floured a bundt and followed the current directions, using apple juice again (no booze as the child demanded bowl cleaning privileges), and decaf coffee instead of tea. My bundt isn’t big enough for the mix and some of it baked on the (just cleaned) oven liner. But we’ve munched some of that whilst waiting for the cake to cool enough to be turned out and it is very good, as ever.
Update: it turned out nearly perfectly, and the bit that came off came off because it had overflowed. Next time I’ll take a cup or so out of the pan and bake it separately.
I was thinking of making this cake but was wondering which honey to use (flavor, brand etc)?
Hi Tess — I don’t think it matters, you should use whatever you like. Clover or orange blossom seem more traditional, but honestly, I just use whatever is on hand. Enjoy!
The honey cakes were happily gobbled down, even by the most skeptical. One friend, acknowledging that honey cake is like Jewish fruitcake and generally received with only tepid thanks, could not get enough of this. This recipe was a huge hit and will be added to my special folder of holiday recipes as it looks bound to become tradition. Thanks so very much.
This looks wonderful; with the story and pictures you’ve really made me want to stop what I’m doing and make this myself!
Thanks for sharing this and presenting it in a very rich way!
I just made this last night. Boy is this A LOT of cake! i made 8 mini loafs, 6 small bunt, 4 more mini cupcake. I had to split it between my running buddy’s office, my office and hubby+me. the minis are super cute +less prone to collapsing =)
I was went shopping for some honey yesterday afternoon but i didn’t realize i ran out of regular APF flour! so i used 1 cup reg. flour, and 2.5 whole wheat pastry flour and i also used a bit less oil (the office ladies whine). the cakes are a success! they are still perfectly moist and the flour mix gave it even more texture. very good crumb, moist and just the sweetness we need. the cake are a bit sticky coming out of their molds but they all got out okay. make sure they are still kinda warm though!
I am new to this blog. Thanks Deb for this great find. I am making the PB+choc cake this weekend for my running buddies (post 22+ mile run nutrition) hehe.
now i kinda miss it, now all the cakes are gone… i gotta make more friends to be able to make another batch..
This is the recipe I have searched for all my life!!!! Thanks sooo much!!!
I made this last weekend and it was AMAZING. It really does get more dense and moist after a day or two.
We made a few changes:
1/2 c vegetable oil, 1/2 c olive oil because that was all I had.
Woodford Reserve instead of whiskey (or is that whiskey? I don’t know).
Nutmeg instead of allspice.
My one note would be that this wa WAY too much batter for a regular bundt pan. We poured all the batter in mine – bad decision – and a cup or so poured over onto the baking sheet. Next time I would probably split between a bundt and a small loaf pan. (We did eat the extra batter – it cooked up fine on the pan!)
to keep your cakes from falling increase the soda 1 tsp for every cup of honey you use. ;) Works like a charm…
Two things:
1. I followed the recipe exactly, and used one 9×13-inch pan, and it baked perfectly. No falling cakes, no overflow. Just perfect moistness and light, delicious cake with Tons Of Flavor.
2. Back in comment 157, I asked whether you can taste the alcohol in this, since there were going to be a couple sober alcoholics at my holiday gathering. Well, I gambled and put the whiskey in anyway… with mixed results. While I couldn’t personally taste any alcohol, one of the people could, and after two bites of the cake, decided he’d rather not have any more. The other person couldn’t taste it, and had no problem. So, fair warning: Do Not Add Alcohol if you are going to be serving this to people sensitive to it!
I just made this in 2 large loaf pans, and it is absolutely fantastic!!! I had enough to share pieces with several friends, and I gave it to them when it was still warm and they could smell all the spices. I used whiskey and followed everything else exactly, and I have gotten compliments galore and love it myself. This is the first recipe of yours I’ve made and I will be back for more! Great job!!!
having failed too often with everyone’s mother’s favourite recipes, i searched the web for “best honey cake” for the jewish new year, and i certainly hit the jackpot with this find. it was a knockout winner, and has become this mother’s favourite.
it didn’t sink at all. perfect.
as i made it in australia, here are my metric conversions:
• Fits in three loaf pans, two 22cm square or round cake pans, one 22cm or 25cm tube or bundt (ribbed ring form) cake pan, or one 22x33cm sheet cake.
• 350°F = 180°C.
thankyou marcy goldman and everyone else who handed it on!
Great recipe! I followed your directions minus the whiskey, used brandy flavoring mixed with water (wasn’t going to go out and buy anything) and it tastes great! I didn’t have a problem with the cakes falling, and all my friends loved it!
I made this today, and it’s really yummy. It did fall a bit, so if I make it again I’ll probably cut back on the baking powder.
I halved the white sugar and oil, and replaced them with .5c apple sauce, and added 1t orange zest. Mmmm, my house smells great.
I talked my friend into making this for work today,and it was divine! I think it would have been better hot and fresh from the oven, but I’m sure it’s easy to reheat. I think the orange juice really made it for me – it definitely gave it that tang that brought everything together. She baked hers in two small loaf pans and a cake pan, and hers didn’t sink at all (not that it would have mattered!).
Oh, and just to show that I’m not totally selfish, I made the whipped cream for the cake. ;)
Made it in the morning and my house is still smelling great! I’ll probably cut back on the ground cloves (or eliminate them) and try one of those gourmet honey’s, lavender or lemon…. =)
Thank you for your great recipes!
Oh my god, this looks amazing! It’s well past Rosh Hashana, and I’m not even Jewish, but I will definitely be giving this a try.
How long does this keep?
This keeps for a three to four days at room temperature. For storage longer than that, I always recommend that people freeze cakes, well-wrapped (at least twice in plastic, three times is better). It’s the best way to ensure it will taste fresh when you’re ready to serve it.
Thanks! :-)
Also – and this might be a stupid question – but when you say 1/2 cup brown sugar, do you mean packed?
It should be packed.
These were really good, I made one loaf and about 18 cupcakes out of the batter. Mine were really moist, but yours look like they are oozing with honey, any thoughts? Add more honey?
Wonderful cake! I halved the recipe, used 2t. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 2 eggs. Didn’t have o.j., but juiced a tangerine and used that (with coffee and no alcohol). Didn’t have allspice so I added a pinch of nutmeg with the cinnamon and cloves. Even with my little changes, it was outstanding and my 21 year old son kept asking, “Mom, when are you going to open up your bakery?” I used a 9″ round standard cake pan and the cake rose beautifully and looked great — the slivered almonds on the top helped.
I just made this cake last night for my (Jewish) Dad’s 66th birthday and it was a huge hit!!! Thanks! I also thought I’d share a few changes I made that certainly did not hurt the end result:
1.5 c. whole wheat flour and 2 c. white
1.5 c. honey
1 c. Rapadura (dried, ground cane juice – healthiest sugar product)
I also frosted it with whipped cream. Yum!!
Thanks for this delicious recipe! My family LOVES this cake! I made it last Rosh Hashana and my son loved it so much he wanted it again as his birthday cake! :)
Do any of you you think it could be adapted for Passover use? I have no idea how to swap out the flour. I thought maybe almond flour…but would the quantities be the same as the regular flour? Maybe a mix of matzo meal and almond flour?
Thanks for any advice! I’d love to make this for Passover for my dad who is a huge honey cake fan.
i would like to try this sometimes!!! it sounds delicious and moist!!! i usually go for the more carrot cake/pound cake, or ice cream cake, so i’ll be trying something new! -thanx :)
After reading this post I just had to make the cake, and let me tell you, it didn’t sink, the timing in the oven for both, a loaf pan and a tube pan were super accurate and the moistness and texture out of this world! It might get better with age, but unfortunately ALL this cake was gone in a day!
I also lost my honeycake recipe (it was with separated eggs and chocolate chips). I made this cake for Shavuoth in Jerusalem (fairly high altitude.) I mistakenly used 1 tbls. b.s. and 1 pkg. Israeli b.p.(12 gram). Didn’t fall at all. Made full bundt pan plus narrow disposable aluminum pan. Happy to have a one-pan no eggs-separating recipe. Thank you.
Oh my, this cake made my whole apartment smell like fruit cake, although it tastes more like a distant cousin of ginger cake. It is lovely — solid but moist, spicy, warming and satisfying.
I made half the recipe amount as I have only one square cake tin. I didn’t reduce the baking soda, but I did use a third less baking powder, measure for measure, and the cake actually rose in the middle. I also opened my new, vacuum packed packet of Sultry Kerala Cloves for the recipe, and used nutmeg instead of the allspice. I threw in two chopped and peeled granny smiths but wish I’d chopped them more finely as they seem to have bunched up in the middle. I’m not sure the apple adds much more than subtle moisture and flavour though — this cake has lots of character already.
Absolutely delicious. I tried it today-horrible day, pouring with rain-and it was the perfect thing to spice up my afternoon. Next time, I’m going to try it with grated apple :) Enjoy, I highly reccomend this recipe
What an incredible recipe– the flavor is amazing. One tip though, DEFINITELY cook it longer than stated, especially if you’re looking to use a bundt cake pan, because there is a lot of liquid in the batter and it’s an easy one to undercook.
I’d like to add some chopped apples to the recipe. Can I do that without making any adjustments?
Can this be frozen?
Yes, the honey cake can certainly be frozen.
I just tested this recipe. I altered the spices a bit because of what I had on hand. I used whisky and dark coffee and it is DIVINE! It’s light and airy and moist and spicy and heart and belly warming.
I will be making this again…and again…and again.
I always thought I had to make my mom’s recipe, which involved separating eggs, folding the whites into the batter, etc…way too much trouble for the “meh” end result, to get a nice light honey cake. Not anymore!
Thank you!!!
Hi, I’ve been asked to do a Honey cake for the holidays but she wants it decorated, so I was wondering what kind of icing would go with this cake, I’m making Buttercream for another cake, could I used the same for the honey cake?
thanks for your help!
Made the recipe this morning – my 1st attempt at honey cake – and I’ll tell you all my 3 cakes came out PERFECTO! they did not fall in the middle and i was extra worried because i sprinkled a bunch of slivered almonds smack dab in the middle – oy i said – am i a moron? deb said it will fall in the middle and now i’m putting extra weight in the middle? well lo and behold – they all came out perfect and i followed the recipe exactly! I’m actually flying down to visit my parents in Florida on Tuesday and will be bringing some down with me! All the different flavors are so evident and wonderful – YUM!
3 lovely loaves just came out of the oven. (i was a tiny bit nervous going in – i read all of the comments, paying careful attention to the discussion about leavening. i used 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda. next time, i’ll try the baking soda only option, just to see.)
the cakes are golden and lovely. only a teeny tiny dip in the center that i probably would not have thought twice about were it not for the discussion here. of course, i already sliced a piece to taste – the texture is perfect – not too dense, not too fluffy (if that’s even an option), i like the bit of chew around the edges, the honey flavor is strong and delicious and i love that, i didn’t notice the whiskey at all. perfect for this holiday.
thank you, as always, for your delicious recipes (and beautiful photography!). wishing you a sweet new year!
I just baked this cake a couple of hours ago. I’m bringing it to my boyfriend’s parents’ house tomorrow. (I’m not Jewish, but my guy is.) It did sink a little bit but I’m not worried, haven’t tasted it yet but it smells and looks delicious. A nervous Lutheran experiencing her first Rosh Hashanah thanks you.
Well I’ve got two in the oven right now in loaf tins, I just checked them one has overflowed a bit. Perhaps you should amend the instructions for stupid people like myself to only 3/4 or 7/8 fill the loaf tins to allow for them to rise. What was I thinking the baking powder and soda were for DOH. By the way they smell delicious and it’s three hours till rosh ha shanna (Jewish New Year) in Western Australia so Hag Sameach (Happy Holydays) everyone.
I baked this last night. I used 1.5 tsp baking powder instead of the full tbsp and I subbed apple juice for the alcohol. Turned out so perfect!!! I am keeping this recipe forever!
I made this last night and they taste delicious. Not exactly like my Bobe’s, but so good! I made it in three loaf pans and they all overflowed, I’m glad they were on the cookie sheets! I also added some cardamom to the recipe.
Thank you and shana tova!
Well, with all the rave reviews, how could I not try this recipe for the holiday? I have 4 loaf pans baking in the oven with 5 hours to go until candle lighting. I guess I’ll have to wait and see how it tastes, but I’m sure that it will be amazing.
Shana Tova U’Metuka / Have a happy and sweet new year!
Oh my… Thank you so much for this recipe! I took the cake out not 5 minutes ago, and the family wants to have some. I live 30 min from Denver, and, probably due to the altitude, the cake has sunk a little. But the batter was delicious, and I might put a honey glaze or something on top to counter it. I used the 1 tsp of baking powder and soda suggested by other readers, and it’s only a little dip. Definetly something I’ll be bringing to our service!
I agree that most honey cakes are atrocious. I like “Aunt Ethyl’s” from California Kosher. No spices particularly, but lots of delicious moist flavor. really good semi-frozen too for the impatient among us. It calls for a jigger of whiskey, I believe, but I have used rum, hazelnut liqueur, whatever is in my cabinet. making one now, just came on to see why it always falls. I am at 5200 ft, so I’ll try cutting the baking powder.
I am wondering what would be a good substitute for whiskey. I do not drink, cannot drink and won’t use any alcoholic substance in a recipe. I notice there are several recipes that call for whiskey or in one case stout. Does anyone have any idea or should I just skip the recipe altogether?
I made this cake yesterday in a bundt pan and it overflowed making a total mess. After reading comments, I used only 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda in 2 loaf pans with parchment paper. Perfect.
I made this honey cake yesterday for the holiday and it was absolutely delicious. I made only 1/3 of the recipe, using one loaf pan, and I used equal parts baking soda and baking powder. It did not sink AT ALL, in fact it peaked, but I think I may have overmixed the batter a little bit trying to compensate for the possibility of it sinking in the middle. Clearly I didn’t need to do that! Thank you for posting this Deb, and thanks to everyone for the feedback about it sinking!
I served this today at Rosh Hashanah lunch to rave reviews! I baked it on Thursday night but it was still moist and fluffy this afternoon. I only used one larger loaf pan, and the batter filled that with just enough left over for a mini pan (for a trial run). Doing it with a larger pan, it took about an hour and ten minutes to fully bake (although the mini pan was done after 45 minutes). I added 1/2 cup of grated apple, and only used a splash of whiskey, but the taste still came through.
Thnx- in return; peperoni chicken: in slow cooker, mix 1 lg can crushed tomato, 1 lg can tomato paste,1 cup Philly style sweet peppers w/juice,1 cup carrots,1 cup peperoni, 1 med onion (sliced), 3-5 pieces of bone-in frozen chicken mix all ingredients, cover chicken, cook 4-5 hours on low, serve w/rice
Fabulous, moist, just sweet enough, scrumptious. My first time baking a honey cake. I asked hubby if he liked honey cake, his reply was: “my Mom used to buy one every week and, of course, I love honey cake but haven’t had one in years”. Well, he just loved this one. A huge hit too with our friends. Again, thanks for posting another winner!!
Bookmarked this last year and finally made it for the 2nd night celebrations yesterday. I used grape-seed oil and used bourbon as the liquor and it was AWESOME. Wouldn’t change a thing. Made it in a 9 x 13 sheet because I couldn’t find my bundt pan. The edges were a TAD dry, but the whole thing was to die for… and I don’t normally like honey cake. Tastes really good with a bit of homemade vanilla whipped cream on top :)
Will definitely be making this again. Thank you so much for posting!
I made this in a Star of David Bundt pan. Mine sunk in the middle, too. Guess from the comment above that I better toss out the old baking powder! I substituted orange marmalade for the OJ, and used Irish Mist for the whiskey. I’m taking it tonight to a little salon a few of us gather for once a month. My hostess’ boyfriend is Irish, hence the license with Irish Mist!
I made this as written in the cookbook without reading all the comments. I filled 6 mini loaf pans and one large loaf pan 3/4 full. The mini all overflowed and they were all sunk in the middle. I can’t get them out of the pans either. But the taste is so delicious that I read the comments and googled the recipe. I came across a recent SF Gate article that has the recipe with the adjusted leaving http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/11/FDJR19GCJV.DTL I will definitely use the revised recipe and try again next year.
I made this recipe yesterday and I wanted to let you know how it turned out. It was really good! I went with the 1 teaspoon of baking powder and I had no issues. It was a very tender cake.
I agree with the commenter above (without the nastiness and negativity) that it’s much like a quick bread and not very honey-ey. However, my Jewish gf said that that is what honey cake is supposed to taste like. Next time, I’ll use a stronger honey (vs. the orange blossom one I used this time).
Forgot to add, I halved the recipe and made it into 4 mini tube pans and 6 heart shaped muffins (regular muffin sized).
I LOVE your website and the Cake so much ! Although we have lot of Honey cake recipes here in Nigeria but your is DEFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!! I will teach my staff on your Honey cake recipe for them to benefit from you…… Well i will like to know if you do training on Cake making and sugar craft, cos i hope to come down to learn more about cakes and others.Thanks for your post!!!!
While I haven’t made this recipe (yet), I wanted to mention for the sake of everyone who’s asked about egg substitutes: use 1 T cornstarch OR arrowroot powder + 2 T water for each egg in a recipe. Sometimes a little more water needs to be used if the recipe seems particularly dry, but I’ve used this for cakes, cookies, muffins, you name it, and haven’t had any “bad” results that I can remember.
I’m sure you could use any other thickener you have on hand, as well- potato starch, for example, or even more flour, though I haven’t tried either of those. I would, however, make sure to use all or most of the oil/butter in the original recipe, so that you’re not taking all of the fat out of the recipe. Fat is necessary in baked goods for the proper moistness and texture.
Just made this without orange juice (just upped the coffee — and I just used instant espresso) and made it with brandy.
Incredible. Fills 6 small loaf pans nicely (which is my favorite size, btw, great for hostess presents — the lemon yogurt blueberry cake recipe x2 fills 7 of these things).
Excellent crumb on this cake. Yum.
From my experiences with this cake, I’ve got to say that I much prefer it with the coffee and the booze than with tea and no booze. That said, I’m sure it would be great with extra coffee and no booze, but I think the coffee is an important ingredient in balancing the sweetness of the honey. Also, for people looking for egg substitutes, as someone who never uses eggs (not used to them and don’t like the smell/taste), I would back Amanda up on the cornstarch substitute, or I would use a ready made starch-based egg replacer powder, which is finer and is made from a mixture of starches. For things like brownies though, which need stronger binding, I would suggest tofu, about 1/4 cup pureed for each egg. You can’t even tell the difference, and tofu has lecithin in it, like eggs, which binds the ingredients in baked goods together. But don’t ever use tofu in cakes like this, it will make them way too dense and stodgy. You need to be careful, an egg replacer that works well in one recipe will fail in another, so practice makes perfect.
As usual, I am a year or more behind the rest of the world! It always takes me so long to catch up with you all!! Anyway, so glad I found this site. I will definitely be making this cake as part of Thanksgiving dessert; but, I especially liked the funny part about your visitor! One time, I found myself screaming at the top of my lungs simply because my girlfriend was doing so ~ and running from my steps to my backyard when I finally found out why she (we) were screaming!! A slug on the steps!!!
This is a great and interesting recipe. I was luck to have all the ingredients. It combines all my favorite flavors and spices. You taste a little bit of everything in every bite. The recipe also makes great muffins.
Wonderful! Made this yesterday…we can’t stop eating it. I will make it again and again. Maybe it’s just us, but we can’t taste and whisky or the coffee…but it is a great combination in this cake. Thanks for sharing and thanks for all the feedback..some great ideas.
My challahs are baking now. I love the sounds of your recipe, but I’m having the same problem right now I have with ANY challah recipe: I did all the rises exactly as supposed to, made the braids, let it rise again, and stuck it in the oven. One those loaves get some hear, they triple ion size, the braids pull apart, the things get HUGE! Help!! What am I doing wrong?
Wait. You mean it’s THAT easy? And involves no golden syrup? I mean, no insult intended to Lyle’s, but in honey cake? The only recipes I’ve come across that looked remotely promising ALL had the gold stuff in them. I’m distinctly relieved that this doesn’t, yet you call it good. Perhaps I’ll make it tomorrow (tomorrow being boxing day and therefore a totally appropriate date for consumption of trad Jewish cake)!
Aw, man! I’m not Jewish, and it’s closer to January 1 than Rosh Hashana, but I just made this and it is *delicious*. You’re right – it’s awesome in the morning with a strong cup of coffee.
Great, moist, and super easy – thanks for posting the recipe!
I’ve never baked anything before… until a few days ago. I found this recipe and wanted to give it a try. Eating healthy, whole-grain foods is important to me, so I figured I’d be a bit daring and tried substituting ALL (not half like most recommend) of the all-purpose flour with organic whole wheat flour. From suggestions of a few other websites, I used 7/8 the amount of flour (a little more than 3 cups) and 1.5 times as much baking powder (1.5 tbsp), and I added in a little extra of most of the fluids (orange juice, tea, etc.). It came out pretty well. From the half a dozen or so people who tried it, none of them disliked it. Responses ranged from “ok” to “perfect”. It had a bit grainier flavor, which really gave it a nice touch. Thanks for the recipe. And kudos to anyone else willing to try the whole wheat flour.
I quietly substituted your recipe for the recipe on a Disney card that my daughter had her heart set on (sorry, dear, 1/2 cup of shortening? bleh!) with spectacular results. The only change I had to make was to supplement my missing 1/4 c of honey with molasses. Yum, yum, extra yum!
Just tried the recipe, but with amaretto (lots!), peach juice, vanilla-flavored green tea, and no cinammon. It’s excellent with a hot cup of tea!
I tried reading all the comments before asking my dumb shiksa question. I have been asked to make a honey cake for Passover. (so I’m not the only shiksa in this crew.) What do you think of using matzo cake meal in this cake? Clearly these are not observant Jews I’m cooking for so I have no intention of modifying anything else, like the leavening. A friend said I’d love your site. He was right. I do. thanks for your answer to my stupid question.
margaret — Not every recipe can have the flour swapped with matzo (or better, matzo cake meal) successfully; you’ll likely need less cake meal than you’d need flour, from my experience. Your best bet is to make test batch. And of course, let us know how it goes — I am sure others would like to try the same.
Thanks, Deb: I made it with 2-3/4 cups of matzoh cake flour in a 9×13 pan. It baked in 45 minutes, is nice and moist and quite flavorful. This is the test batch. I’m taking it to a church meeting tonight and freezing the rest. I didn’t add the almonds-decided it was expensive enough. I’ll do that for the seder at church. Thanks very much.
Did anyone substitute sugar and use ALL honey ? Or use less sugar and more honey?
Ok, question. I have been looking for a honey-based cake for some time now. How honey-ey is the cake? I am trying to make a cake inspired by my favorite candy bar of all time- Cadbury Crunchie. It’s a honeycomb candy coated with chocolate. I am going to make a honey-flavored cake (9 in round pans) and coat with dark chocolate frosting… either ganache or buttercream- haven’t decided… with little bits of chopped up candy bar on top. Thoughts? Do you think this recipe would work?
Katie — If you tone down or remove most of the spices, it will have a stronger honey flavor. It’s there, but the spices do distract.
Wow! The honey, the whiskey, the spices… I had some friends over for dinner, and this cake had them silent except for the moans of satisfaction. Such a simple-looking, but amazing cake. Thanks!
I made this for a potluck on Friday night, and I must admit that I was surprised by just HOW MUCH cake there was. Nevertheless, it was very well received. I really liked the slivered almonds on top!
Okay, I just read all the comments and I can’t quite seem to find the answer.
I have Marcy’s cookbook and I checked the recipe there just to see what you changed…and I want to know (mostly for curiosity, I suppose) why you added the extra flour, baking powder, and baking soda? Also, why an extra 1/2 cup of sugar, why not just substitute part of the white for brown? I notice that you also increased the liquid with the orange juice – is that what caused the change in flour content? I’m really just wondering but since I’m going to make it, I was wondering which way would turn out best!!! Thanks so much!!!
Deb:
I was just wondering if you think that some caramelized apples on the bottom of the pan might brighten this up a bit…that way ya get your apples and honey all in one go? Thanks! By the way I have been visiting your site for almost a year and it has been a pleasure to read your blog, recipes and to watch Jacob grow..he is darling.
Sound like a great recipe, thanks!
Do you know how much time in advance can I make it? where should I keep? (refrigerator, outside?)
My cakes just came out of the oven,
Delicious.
I added anise seed to the recipe because thats what my old honey cake recipe called for and I love the taste. I was looking for a recipe that was moist because I found my last one was quite dry, and this is a great improvement.
I think next time I make it I’ll cut down the sugar just a bit because it is a little sweet for my liking, but its the new year so a little extra sweetness can’t do much harm.
Thanks a lot!!
Booze suggestion: Sabra! It is kosher and is an orange/chocolate taste liquer
Is it possible to use creamed honey instead of the liquid.
my bubbie always wrapped in a little rum and plastic wrap
OMG. I have different recipe from the old Grossinger’s (Catskills) cookbook, but it looks the same as this one, sank in the middle. I was googling why, when I came upon this picture, so I guess I am not the only one this happens to. Anyway, if you are making honey cake, Shana Tova!
I have been making honey cakes as New Year’s gifts for years, and have never found an outstanding version until now. This isn’t just a “I have to make a honey cake for the holiday” cake; this is truly a majestic and moist treat for any time of the year. This and a cup of tea will cure what ails you.
I made the recipe in mini loaf pans–check them after 20-25 minutes or so because they’ll bake quickly. Do follow the instruction of placing the pans on baking sheet(s). I used the 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda. I added a Tbsp of grated orange rind just to crank up the orange flavor a little, as Deb had suggested way back when.
I wrapped them in foil while they were still a warm, to ensure moistness for the next couple of days. I had no sinking middles in the cakes, only smiles of surprise and delight among my friends.This is gift-worthy for anyone at any time.
I meant to add, these rise quite a bit, so I suggest making your pans 2/3-3/4 full of batter.
Wonderful recipe, thank you! Will make 4 of these for the Rosh Hashanah dinner.
What do you think of doing a honey syrup glaze to pour over the top (perhaps after stabbing the cake with a skewer a million or so times)? I was thinking apple in the cake, then a little apple juice mixed with honey to make a nice gooey sauce to pour over it… apple + honey poured on an apple-honey cake? Guaranteed sweet New Year, right (asks the Shiksa who is nonetheless going to celebrate Rosh Hashanah by baking this cake, another raisin challah, etc., for Shabbos dinner for a friend… who doesn’t keep kosher, so that’s not a problem)?
I don’t think it will be bad, but I don’t think it is necessary. The cake is pretty sweet.
Phyllis — Very interesting. My book is MIA right now but every version I have Goolged online shows the same amount of flour and leaveners I use here. It would explain a lot (such as my crater-cakes), however!
Everyone else looking at this recipe right now — I’m looking for a few minutes to properly retest this before the holidays start this week with the “correct” amount of leavener. I suspect (after checking Bakewise) that only using 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda or nixing it entirely will keep the cake from sinking.
I just baked this cake and have the same question as someone above…do I refrigerate or leave on counter till needed (2 days)? Wrapped in foil?
I think it should be fine at room temperature.
fabulous!!! and what an aroma!!! i didn’t use baking soda at all and it came out perfect. Shana Tova!
You rock! I use your challah recipe and your sweet kugel recipe and this one was just as good. My cakes fell as well but I did not have baking soda on hand and only used baking powder so maybe that had something to do with it. Also, my husband was making a huge racket in the background so maybe mine fell due to noise as well! Keep up the amazing work.
i love this cake ….i didn’t had wishkey or rye but since there is a coffee in it i put 1/2 cup of kaluah mmmmmm…its taste great !!!!
thank you for the recipe you made my rosh hashana better.
shana tova !!!!
so good!!! I just came across this page and made it and I cant wait to bring it over to my mom’s for our Rosh Hashana feast tonight! Shana Tova!
Very good! I made this today for Rosh Hashana dinner. Everyone liked it. I omitted the baking soda and used only the 1 Tbsp of baking powder and it turned out nicely; no falling at all. I baked it in a Bundt pan, but only for 50-55 minutes. Next time, I might leave it to cool completely before turning it out, as a few bits of the top got left behind in the pan. Oh, I also used 2 tsp of cinnamon instead of 4, but added 2 tsp of ground ginger. Left out the booze and added extra coffee instead, but I like the idea above of adding Kahlua….maybe next time. Thank you! Shana Tova!
This is currently in the oven. The dough tastes wonderful and like every recipe I get here, I’m SURE the finished product will be wonderful. Just in time for night 2 of Rosh Hashanah!
Yum!!!! Finally a honey cake I can look forward to! I only used 1t of baking soda and baking powder each, and baked it in a tube pan w/ removal bottom – nonstick but still with parchment paper and PAM spray, and it came out PERFECT. I also used only 1c of white sugar and increased the honey to 1.5 cups since I really wanted a strong honey flavor. I also added some ginger, and toasted the almonds and dusted them with flour before putting them on the top of the cake so that they wouldn’t sink. I used whiskey, and a splash of Grand Marnier – I thought it might help bring out the o.j. flavor. I made one separate mini loaf for myself and it was heavenly. I made some cinnamon whipped cream to go on top, without a lot of sugar since the cake is so sweet already. Forget the meal, bring on dessert! Shana tova!
HI! Re: Comment #165 about egg white.
Egg white is a drying agent and a leavening agent. Egg Yolk will make baked goods moist. I imagine if you substitute egg whites for whole egg, your resulting cake will be drier and crumblier. Yolk has fat and I want to say lecithin, the chemical that causes emulsions.
Re: baking soda v baking powder. Your instincts are correct to back off on some of the baking powder. Baking powder does MOST of the lifting in this recipe; the baking soda is like an insurance policy. (Test your baking powder to make sure it has some oomph by mixing a little baking powder in warm water. if it fizzes, it’s good!) Too much baking soda or baking powder will cause larger bubbles in the batter, which will collapse causing Cave in Cake. :) Too much leavening agent also makes batters bitter. (Per the joy of baking.com)
CAN’T WAIT TO BAKE THIS LOVELY LUSCIOUSNESS!
Just found this post while googling for a honey cake recipe. I will definitely try it. BTW, yesterday I passed a Park Slope bakery that was charging about $40 for a honey cake!
I was at Whole Foods on the eve or Rosh Hashana and they had honey cakes. I too have never been a fan of the traditional honey cake(though for me I think it’s about the cloves and nutmeg–just not a fan of spiced cakes). Anyhow, I saw this amazing, rich, dark, moist cake in the Whole Foods bakery and it also had a divet like yours. So I don’t think it was your scream or the falling utensil. I think it may be how the honey, since it liquifies more when heated and settles toward the middle. That’s just my guess anyhow.
Made this last night and everyone raved! Thank you!! (oh, and it looked perfect without any sunken-in center).
Just took the cakes out of the oven and I may not make it to dinner before trying some. My whole house smells heavenly. I used 1 t. baking powder and 1 t. soda and no sunken centers. I made one 9 X 5 loaf and 5 miniatures, so plenty for us and to give away too. Perfect for the second night of Rosh HaShannah (I couldn’t make it yesterday, I spent the day making a gigantic, double loaf, round challah that was bigger than my young son!). Thanks Deb, you’re my culinary hero!
I cater for the Jewish community of Kauai and tried your recipe this year. Everyone said it was the best they have ever had!!! I made a glaze with passion fruit and orange. I did not have whiskey so I used rum. I doubled the recipe for a hotel pan and it did fine, it did not sink at all. Also, I added some cardamom. I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes!! Thank you so much!
Silly me, I was distracted while making this, mentally cutting the recipe in half and on phone at the same time…and I totally forgot to add the brown and white sugar…d’oh!!!! Cake didn’t brown as nicely as in the picture (no surprise, really, given that I left out all that sugar!), but it was still pretty tasty – it had enough sweetness to offset the taste of the liquor and coffee, and had a nice texture. I made a quick confectioners sugar/honey/vanilla glaze to pour on top. Fail averted! Husband says, “No disaster, this is delicious!” I’m sure this cake would be even more fab-u-lous-ly delicious if made as written…I will definitely try it again and give it my full attention! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I just made this. It smelled wonderful cooking, and it also tastes very good. I like whole wheat flour, so I substituted a cup of that for a cup of white flour (so I still used 2-1/2 cups white flour). Also cut down the sugar to a heaping 1-1/2 cups. And I used buckwheat honey, and brandy instead of whiskey because that’s what I had on hand. The buckwheat honey is super flavorful, and I could probably stand to reduce the sugar even more with that in mind. I do think in the morning for the next few days, with a cup of coffee, this cake will be quite delicious!
By the way, I made this in a 9×13″ pan, and the cake did sink slightly in the middle, but it doesn’t look disastrous. Since people are saying they made it without any baking powder at all, I’d probably try reducing it to a teaspoon next time.
Bundt pan question — I assume you put the almonds in the pan first, then pour in the batter, so the almonds will be on top of the cake?
Okay, so I’m two years late to this party, but just made this cake last night and it totally rocked. As advertised: moist and delicious. Not sure about majestic, but then I don’t need to eat a mountain.
I just made this, and it was delicious!! I topped it with a bit of whisky glaze (just whisky mixed with confectioner’s sugar).
I can’t emphasize how much better this cake tastes as the days go by. The first night, when it was still fresh from the oven, it was pretty good. The next day.. Wow, that’s pretty good! And now it’s four days later and the taste is truly excellent. I don’t think it could be any better. Everyone I’ve given it to has loved it. I have not refrigerated it yet, but I probably will tonight. And freeze some because it truly made a lot. Great recipe!
I made this today for the first time and it tastes delicious! Maybe a bit too sweet…. might use less white sugar next time. My main problem is that it’s a cake on the outside (sunk!) but the inside is very much still sludgy! I used 2/3 of everything and cooked until the outside started to overcook (I knew I couldn’t just let it carry on cooking until the middle went cakey) for the required time but it just doesn’t quite fit the ‘cake’ category! Haha! I didn’t add alcohol and didn’t add the baking soda. What can I do to make it like it should be next time? It still tasted lovely and was definitely moist so I’m dead-set on getting it right!!
Based on the above comments and a recipe in “Love and Knishes” I used 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda. I also used slightly less cinnamon, oil, and white sugar than the recipe calls for and replaced about 1 cup of the white flour with whole wheat pastry flour. The cake is moist and delicious as promised and mine didn’t sink… Too bad I was taking it to a strictly kosher dinner with meat and unthinkingly used butter to grease the pans. Had to leave them at home and pick up some dry honey cake at a bakery, but I’m not at all disappointed to have 3 cakes to myself!
Two years later, and I just made this for Rosh HaShana. I didn’t read the comments, which might have kept this wonderful cake from sinking. As we made short work of the cake (gone by the next day!), I said something about possibly having used too much oil or honey. Now I read the leavening comments and… I’ll make this very soon, but cut back on the leavening, as recommended above. But is it ever good! Just the very best.
Do you know if something bad would happen if I replaced the veg oil with butter?
Brittany — I suspect something very good would happen, but please let us know how it goes.
AMAZING! I’ve been baking honey cakes for years and decided to try this one. Best ever! Moist, delicious and well risen. Thank you, thank you.
This is a great cake. I used light olive oil and sub. 1 cup of flour for whole wheat.
and added 2 shredded apples(1 granny and 1 breaburn). made in 2, 9 in cake pans.
I served it with a mascarpone/whipped cream frosting(from chow.com) topped with a few sliced apples and drizzled with honey. OMG, it was soooo good. My jewish friend never had such a great honey cake!
You may get sick of the litany of substitutions…. BUT I reduced the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon as someone had recommended, subbed 1 cup of whole wheat flour for the AP, reduced the white sugar by 1/2 cup, reduced the oil by 1/3 cup, increased salt by 1/2 teaspoon, and doubled the ground cloves. Baked in a bundt for 60 minutes, and actually wish I had reduced that by 5 minutes as it was just a tad tough.
The result was a fragrant and moist cake, that wasn’t too sweet, and will go just as nicely with my coffee tomorrow morning as it did for dessert tonight. Mine also did not sink at all.
I also added the zest of the orange that I juiced, but couldn’t taste much citrus in the final cake. But the whiskey adds a delicious smokey-sweet flavor that I loved and haven’t tasted before.
If you substitute 3/4 cup of applesauce instead of the eggs, this recipe is vegan, AND includes apples (and remains delicious). Perfect for all the Jewish vegan hippies I know. Thanks.
Echoing Michelle’s question (at 296) about putting the nuts on the bottom, not the tops, when using a bundt pan. Does anyone have an answer? Thanks!
yum. i baked this yesterday night and am having a piece for breakfast right now. this is perfect for the season! Moist, just sweet enough and fragrant, with a nice little kick from the allspice. I especially love how you seem to be able to detect the honey flavor =)
i used buckwheat honey, 1.5C brown sugar, 3t cinnamon instead of 4, ommitted the clove, and had 2t baking powder + 1t baking soda. It took about 55mn in a bundt pan but i will reduce the time by 5mn next time (there definitely will be a next time!)
thanks for another great recipe Deb
* 296/309 – i sprinkled the slivered almonds at the bottom of my bundt pan. they didn’t stick and the cake came out beautifully, while the almonds were half covered by the batter and not too visible. they were still well browned and add a bit of crunch
I’m excited to give this a go. I may try using chamomile and also replacing the OJ and whiskey with it.
I made this for holidays this year. A woman who tried it said “it was the best honey cake she ever tasted!”
Why is it such an issue that a cake should fall? Does it affect the flavour or the texture? My cakes have fallen before and they were perfectly fine.
It can get a little heavy. It’s also not so aesthetically pleasing, and a suggestion that some chemistry was off. It’s usually fixable.
I wouldn’t substitute butter in this recipe or in any that calls for vegetable oil. There would be a different texture. I think the reason that honey cake never calls for butter, is that it is parve so can be eaten with any meal. Someone way back made a comment about the one cup of vegetable oil. That isn’t going to do anything to her arteries as she thought as vegetable oil is either mono or poly unsaturated. I don’t detect the flavor of coffee in honeycake, so the person who doesn’t like coffee or tea should use one or the other. Although, if they don’t have either in the house perhaps apple juice would be a good substitute. I wouldn’t use orange as that’s an acid. Sounds like a good recipe.
As far as the mouse in the house, I live near some woods and get them EVERY year. I’ve had lots of spaces plugged up, so hopefully won’t be inundated again. As much as I hate having them, I can’t be too sensitive when it comes to getting rid of them as I live alone. I once had a DOG who was a good mouser. I’m trying not to use poison as they try to get outside to water and then when they die they could be eaten by other critters who then get poisoned…..
One day a friend was here; she is an ER nurse. Her dog caught a mouse in my greenhouse and dropped it near her feet. You should have heard her. She did everything except jump up on a chair. And she’s been working with blood and guts for 30 years! I still tease her about it.
I’m making my first ever Jewish Holiday meal — a friend is coming to stay for 10 days and I think a Hanukkah dinner would be a perfect way to welcome her. (Sounds like honey cake is for the New Year, but heck, that wasn’t so long ago, and we can always use some good luck, I’m thinking. Besides, I don’t have Star of David or Menorah cookie cutters, so the cookies won’t work for me.
I have one question that may sound stupid, but I’m wondering if I’m missing something. Your picture of the sunken cakes has them looking dry; the cut pieces look glazed and moist. Can you tell me what happened between those two photos? Thanks.
It’s been a while, but I’m now thinking that I took the slice photos the next day, perhaps with leftover cake. It’s an incredibly moist cake, so sitting overnight likely redampened the top, which was only dry from heat exposure.
I am Puerto Rican and my Jewish boyfriend swears by his grandma’s Honey Cake!
I will surprise him this weekend for his birthday – this seems to be the best recipe on the net.
Thank you
I am the non-Jew/Gentile/shiska/whatever in charge of making the traditional honey cake each Rosh Hashanah for our friends’ dinner. EVERY year I must give someone this recipe, and I have tried several but this IS THE ONE to stick with. I am baking one right now “off season” for a care taker of our local wolf-dog sanctuary. He’s not Jewish, but he’s going to love this cake. It is perfect for Winter-the cinnamon, all spice and honey baking is like pot pouri and just amazing.
Just made it in a tube pan. There was the tiniest sink in the middle and I didn’t open the oven while it was baking. I baked it at 350 for 65 minutes and it is perfect. Very delicious. A keeper. I didn’t change the recipe at all and I don’t think it is too spicy in any way. I used the coffee and I don’t taste it at all and I like coffee. Honey cake is traditional around the new year due to the use of honey. It isn’t a cake that can’t be enjoyed at any time of year. It used to be traditional at the meal after a bar or bat mitzvah when the receptions were MUCH simpler.
PS: I don’t like booze, but keep some in the house for recipes, and I can’t taste it at all in this cake. I think the combination of ingredients is perfect.
I’m not Jewish but have an elderly Jewish man who is a dear friend. His wife has Alzheimers and is in a nursing home. He was longing for a Honey Cake, so I thought I’d bake one for him. I am an accomplished baker but have never baked this. So-o-o-o-om glad I found this recipe, as it sounds just right.
i’m not jewish but i’m always looking for new receipes & this sounds wonderful. I will try it with apple juice, not whiskey, & use nutmeg instead of allspice… & i might get a little bold & throw in some cranberries (since i HATE raisins)
The most marvelous honey cake I’ve ever had the pleasure to bake and eat!
I decided to try this for Chinese New Year. I did as suggested in the comments and used 2tsp of baking powder. I thought I had 2 Pyrex loaf pans, but one seemed to go missing, so I used the metal loaf pan I found. Here is the thing – the one in the Pyrex pan collapsed but the one in the metal pan did not. Wonder if anyone else had this experience? Nevertheless the cake was delicious. I just ate TWO pieces.
I made this and although it tasted very good, it is kind of crumbly. It also does not look as moist as yours. Yours looks like it is oozing out with honey! Any ideas?
Hi, I’m baking this cake as I “speak.” It looks as if the cakes in the photo are too wet, it usually causes the sunken middle as the rising agents can’t raise the heavy wet center. I think this recipe should call for 4 cups of flour instead of the 3.5 cups.
Great, delicious recipe otherwise! Keep ’em coming!
Great to see this recipe so well illustrated. But you should be concerned about using someone else’s recipe and saying that you adapted it, when you copied it outright. “Adapted from” means that you have made some change(s) to the original. In this case, you have simply copied Ms. Goldman’s recipe here. I hope you got her permission or you may have violated copyright. If nothing else, you certainly give the impression that this is a variation, when it isn’t (I have the cookbook). I think sharing recipes online is great, but please give the proper credit to the person who created it.
I made the recipe as written and baked in a 9 x13″ glass pan. It took 70 minutes before it was done. It filled the pan right to the top and was just a touch lower in the center. Moist but not too heavy. I used brandy instead of whiskey and Earl gray tea. Also subbed a mixture of white wheat and oat flour for half of the AP. I would try reducing oil next time and replacing with apple sauce. Delicious! Thanks.
Could you make cupcakes?! How would this effect the time and temp in the oven?
Fantastic!!! I just got some fresh honey from the beekeeper down the road and was fantasizing about honey cake. Looking forward to making this cake. :)
I might try swapping out some of the white sugar for more honey….currently debating ways to balance the moisture content.
Just want to say how I am in love with your website! Made this honey cake for my mom’s birthday and served it with some honey cream cheese frosting and black coffee. Delicious!~
wow,it was incredible
I don’t know if they still make it, but when I lived in NYC, Arte Cafe ’round the corner on Columbus made a wonderful raspberry honey cake you could buy by the slice. It oozed sweetness.
Wow! I just had add to the already abundant praise for this cake. I am hosting our book club this evening and we try to loosely base our food around the book. This month we read a historical fiction/murder myster called “The Mistress of the Art of Death”. Great read, btw. In it, they mention several times how they didn’t use sugar, but honey to sweeten their baked goods, so I knew I wanted a honey cake. This is perfect. I had read nearly all the comments and had noted that you said it tasted better overnight. Since I wasn’t about to start cooking at 11:30 last night, I got up at 6 and by 6:30am, the cake plus 4 minis were happily scenting my house. Since book club isn’t till 8pm, I think that will count as “overnight”! Of course I couldn’t wait till 8pm to taste it and so I tasted one of the minis (which I actually baked off in my toaster oven, ’cause there wasn’t enough room on the baking sheets with the bundt & other minis), and holy cow! Best breakfast ever…mini honey cake and fresh berries with sour cream!! Soooo good, so moist and flavorful, I cannot wait to serve it tonight. I used the 1tsp ea. of bp and bs with perfect results. The only other changes I made was using 1/2 c applesauce & 1/2 cup oil, and only 1 cup of white sugar: I actually ran out! I forgot the almonds, but hey, it Was 6am! I think I will make these in muffin tins the next time, so I always have one in the freezer to grab! Thank you for a great site and for sharing a great recipe.
like another commenter, i made one loaf and 18 cupcakes. i kept the temp the same, and baked the cupcakes for about 15-17 minutes, checking them often after the 12-minute mark. they were delicious – i used cream cheese frosting (butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar), which was per.fect. if i do say so myself. :-)
Simply had to weigh in on this. My grandmother used to make an amazing honey cake that was super moist and had lots of honey flavor. Unfortunately we did not write down the recipe. My mom, who is now 90, has been trying every cake in the book to try to duplicate her mother’s cake. This one comes very, very close.
Weighing in on the whole leavening issue, yes, there is too much leavener and that is why the cake sinks in the middle. I went with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking power and 1 teaspoon soda. I am pretty sure that even using 1 teaspoon of baking powder will work fine. I used a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and the cake had a perfectly level top in just about 45 minutes of baking time.
I know you posted this recipe nearly three years ago, but I’m hoping you’ll remember if you used dark or light brown sugar. My guess would be light brown, but it can make a big difference in the taste. As for the honey – My memory of my grandmother’s honey cake and taiglach tells me that the honey was very dark – the kind you find in the Jewish/Kosher section of your market – particularly around Passover. And speaking of taiglach – – -what I wouldn’t give for a tasty recipe that didn’t break your (my) teeth! Also looking for a Philadelphia/Atlantic City-style cinnamon bun (with raisins) recipe. Thanks!
I don’t remember which I used, but if you’re nervous about the taste of dark being too strong (I’ve never noticed this), use light brown. When a recipe doesn’t specify, I use them interchangeably.
This was SUBLIME:)
Thanks Deb:)
Layali.
Delicious! The inside was moist and delicious, but the outside has this amazing crispness. Oh, so good. I baked in a bundt pan, which slices beautifully for this cake. To weigh in on the leavening, I used 1 Tblsp powder & 1 tsp soda, it took about 70 minutes, and I had no sinking at all. I did come very close to overfilling, however. This was the test for RH, and i think when I make it then I might scale back the spices a bit so that the honey gets a little more space to shine. YUM!
Hi Deb,
Thanks for the wonderful blog, Very entertaining and informative.
I made the cake and everyone in the meshpuche raved about it. I made it in a tube pan and it did not fall ( actually rose to a very impressive height). However, it still seemed a tad dry to me- in the pictures you posted, it looks so sticky and gooey. I’m not an expert baker and changed the recipe slightly- replaced 1.5 cups of the all purpose flour with whole wheat. Was that the culprit? Or did the fact that it rose so much cause some of the density and moisture to dissipate? Should i add more honey?It’s still an amazing honey cake, I’m just wondering how i can achieve results that are as good as yours by Rosh.
Thanks!
Sophie
It was very likely the whole wheat flour that made it taste more coarse or dry. When I play around with ww flour in a recipe for the first time, I prefer to start with a 1/3 swap so it doesn’t overwhelm the baked good. After that round if you feel it can handle more, you can always try it that way the next time.
Hi Deb,
I’m a little late to the party, but wanted you to know that the same exact thing happened to me when I tried to bake Claudia Roden’s honey cake (from The Book of Jewish Food). It tasted as good as honey cake can taste (I have to admit I’m not much of a fan of honey cake–or of honey in general for that matter), but it cratered down the middle. Not once, but twice! After the second time, I tried a different sized loaf pan, but the results were exactly the same: 0 for 3. I don’t get it. I bake all the time, and this has never happened before. I can’t even pass the matter off on a critter running across the floor, because lucky for me, there was no critter in the kitchen other than my dog. Oh well. Thanks for making me feel that I’m in good company!
Mine sank as well. What’s the deal?
How long should I bake it if I’m using a round cake pan?
thank you for this amazing recipe! i made it last year for the first time, and it was such a hit that it’ll be part of rosh hashanah every year!
I also don’t like most honey cakes mostly when they are dry. I started incorporating apple sauce into my recipe and cakes come out so moist and delicious! I sweeten only with honey, the apple sauce adds sweetness without having a dominating apple taste, but even if you could tell the apple flavor, it is still in line with Rosh Hashanah isn’t it?
Hi, haven’t had coffee yet–in me, not referring to cake, yet–so I may scrolled right past it while searching but was there a reply to making these as either honey cupcakes or mini loaves (without drying them out)? The regular loaves look and sound amazing–dimpled or not–but this particular holiday I need small-sized desserts….ftr, the loaves above look so tempting that, normally, I’d have considered what you have pictured as “single-serve!”lol (One bonus to making them as a multiple of minis is that you can try them, pre-holiday dinner.)
Thank you for sharing this recipe, cannot wait to try making it!
OMG!!! I feel sooo much better after seeing your whole write-up on honey cake!! I have been baking honey cake for the past 4 days and have grown increasingly frustrated. They’ve been sinking, only a lot worse than yours! But, like you said, they do taste super yummy. Unfortunately, I wanted to give them as gifts, but how can you with such a less-than-stellar appearance!! I do have to say that I never had that problem before….Have you found a solution to the sinking? Would love to know!!!
What other alcohol could I use? Rye, whiskey, brandy are clearly all tried and true. I have Marsala wine (not strong enough?), Cointreau (too orangey), schnapps (too sweet), and vodka (good for the cook, not for the cake). Could Cointreau work? Or too risky? I’m sure I can find some whiskey somewhere, but I was hoping to get by I what I have at home. Suggestions?
I make a honey cake with lavender and it’s often sunken too (even with new baking powder). Perhaps it has to do with the honey? No one cares once it’s sliced and served with tea.
@Sophie – Try Cognac
I just took this out of the oven. Since everyone thinks it’s better after a day, I made it early for our erev RH dinner tomorrow. It looks amazing and the house smells even more so.
I baked it in a tube pan and used 1/2tsp baking soda and two tsp cinnamon (Vietnamese), but kept everything else the same (though I didn’t have any whisky on hand). It was done in 60 minutes. It did not fall. It looks as moist and majestic as a cake possibly could. L’shanah tovah!
I just put my cake in the oven, and I cannot wait to take it out and taste it! (But I’ll have to wait until dinner tomorrow). Thanks so much for this post! I’ll let you know how my family in Chile likes it! hah. Shanah tovah!!
Just took mine out of the oven -I bought new baking soda and powder because I was afraid it would fall – WHICH IT DID! I made it in a Bundt pan so when I remove it from the pan no one will be the wiser. I’m good to go! I spilled a little in the baking sheet I used beneath it and it taste unbelievable. Really, really good.
I made this today- just fabulous! I am gluten free, so I subbed 4 cups of oat flour instead of regular flour and added one tablespoon of xanthem gum. Just lovely- it is always a challenge to tweak a recipe so that it does not taste gluten free– all of the lovely flavors in this work perfectly! I also added grated orange peel and squeezed fresh oranges into it.
Measured incorrectly, what can i bake with 3 cups of flour and 3 teasppoons of bakinng SODA?
Cake is in the oven. No alcohol. Used oj instead. Used one cup of white sugar only and one cup of honey. Omitted allspice because i did not have any. Used coffee, not tea. Will let you know how it turns out and feedback from guests.u Thank you for the great recipe.
Cake did not fal! :-)
Forgot to mention. I did add orange zest, and used a springfoam to bake. I think it is a 9 – 10″ because it is a big cake. It looksand smells yummy!! WISH I COULD UPLOAD A PICTURE. Pumpkin cheesescake next….and may be the doug for an apple pie.
If you’re going to make something as unhealthful as this honey cake, albeit though it be delicious, why try to fiddle with it by using whole wheat flour? The oil, sugar, and honey alone make it a no-no for anyone watching their weight or their health. I am baking it as I write to bring to someone else’s dinner, but I won’t be eating more than a slice myself, no matter how tempting. I am adhering strictly to the recipe because I trust Deb’s judgement. I’ll decide that it’s done when my instant read thermometer reads 205 degrees.
Wow! I made 1/2 of this recipe and fiddled a bit with grated apples to replace the alcoholic stuff. I reduced the sugar a little because of the apples, also. Made a set of 6 mini-loaves (about 1/2 or 2/3 cup batter each, maybe less) with a little left over. It is super moist! Don’t know if it will last for overnight ripening, but it smells fantastic. I baked mine at 350 for about 36 minutes on an upper rack. Pretty sure the apple moisture increased the baking time, so I could have left it in for a few more minutes to get more crusty. Next time I might cut and grease parchment paper for the bottom of the loaves.
Thanks so much for this & I can’t wait to share it tonight with friends!
BTW, Marvin, with the juicy apples, the nuttiness of whole wheat would be really complementary. I might try soaking a little ww pastry flour in the grated apple slush next time, actually!
I commented on this post in 2009, and I just finished making the honey cakes again this year! I did it in three loaf pans, and mine didn’t fall–they were done perfectly after 50 minutes. I had used plain whiskey in the past, but this time, I used the new Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey whiskey to add some extra honey flavor, and it really enhanced the vanilla and the spices! They came out perfect, moist, and fluffy!
I love love love this recipe!
I tried the cake and it is amaziiiing!! Im having trouble trying to stop at 1 slice… Plus, it didnt fall in the middle! I was so excited to see that because I was prepared for it to fall hah.. I followed the suggestion of using less baking powder and soda, so I guess that must have been it! Thank you again!!
I tried this recipe for the first time yesterday. It’s funny because my friend was raving about a delicious honey cake she found on the internet but she didn’t give it to me. I stumbled across this one and read everyone’s comments and it looked and sounded so great that I told my friend about it and she said this is the recipe she uses! so last night i used a not-greased-enough bundt pan and it fell apart. So I decided to make it again today for tonight. I tasted the cake from last night and loved the texture and flavor but it was a little too sweet for my taste so for my second try I decided to reduce the white sugar only from 1 1/2 cups to a little under 1 cup. It turned out moist, tasty and just sweet enough. I actually found that reducing the amount of white sugar made the honey flavor even more noticeable. Next time i will try some whiskey and orange zest but overall it was a pretty popular cake. Thanks for posting!
Shana Tova :) thanks so much for the great recipe have made it twice now (once for work and once for Rosh Hashana). Used 2 tablespoons of Baking powder and had no problems with sinkage. All declared it to be delicious.
I made this cake for the holiday today and it was a HUGE success. Used 2.5 cups white whole wheat flour instead of all white. Used honey whiskey by jack Daniels and decaf coffee. I baked mine much longer than yours and had no sinking issues. After removal from pan, drizzle/brush more honey on top and then seal using plastic wrap AND foil. Most important part for moist cake: let sit wrapped and undisturbed for 3-5 days. Honey will permeate and make it even better! Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made this for Rosh Hashanah, baked in two 8″ square pans (yes, i realize that i should have made them round). Except for a little sticking at the bottom of the pan, easily solved next time by using parchment paper, they came out beautiful. Perfect. Delicious. This one is going in the book so i do not have to look next year. Or the year after that. Thanks.
Made this for holiday dinner last night, and it was a great success, and tastes even better today. I halved the recipe, and didn’t care if it was parve so subbed butter for oil (roughly a stick and a quarter), subbed cachaça for the whiskey, omitted the allspice and OJ (didn’t have any handy), and added a double espresso and an extra squirt of honey. Cooked it in a loaf pan, and it did fall, and was somewhat fragile. I probably took it out 5 minutes too early, and glad I did, as the center is still ultra moist. By far the best homemade honey cake I have tasted based upon both flavor and texture — but how can I reproduce the exquisite honey tops from the Green’s and Schick’s honey cakes which are sold in New York (and which are both really excellent products)? Lest it go unsaid, this is a magnificent site which has provided many great recipes and ideas — many thanks!
very flavorful and pretty! FYI to those of you with funny ovens like me – My 3 loaf pans were done in 30 mins!
After years of enduring dry honey cake, I found this recipe and it is the answer to a prayer. I made it for my fellow choir members and everyone asked for a copy. I didn’t need to spoon it (noticed in an earlier post) and made it three days ahead. The extra days enhances the flavor, a bonus for those of us who need to cook ahead. I also didn’t need the parchment because my tube pan is in two parts. I did grease it well, however. I am still enjoying the remaining portion of the cake and intend to make it a yearly tradition. I just discovered this site and it has been added to my favorites.
I have made this cake several times, always to great acclaim. I cooked today with the adjusted measurements in a 9×13 cake pan, and it is domed and delightful. I didn’t think this cake could be better, but I was wrong. Thanks!
We tried your recipe for Rosh Hashanah and in all my 59 years and many, many honey cakes, this is by far the best honey cake I have ever had. It was moist and absolutely delicious–a huge hit! Thank you for sharing!
I made this cake tonight, it was a huge hit. I used 1 tsp baking powder as suggested and poured into 2 9-in springform pans (well greased without parchment). Also substituted cognac for whiskey. Baked for 65 minutes (45 minutes wasn’t enough, then added 10 minutes twice) – perfect! Moist on the inside and crisp around the edges. Thanks!
Made this to take to a celebration this weekend and tried it out with the 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Unfortunately, I can report that it does not work with loaf pans.
This is the most fantastic honey cake!!! I used 1tsp baking powder and baked two 9″ cake pans for 40 minutes with great results. For the alcohol I used a honey liqueur that helped to intensify the flavour – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bärenfang
This was delicious! Unfortunately, I used my largest pan but it wasn’t big enough, so it overflowed. No matter, I thoroughly enjoyed snacking on the drippings… Next time, I’ll put part of it into a loaf pan in addition to my largest pan. 5 stars in my book!
I used the new leavening measurements (1 teaspoon each soda and powder) in a 9 inch round and it worked perfectly. Best honey cake I’ve ever made by a mile!
In case it’s useful for anyone in the UK, I’ve converted the cake to metric. I’ll just list the ingredients that needed converting. Although these are probably a little rough, it worked perfectly for me in a 23cm bundt pan – rose beautifully and didn’t sink at all after cooking: 420g s-r flour / 225ml vegetable oil / 300g honey / 85g brown sugar / 120ml coffee / 60ml orange juice / 40ml booze.
I used a strong honey and some cardamom instead of clove, so reduced the sugar content to just 100g of dark brown soft sugar which made the cake barely sweet, but in a good way! Trust me. Oh, I also used the updated 1 tsp of baking powder.
Made this today for the first time using cup measurements instead of converting to grammes and then doing it – which often leads to unbalanced components as obviously packed cups are different than non-packed, etc. Anyway, a complete triumph, and no sinking. Lovely crust, and while warm, a distinct whisky taste although I’m hoping that will fade a little once they are cool. They are all being gifted tomorrow.
@donna, I would feel confident doing these as mini loaves or cup cakes, key for me was to turn the oven down a bit even for the standard loaf tins so that they cooked before the top caught – so do that and I think you’d be fine.
I couldn’t believe i was out of baking soda. Being lazy and in the midst of baking the honey cake i didn’t want to go to the store to buy some, so i made due with my baking powder. And guess what, it came out perfect! No sinking! Maybe its the baking soda that causes the sinking? If you find your out of baking soda too try 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder!! And thanks for the recipe…. so delicious, its gonna be a sweet new year!
I made this for Rosh Hashanah this week and it was AMAZING!!!! Thank you so much for this recipe, it was gooey, yummy and delicious. not a crumb left!
I made this recipe and it was a success! I only used 1 teaspoon baking powder and it turned out perfectly. I don’t know how you did it without butter or shortening but the texture and taste was way better than any store bought cake. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made in a Bundtform pan with new conversions and it came out amazing (huge but, amazing). Just made it in two 6-cup Bundt pans and it looks moist and round, I cannot wait to try!
I made this for break the fast this weekend, using the reduced amount of baking powder in a bundt pan, and it came out perfectly. I also reduced the white sugar by 1/2 cup (on a friend’s recommendation that his was too sweet) and subbed pomegranate juice for orange, since I didn’t have any orange juice. Who has pomegranate juice and not orange just lying around on a Saturday morning? Me, I suppose.
Oddly, this Robin also had pomegranate juice but not orange juice lying around when she decided to tackle this honey cake … but I took myself to the corner market and picked some up. Take that, my SmittenKitchen-readin’, pomegranatejuice-drinkin’, honeycake-lovin’ Bizarro Robin!
Additionally, I am happy to report that the reduced amount of baking powder worked beautifully for both my cake pan and my loaf pan. My only complaint is that I wish I had a bundt pan, so that my honey cake could have a magnificent shape worthy of its magnificent taste. Currently accepting donations!
Hi! i just made this cake and it was a total success!
I used 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon baking powder
No orange juice and no whiskey
I had great results and it is delicious! Thank You!
Thought I’d report on how my experience with this amazing cake. I was looking to emphasize the honey flavor, so I did a few things. I substituted 8 oz browned butter for the oil (started with 9.5 oz of solid butter, and the water lost in browning resulted in ~ 8 oz), halved the cinnamon, used coffee, used 100% whole wheat flour (it was the “white whole wheat” kind by King Arthur), and stuck with the original leavening — 1 teaspoon soda plus 1 Tablespoon baking powder. I made a loaf cake and cupcakes. The cupcakes were gorgeous–didn’t sink at all. The loaf cake sunk a little–next time I would use only 2 tsp of baking powder (I’m at sea level, so I don’t need to worry about elevation).
Now onto the taste: this cake is definitely what I wanted! For those thinking about the butter b/c you don’t have an restrictions, go for it, please. On the spices–the cloves and allspice, I think, bring out the flavor of the honey but are subtle enough so you might not even guess they’re there. I considered leaving out the spices, but am very happy I didn’t. Next time, I’m thinking about adding half an orange worth of orange zest. Just enough to give it that flora “je ne sais quoi” overtone that the spices already provide.
This recipe reminds me of your nutmeg maple tart, Deb (admittedly, I haven’t made it but heard it was awesome from someone who asked me for a killer-but-non-traditional thanksgiving recipe once). It screams fall and holidays, but most people (non-Jewish, that is) have probably never heard of honey cake. I’m bringing this to a housewarming party next week.
this cake is a luscious indudelgence! i used 1 cup of sugar rather than the 1 1/2 cup to reduce the sweetness that the honey would bring through naturally. i was also able to find jack daniels honey whiskey! so i substituted the regular whiskey with that. delicious recipe, thank you for sharing :)
Made this beauty last night. Thanks again for another winner, Miss Deb!
My alterations:
1. Halved the total recipe and baked in a greased and lined 9 inch round cake tin for 40 minutes
2. Used half APF, half spelt flour
3. Used the reduced amount of baking powder in Deb’s updated note and achieved a perfect rise
4. Reduced the oil by half
5. Only used a quarter of the sugar required and only dark brown (no granulated). I used a raw, unfiltered honey which was very strong and sweet and the sweetness of the cake came out perfect.
6. Used tea, subbed pomegranate juice for OJ and Canadian Club
7. No almonds
FREAKING. DELICIOUS. Have to stop myself from inhaling the entire cake in a single sitting. Merci beaucoup!
Deb, I just discovered your wonderful blog. I have been searching for a good honey cake recipe for YEARS (like you, I have ever had a really good one before, but KNEW there must be one somewhere)! I have not made yours yet, but after reading the 3 years’-worth of raves and good comments (it only took me 2 hours), I believe I have found THE ONE. The one that tastes just how I have always imagined a honey cake should taste. Honey cake par excellence. Honey cake qua honey cake. THANK YOU!! I serve honey cake (or other honey-based dessert because the cake recipes I have found were ok but not THE BEST) for St. Lucy’s Day (Dec. 13), and THIS will be the recipe I use from now on!
This is probably one of the best things I’ve ever baked. Whenever I am looking around for something to whip up this is ALWAYS what my boyfriend asks me for. I used one tablespoon baking powder and it DIDN’T sink– am about to make this now and feel a bit conflicted on whether I should use a tablespoon or teaspoon. I might add a touch more whiskey and honey this time, for a more pronounced alcohol flavor and moistness–however, this cake gets much much better after being wrapped up a couple days in the fridge. So good. I will be making these until the day I die.
Just chiming in to say that the reduced baking soda worked well with a ten inch Bundt pan. I also added orange zest and grated apple – it was marvelous.
I made your cake several times, we really love this cake. Thanks for sharing the recipe and for your wonderful blog.
I usually add walnuts and raisins and I wait to open the cake 48 ours. It is at its best then, I think.
Love! I love honey cake and this is my favorite! Made it this year for Roshashana and tonight for a Bake Sale fundraiser! 3 small loaf pans is perfect for this batter. Used the 1 Tbsp of bp (because I skipped ahead to the recipe and didn’t read the update the first time) and they didn’t sink! I agree with lia and eliabel too, it’s better on day 2 or 3. Thanks!
I just made what is supposed to be Julia Child’s recipe for Pain d’Epices, a similar cake to this one. It has a giant crater in the middle. I wish I’d read your update sooner, because I also concluded that mine had too much leavener, because nothing else was strange or unusual about the recipe other than the 1 TABLESPOON of baking soda (no baking powder) to 3-1/2 cups of flour. I wondered about the amount, but the first time I make a recipe I try to follow it. It rose like crazy shortly after I put it in the oven, spilling out of the pan and all over the oven floor before collapsing in on itself. The recipe mentions that it will “rise beautifully”, but not that a subsequent fall would be equally spectacular. I should have gone with my gut and put 1/3 the amount of baking soda. This baking experience has been a PAIN d’epices indeed!
Thanks for the recipe. I tried it with the lesser amount of baking powder and the cake perfect. It rose just enough and did not collapse. I tried a little variation in the ingredients: No whiskey but a cup of red wine, added some orange zest and orange essence and added tsf of ground nutmeg and ginger. Tastes great!!
What kind of tea would you recommend? I have orange tea, mint tea, black tea, orange pekoe, green tea, oolong tea.
Also, would it be okay to mix the honey into the tea before adding it?
I would use any tea that you like. I think I usually use coffee so this hasn’t come up. You can mix them together but they’re all going into the well of dry ingredients just the same so you can save that step.
Just Baked this. This is awesome. Never has a cake I baked turned this way! Thank you so much.
When I was a young girl, mom bought honey cake at the A&P grocery store, it was my favorite cake, and have never found anything close to the grocery store cake, it was very dark and dense, I can remember the cloves….im 54 yrs old and would love to have that cake again, I’m going to give this a try and see if its close.. thanks Carol
Great recipe!My cake looked fantastic and smelled devine! I put some raisins in but I have to say that the sugar seems to be way too much…So I only put one cup honey and less than one cup of sugar and it is still sweet!! Thank you very much for sharing!
I’m psyched to see a whole web-page dedicated to the decadence that is honey cake. My grandmother had made honey cake (or as we call it in Yiddish, “Lekach”) for many many years and was always really delicious and one of my favorite traditional desserts growing up. Her Lekach always came out tasty, spongy, and oh so sticky on top. Mmm! And there was always just the right amount of burnt edges…
I don’t recall her ever using quite so many ingredients as the ones listed here, but since I don’t know what her recipe is (and doubt I will ever figure it out since her memory has sadly grown fuzzy), I’m excited to try this version. The only difference is that I will be adding chopped walnuts, something my grandmother always used.
I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks!
I just made these in cupcake form… delicious! It made 24 cupcakes, plus enough left over for one round cake. I baked the cupcakes for 30 minutes. They’re supposed to be for a Roman feast tonight, for kids who are studying Roman history, and I’m hoping they don’t get snatched up before dessert. :)
I need to make a honey cake for Passover – my aunt had the BEST recipe and we cannot find it. I really want to try your recipe. Do you think I can substitute matzah cake meal for flour???
Today was the 2nd time that I’ve made this cake. The 1 tsp change is accurate for loaf pans and I added a bit of orange zest to the sugar. Its pretty divine. Great recipe, Deb.
I love this cake! I also had trouble resisting eating the dough while I was putting it in the pan. I used a 9″x13″ sheet pan with the full amount of baking powder (because I didn’t stop and read the note before dumping it all in) and they cake came out perfect!
I like this post, enjoyed this one appreciate it for posting .
Hello. I have to make cupcakes and a beehive shaped cake for a parent-to-bee baby shower in July. I am wondering if I can use this recipe for the flavour of cake…..since it’s a bee-themed baby shower…how perfect would honey flavoured cake bee? ;) Anyway, my question is, how long to bake these little darlings in cupcake form and also, do you think it’s possible to put this type of cake in a beehive mould and it stay properly? Thank you, in advance, for your reply!
Hi Marla — I haven’t made them as cupcakes but if you scroll through the comments (#210, 336, 387, 403, plus more), many have and suggest cooking times and yield. Good luck!
Quick query; can it be frozen?
Looking forward to trying it!
Hi Rose — It freezes great.
Just made the cake with olive oil instead of vegetable oil, all whole wheat SR flour with no extra baking powder or soda (in Australia we use SR for most baking) and it worked beautifully. Was prompted to bake honey cake as we had heaps of partly finished honey containers which had somehow accumulated in the pantry…very happy to tidy up and make a lovely cake at the same time!
What is the optimum temperature of bakeing? Pls let me know.
The recipe calls for a 350°F baking temperature. You preheat the oven in the first step.
This cake has been in the oven for 90 minutes and it’s still completely raw in the middle. I am really disappointed because I’ve wasted so much food. Have you any idea what went wrong? Was your batter liquid?
I have been making this fabulous cake for at least 3 Rosh Hashanah festivals. Some do not like quite the amount of cinnamon so I have cut that back. So far amazingly, my cakes have not fallen at all. I do bake them about 10 minutes more for loaf cakes than in the recipe.
Just whipped one of these bad boys out of the oven.. absolutely delicious. One of the most moist cakes I’ve made. however, i made it for a lunch party tomorrow and have now eaten a hole in the top which needs to be filled in really, can anyone recommend an icing? perhaps cream cheese?
Hi…decided to make my first honey cake this year…and start my own tradition!. After a lot of searching, I picked yours…the pics look great!! And seems simple enough for an amateur like myself. Because I am a rookie I NEED HELP….I live in Denver, CO (5280 feet above sea level), how do I adjust this recipe for altitude?
Thanks!!
Made this last night and it’s delicious, although it looks quite different – mine’s a uniform reddish-brown colour instead of the lighter and more flecked appearance that your photos show.
I made this cake last year for Rosh Hashana, in an attempt to impress my (then) boyfriend’s (now fiance’s) Jewish family. It turned out absolutely BEAUTIFULLY and I have just had a request from this year’s host family to bake it again! I also drizzled honey over the top as it was cooling and let it sink in – it really added to the crispy cakey edges.
I love to warm the cake up just before I serve it, but always take a gamble on how long for and at what temperature – can anyone more experienced than me recommend a good time/temp for warming? Thanks! :)
Hi Katrina — I always warm things on a very low temperature — 200 degrees, sometimes 175. I’d keep it wrapped in foil for all but the last 5 minutes.
Hi Deb,
Do you think I can make ahead and freeze this. Also, how many days in advance would you recommend making it if I don’t freeze?
Thanks:)!
Hildi — I think it will continue getting more moist for 2 to 3 days after you bake it. Beyond that, I’d freeze it. It should freeze well.
One more thing, if I want to replace the rye or whiskey, what liquid should I use instead? Also, do you think I can add yellow raisins?
Thanks!
Once every few years I think “I really should try to make a honey cake for Rosh Hashana,” even though I’ve only once tasted one that I liked and therefore always chicken out of trying to make one at the last minute. This recipe looks great! However, I’m unwilling to gamble away a whole cup of honey and would like to try cutting this in half. Should I put in 1 egg or 2 (eggs where I am all look about the same size). This is one of those “dumb” cooking questions I’ve never dared to ask, but I’d really like to get this right. (I won’t care if it falls, though — gives it that “homemade” look!)
There are no dumb questions; you should always ask. Btw, I totally use inexpensive honey for this, like from Trader Joes. Nevertheless, you can 1/3 the cake, making a single loaf, and the eggs will divide neatly. If you want to halve it, I’d go with 1 egg plus 1 yolk for the 1.5 eggs. Happy baking!
I have been making this cake for several years and I too have had the “sinking” problem. I, also, decreased the leavening AND the sugar (I found it to be a little too sweet for my taste). I may try to take out the sugar completely this year…. Anyhow, it was perfect. I love the whiskey and coffee flavors.
Hi Deb,
What should I replace the whiskey with for a non alcohol cake version?
See my response in Comment #21.
Here’s an odd question. Holiday is Sunday night. I’m going away for the weekend, then straight to my parents house where I will be doing the baking, so I need to pack all the ingredients and efficiently as possible 2 days before I actually plan on baking. (My mother’s baking and spice cabinet is limited) I know I can measure and combine my dry ingredients in advance. But can I also do the sugars, liquids, oil, and egg (eek???) so that I’m only transporting 2 containers? Or is that an awful idea?
Naomi — The cake keeps well. You could probably make it before you go and keep it well-wrapped until needed.
I made this excellent cake two years ago, and had the “sinking” problem. No one cared except for the cook. Read the posts later and saw reference to reducing leavening. Read a lot on-line about this, which I’ve forgotten now. Would you please, oh please, address this again or suggest. This cake is so good. thanks.
Oops. I missed the top of the page update about this. My apologies and delete if you can. charlotte
Hi Deb,
I made 3 loaves today, using all coffee and no alcohol, orange zest, and yellow raisins. I sprayed my loaf pans very well (didn’t flour) and baked them on a double baking sheet (never did this before, but followed your recipe). The loaves came out looking beautiful, no sinking at all. However, when I went to take the loaves out of the pan, all of the raisins stuck to the bottom (I did mix them in with the flour), and the honey cake (although very good), had no raisins in it (and
that’ s my family’s favorite extra), so what would you suggest. I want to try again tomorrow. Maybe flouring the pans after I spray, or line pans with parchment paper and then spray and flour? FYI, I always use these heavy loaf pans for zucchini and banana breads, and have never had a problem with sticking.
Thanks for your help.
PS I am going to try to come to your book signing in CT!
Thank you for the measurement update. Will try today.
Happy new year! ??? ???? ??????!
Ok, new update..Having been so frustrated regarding the raisins sticking to the pan (see 434) that I decided to be persistent and try again (in lieu of sleep)! This time my results were fabulous!!!
All three loaves came out great. I did the following variations: Used orange zest from 1 orange, squeezed 2 fresh oranges and added them to the store bought fresh orange juice, used espresso in place of the coffee, used a little less granulated sugar and allspice. I added 1 1/2 cups yellow raisins to the flour and mixed before I added the liquid stuff. I also added 1 peeled, grated apple to the batter.
If you use raisins, it’s a MUST to line pan with parchment paper, spray first bottom and sides, then spray parchment once again, floured one of the pans and didn’t make much of a difference in the other two. All three came out beautifully.
Also, I brushed the cakes with a very fine coat of honey while they were warm.
If you do not want your honey cake to fall substitute rye flour in whole or in part instead of AP flour. It is a much lighter flour and it should not fall!
I’m not a lover of cloves…if I leave out will it make a tremendous difference ?
Jemma — You can leave out the cloves, especially if you don’t like them.
Leave out the cloves! You can also leave out the nutmeg. Cloves do not belong in a honey cake! You can add a 1/4 tsp of dry active yeast to all of the liquid ingredients if you want it to rise more. Just wait 10 minutes for the bubbles to form in the bowl before adding the salt so that you do not accidentally kill the yeast.
This cake just came out of the oven (mine only made 2 loaf pans? Go figure) and is delicious already. SO excited to share them with friends and SO excited for your book to come out. Seriously, every recipe I’ve made from your blog has come out exactly the way you said it would-and is delicious. I love it! Thanks for sharing this one-hope you have a wonderful and sweet and healthy new year!
I made this the first time for Rosh Hashanah last year and I’m baking it again this year… I have someone with a nut allergy, so I use diced apple instead of almonds — which gives the added benefit of having apples and honey! It was a HUGE hit and I’ve made it at random times of the year as well.
Oh my – I’ve found a new favorite – YEAR ROUND ! I, too dread cloying sweet honey cake (and Taiglach)…but I am a big “spicy” fan, so I thought I would give this a try with a 1/2 recipe which nicely filled 4 mini loaf pans. I used (slightly watered down) espresso and substituted Sabra for whiskey. I only hope the finished product is as good as the batter I licked off the beaters…very smooth and rich and ironically a honey cake that does not really taste like honey !
Hildi – Whenever adding raisins or any fruit to cake batter always coat with flour (which you did the second time around) before adding to the wet batter to keep them from sinking. The flour coating helps them “glom on” to the batter and not sink straight down. Deb – I have been making this cake since you posted it…this year I had some extra batter from my tube (silicon) pan, so I chopped up some granny smith apples and threw them in with the leftover batter, for a apple and honey loaf. They are in the oven now. Will let you know how it goes (I imagine delicious).
Just an FYI everybody I used only 1 teaspon of baking powder in a 9×13 sheet pan and it came out perfect. No problems with the center sinking. I did however find that in my electric oven it needed more than 45 minutes to get completely firm. I think I left it in an additional 10 minutes. I have to say it is an outrageously good honey cake (cloves, whisky and all)!! Thanks.
My adjustments: used 2 large loaf pans instead of 3, baked for 55 min, used original amount of baking powder (1 Tbsp) and cake came out perfectly, no sinking center.
this is the most fantabulous honey cake recipe! i discovered it years ago and it’s the only one that i use. l’shana tova u’metuka!
I made this yesterday and it is a FANTASTIC honey cake. Probably the best I’ve ever tasted and extremely moist. I followed the amended instructions and used 1 tsp. instead of 1 Tbsp. of baking powder, and had no problem with sinking. Left out the almonds since not everyone in my party likes them. I baked in two, 9-inch round cake pans (one at a time) and these came out beautiful. Mine were starting to brown a bit too much on top toward the end of baking time so I covered with foil and that worked fine. These definitely do get better with a day or two. We had some for breakfast this morning and they are even more moist than yesterday. This is a new favorite!
Deb, may I suggest clarifying the baking instructions in regards to the two baking sheets? I was unclear whether you meant stacking one cookie sheet on top of the other, and then putting both round cake pans on that and baking together? Or putting each round cake pan on top of one cookie sheet, and baking on two separate racks in the oven (stacked)? I couldn’t fit both round pans on the two stacked cookie sheets, and I’ve never had luck baking things in my oven on two separate racks at the same time (something is always burning while something else is undercooked). So I stacked the two cookie sheets and baked each round cake on top of those alone. Worked fine but that meant the oven was busy for an hour and a half with baking cakes :)
Shana Tova Deb & Family
5773’s Majestic & Moist is cooling on the counter. Of course I adapted it: Didn’t have whisky or brandy, but I did have Calvados (apple liquour) so I used that in the apples and honey spirit of the holiday. I added ginger, and used sunflower seeds instead of nuts. The cake rose beautifully, so I tasted a bit of what I had to trim so it’d sit on the plate right, YUM! Looks gorgeous and tastes great!
I made this in a tube cake pan and it’s huge:) I have not tried it yet. Deb, what’s your take on baking with butter vs oil. I think I read someplace on your blog that you prefer to bake with butter. Is butter better for some things and oil better for other things? For example is this cake better with oil because of the type of cake that it is?
Anna — There’s no one right fat. I like butter for flavor but oil can be wonderful in cakes — I feel it can make them even more moist at room temperature. But, it doesn’t taste like much, even olive oil.
I have a question about the two baking sheets. Is this something that you always do when you bake or is that just for this cake? I did but not sure what it did. Doesn’t the interior of the cake bake the slowest and the bottom, sides and top faster? This is what I always see. But you say that to ensure that the bottom bakes faster then the top and interior to place on two baking sheets?
Made it this morning, took to dinner this evening, and it was a huge hit with everyone! My first successful honey cake. I think it must be the whiskey/coffee combination. Also I added about 3 peeled and grated apples.
Thanks for this great recipe. We buy our honey cake for the new year every year but I really wanted to try and make it myself this time. The batter ended up in 2 loaf pans, not 3, so I was a little worried about overflow but there was no problem. I used regular flour and there was no sinking. It was a big hit at dinner tonight. I thought the whiskey flavor was a little strong but everyone else thought it was really well balanced. There was a wonderful depth of flavor that isn’t usually present. My dad really loved it and commented that it’s not too sweet as compared to store bought. I know some people lowered the sugar content but whether it was the black coffee or the liquor, something combated it and it was a perfect balance. Thanks for this new addition to our new year tradition.
Well, Deb, I can’t remember the last time I blew a recipe this badly. The batter was delicious – so was the bites of cake I ate, but oh how I did something wrong! I put it into loaf pans. Both the pyrex and metal loaf pans completely fell apart when I tried to get them out of the pan. May I recommend to everyone the use of parchment, or a springform pan. I did save a salvageable chunk to freeze for my dad to eat when he comes up for Thanksgiving.
Made this today for Tosh hashana and I’m so glad I found this recipe, I was looking for a good Jewish honey cake recipe with that authentic holiday taste. I give this recipe 5 stars ????? the cake had flavor, it was moist and springy and it was super easy!
I substituted orange juice with apple juice (apples and honey ! and I didn’t have OJ)
And I did it in a bundt pan.
Lovely.
for the curious, substitutions/alterations I made that still worked well:
– 1.5 c whole wheat flour (and 2 c all purpose)
– half apple sauce, half veg oil
– 1 c granulated sugar (compared to 1.5)
– ~1.5 c diced apple, tossed in flour to coat
– when making a half recipe, used 1 egg + 1 yolk
for the record, I thought the diced apple really took it to the next level. still ridiculously moist, as advertised, but with all the fun of apple muffins to boot. clearly a taste-based thing. I love warm fruit in my baked goods (oatmeal rasin? lay it on me), but if you don’t, no need to add this extra step.
I foisted this onto my goyish coworkers today, and it was well-received. happy new year, everybody!
L’Shana Tova… thanks for the trials and the recipe making it right now for dinner tonight :)
I made this tonight (9×13 pan, used 1 tsp of baking powder), and drizzled it generously with honey just as it came out of the oven. It looked wonderful, no falling in the middle. The kids ate this like they had not eaten in weeks! Well, so did the husband and I. I was planning to freeze half for later, but I have a feeling it will not last long enough. Oh well, I’ll have to make it again, too bad! L’Shana Tova everyone.
Just finished my cakes! Since it’s just my husband, our son, and I, I halved the recipe. This recipe is VERY forgiving. I just eyeballed the ingredients and it still turned out wonderfully! Shalom and Happy Rosh Ha’Shana
Also, this cake is great when topped with charoset!
Just baked the cake tonight, with the reduced amount of baking powder, in a bundt pan… and the shape is juuuuust right! Beautiful little curve on top, no sinking, just lovely. Used strong (no milk) chai tea for the tea and added a little crystallized ginger… can’t wait until it cools so I can cut into it. Breakfast tomorrow, anyone? Thanks for this lovely recipe!
Not only did my cakes sink, but they were also horribly underdone even though I cooked them for over an hour! Did the altitude finally get me? (I’m in Denver.) I’ve made this recipe before at sea level with no problem.
P.S. This is not criticism of you, Deb! I love your blog, and I’ve already pre-ordered your cook book. :-) I’m just trying to figure out why cakes are a disaster!
This was a hit at my in-laws’ Rosh Hashanah dinner! Can’t wait for the book tour. I’ll be sure to come by one of the Chicago stops.
About freezing the cake — what’s the best way to unfreeze it when I’m ready to eat it? (I don’t have a microwave.)
After all the raves, I was disappointed. The cake seemed rather bland to me. It smelled great baking – but the taste was blah.
I made this recipe using 1 tsp of baking powder and it rose beautifully! An absolutely delicious cake, which tastes even better the next day.
Some other changes I made, due to what I had available, were:
– nutmeg instead of cloves
– 1/2 the amount of vodka instead of whiskey
Thanks for answering my question. This cake came out perfect.The texture, the taste and the smell. My family and I really enjoyed it tremendously. Here’s a picture :-)
http://anna-myso-calledlife.blogspot.com/2012/09/rosh-hashana.html
Answer to #465: Next time, freeze it raw. When you will be ready to eat it you can defrost the batter and bake it. You will then have a freshly baked cake!
I tried this cake for Rosh Hashana earlier this week and it was a hit! I made the change to 1 t baking powder (as opposed to the original 1T) and it worked beautifully in my bundt pan. Rose just to the top of the pan in the oven without going over. I will reinforce the importance of a well greased pan. I buttered, flowered, and sprayed my pan, used a knife around the edges before inverting, and still found part of the cake in the pan. Luckily, the sides still looked pretty good. I decided to make an apple glaze (apples, apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little brown sugar) to hide the imperfect top. Worked beautifully and tasted great. The cake got rave reviews at my inlaws. I will make this for future celebrations.
I split mine between an 8-inch round sandwich tin and a bigger springform one. The small cake came out delightful, but the big one is a bit less of a success — just starting to burn on the outside, and rather sticky inside. It still tastes really good, so I’m hoping it’s safe to eat, ha ha.
I just made this cake with gluten-free all purpose flour because it was what I had on hand, and it turned out delicious! I cut the recipe in half…well I just used 2 eggs because 1.5 eggs is hard…and I used 1 tsp baking powder, sort of a compromise between halving the original amount (1T) and the update (1t). It made one large and one small loaf. Also, for any Denver or other high altitude baking friends – I didn’t adjust this recipe at all for elevation, and no sinking occurred. A miracle, perhaps! I also added raisins and skipped the almonds.
Thanks again for a great recipe, Deb!
I brought this to my temple for Rosh Hashanah this year (with the 1 tsp baking powder adjustment), and saw 3 people scraping the plate with their fingers and licking them! Such a big hit, I’ve had requests for more loaves.
This was the best honey cake ever, but I encountered a strange problem. Although I scattered the sliced almonds on the top before baking, they all migrated toward the center of the ring (used a tube pan). Everyone thought I had planned for this to happen, but I did not. Do you know why this happened? Thanks for adjusting the baking powder – all the difference in the world.
This is by far and away hands down the best honey cake I’ve ever made. Because I was producing this for a community event i did leave out the whisky (although I do want to try it for home consumption with the liquor!) I substituted 1/2 the oil content with an equal amount of butter and upped the OJ content to compensate for some of the lost liquid content form the whisky.
Great stuff (I even had someone tell me they wanted to marry me for the cake!)
I was looking for a recipe for honey cake to make after I had tried one similar to yours that was in a newspaper. If you compare them, the two recipes were almost verbatim. I made the first one with the 1 T of baking powder (against my better judgement) and KaBOOM!! What a mess it made in my oven in a tube pan! Oh gosh, it overflowed everywhere and the smoke. It tasted fantastic but looked like c***! Ditched that recipe and found yours. So glad that I did because I knew that 1 T was a mistake and should have been tsp….it was delicious the second time and got great reviews! Thank you!
I paved my bundt pan with Pam for Baking and only the littlest bit of the cake stuck. Flavor and moistness are incredible!
My first smitten kitchen recipe attempt! Just put it in the oven, the batter smelt a-m-a-z-i-n-g, hope the cake tastes just as good!
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.
I have to say, this is probably my favorite thing I’ve ever made from the site (and I’ve been cooking a lot of your stuff lately!). I’m making it for a second time right now, and the batter is so good I almost don’t want to bake it :)
I made this using the adjusted baking powder amount and substituted apple cider vinegar for the orange juice and whiskey, and made a cider vinegar glaze (just vinegar and conf. sugar) for on top. it was to die for. so moist and soft and light, tangy and delicious. i also multiplied this recipe x6 to make for a large group of people without a hitch. this recipe’s a keeper!
This looks fantastic! I’m going to have to try it out soon.
http://jtarboxtinybites.wordpress.com/
I made this using the baking powder modifications last night in a 9×13 pan and it rose beautifully without a hint of sinking. I replaced the allspice and cloves with a few shakes of nutmeg and replaced the rye/whiskey with extra coffee. My batter was really very thin though, not even remotely thick like the recipe describes. I was a bit worried and actually added some extra flour until I decided to just go with it and hope for the best. Since it’s already completely gone I would say that it was a hit. :)
Do you have this recipe by weight for bakers percentages?
Hi Gretchen — Just added the weights.
Excellent recipe. I looked at several honeycake recipes side by side and the aroma of this one wafted up from the page.
I’d like to suggest you put your correction in the body of the recipe.I found it confusing to read it in the preface then see the original “mistake” in the recipe itself. It wasn’t too much of a mistake because I put in the originally listed leavening and there was no sinkhole.
Another reason to consider changing the original to the correct proportions is your bakers who aren’t “organized” readers. There’s nothing like a straightforward well organized recipe for the less than well organized brain. I’m a very good cook and baker, but I need to read and reread and reread a recipe as I proceed through it. So I really appreciate any recipe that helps me get it right. Thanks!
I appreciate the conversational aspect of blogs, but sometimes information gets lost in paragraphs; less so in a list.
The usual amount of baking powder added to flour for a cake is 1 tsp per cup of flour so 1 Tablespoon (3 tsp) is about right. However, the 1 tsp of baking soda may put it over the top a bit.
I have been hunting for a good honey cake recipe to make for a friend of mine, who loves it. I tried this recipe.
However, I found it was dry. I cooked it at the appropriate temp. and time,I may try it again and substitute sour cream for the orange juice.
I hope the recipes in the book will turn out for me, as this is the first recipe I made- although from the website, not included in the book.
I agreed with Marin Tulin’s comment above. It would be great if you crossed out the 1 Tablespoon in the actual recipe and added the correct 1 teaspoon. Easier not to miss it and more clear. Thanks!!
Trying this tonight.
This was perfect. I don’t like booze in my dessert, so I just added additional orange juice in its place. I made it in a swirly bundt pan and baked it for just about the time you mentioned in your recipe. Delicious, not too sweet, but all the flavors present. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe and for being my motivation for finding something to make with the $12 jar of artisanal honey I bought at the co-op near my house.
I like honey cakes and have few recipes. This one is the best – very easy, very fast and tasty exactly as promised. I have baked it few times already. It never disappoints. This is a very large cake and sometimes I bake just half of amount.
One small question: we use honey from our own beehives and it has a VERY strong taste. I’ve had a horrible failure using it instead of maple syrup in cookies, and another one with granola bars (where honey was required). I was wondering if your honey had a really strong flavor, and if not, should I scale back on the honey and up on the other liquids? Thanks! :)
Magdalen — Mine was very mild. I am not personally into strongly flavored honeys.
Hi Deb! I just wanted to let you know that for some reason, you can’t “pin” this recipe on Pinterest because it doesn’t allow you to use any of the pictures for the pin. Just wanted to give you a heads up :) I’m not sure if this is intentional or not. I’m assuming no though since you do have a “pin” button under this recipe. I hope that I helped somehow!
Sarah — There’s a temporary problem with Pinterest right now. We’re looking into it, thanks.
You’re welcome! :) Just wanted to help.
In regards to Honey Cake, originally started research as it is mentioned in feasting in England in ancient texts. It would not have had all the ingredients listed in this recipe, obviously, due to unavailability. This cake is definitely worth trying, but does anyone have a source for “ancient” Honey Cake recipe? Thanks,S
Stumbled on this while looking for a way to use a surplus of honey and was exceptionally pleased with the result. My 11-year-old cousin is licking the plate for every last crumb.
Hi Deb. This may be a dumb question but I was just wondering, for the orange juice – are we supposed to use freshly squeezed juice from an orange? Or do you suggest we use actual juice (from the bottle, Simply Orange Juice brands, etc.)
Sarah — Whatever works. I don’t buy orange juice in cartons usually so I often squeeze it. But if I’m in a rush, I’ll grab a pint or a tiny container at the corner store.
Oh, this is BEAUTIFUL. I made a third of the recipe and filled 9 muffin cups. Used wholewheat pastry flour, brandy, earl grey tea and all brown sugar, but otherwise kept the proportions the same. Baked at the same temperature for 27 minutes. They came out velvet and absolutely plush, with a lovely honey-and-graham-cracker sort of flavour. I added a whiskey chocolate truffle to some of the muffins, and I can’t wait to try them once they’ve rested for a day (:
Okay thanks! :D I have some wonderful oranges at home so I’ll use that. I was just worried about the sugar/taste differences between au natural orange juice and the container of juice that’s actually meant to be drunk (drank??).
My friend made this cake for Rosh Hashana 3 or 4 years ago, and I just about bowled her over for the recipe. Finally I’ve gotten to make it! Or a version of it.
I chose to go with the amended 1 tsp. of baking powder. I used the ends of several different jars of honey to get one cup. My vegetable oil was actually coconut oil. Because I don’t drink alcohol, and didn’t have any orange juice on hand, I went with one cup of leftover coffee and one cup of Bundaberg ginger beer I had sitting in the fridge. (Otherwise I would have used water/herbal tea.) I was generous with the cinnamon, and I added 1/4 tsp. of ginger and 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg, because I like spice cake.
The batter looked thick (but pourable, about what I’d expected from the finished product) before I added in the ginger beer at the last. It made enough for 2 loaves (45 min, 50 min for the slightly larger one that I overfilled just a wee bit) and half a dozen muffins (25 min). I put the loaf pans on double-stacked jelly roll pans, but put the muffin tin directly on the oven rack.
Between the coconut oil and the carbonated liquid, this version was not as dense as the original. It was light, moist, sweet, and flavorful, though — and a real hit!
A Half Jewish Man Just Baked it and Loved it toooooo much! Tnx <3
I used the smaller amount of leavener and it didn’t sink- soooo delicious!!
Great recipe! Tried it this morning with the teaspoon of each (Baking Powder/soda0 and got a good rise on the bread. I did have a problem with the cake falling apart when I cut into it however.
This is delicious! I had no butter, and was really, really bored, so I searched for an oil cake recipe. I cut down some of the sugar because my family is asian (we don’t like super sweet things!) and I substituted whiskey with kahlua to make it extra coffee flavoured. It was so soft and fluffy! I found that the cake slices better the next day. Thanks!
Out of this world! Made it twice so far, once the way it’s written, the second time instead of strong coffee, I used very strong tea, plus I grated in some orange rind (abt. 1 tsp.). It came out much better. I used whiskey, I bet spiced rum would be fabulous in this. The next time I make this, I’m going to try either raisins, dried currants or dried cranberries (craisins). I think that would make it perfect. If left for one day covered with plastic wrap, it becomes better tasting. It’s moister and the flavors seem to ferment.
Oh and BTW this cake will sink a bit in the middle, no problem with me. The mistake I made the first time is, I didn’t think it was done the middle shook a bit too much. I left it and the edges were a bit done and it was slightly dry otherwise good. This time I took it out despite, it sunk a bit but the cake was delicious!
To Substitute the rye/whiskey traditional methods are you use equal portions of vanilla extract and almond extract thats a replacement for whiskey in baking goods. However being that it calls for a large amount of whiskey making the entire 1/4 cups out of almond/vanilla extract would be to much. Instead i used the called for vanilla extract doubled, a teaspoon of almond extract and a teaspoon of rum extract all in a 1/4 cup measure then topped it off with apple juice. Came out great and everyone loved it. I also used apple juice and a splash of lime juice in place of the orange juice and used a 9X13 pan.
Hi deb,
Long time lurker with a question. I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it turned out great. I even used the amount of baking powder listed in the recipe without adjustment.
However, I do want to check with you if cutting the cake before freezing would affect the quality much? I’d like to bake this in a 13×9 pan and cut it into bite size portions before freezing. Also, thawing wise – microwave or leave at room temp?
Thank you so much!
Felicia — I think you can slice it before freezing it but if you don’t keep the pieces separated with waxed paper or the like, they will glue themselves back together. I usually just thaw things for a day in the fridge, or at room temperature. But I don’t have a microwave.
Hi,
I did not read the hundreds of posts to this, so sorry if this was already asked but I am a bee keeper with fresh honey and I’m hosting a dinner party. Is this cake fine the way it is or would you recommend a glaze or powdered sugar to be added to dress it up?
thanks
Mine turned out horribly undercooked! The outside was this unappealing really chewy overdone shell and inside was still complete dough after an hour. FAIL! I’m usually a great baker, what did I do wrong?? I’ve wasted half the day trying to save it but it had to go in the bin. :(
The best honey cake hands down! My search for a moist delicious honey cake for Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) ended two years ago when I found this recipe. Have been making this recipe with the original 1 T of baking powder and have never had it fall (not that I would care if it did, its just that yummy!) I only cook/bake with extra large eggs so I don’t know if that affects the results but this recipe always comes out great. I prefer it a little less spiced and so I use just 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each cloves and allspice. I usually throw some raisins in at least one of the three loaves that it makes. It freezes well, too.
Love your baking powder adjustment! I halved the recipe, including using just 1/2 tsp baking powder based on your adjustment. And I cooked it in a glass loaf pan with no problems (took just over an hour). I also substituted coffee for the whiskey (total liquid was the same, but all coffee). Perhaps because of that substitution, the batter was a little thin pouring it in the pan, but the finished cake looked, smelled, and tasted fantastic.
Excited to try this!! New to cooking/baking, coming to it in middle age (don’t ask). My grandmother used to make honeycake and, quite honestly, I hated it!! Your story made me absolutely crack up AND willing to try this recipe with all the raves!
PS I MISS NYC horribly!!!!!
This cake looks wonderful! However, I am allergic to fruit. Can you suggest a fruit-free substitute for the oj? A little honey in water? Thanks!!
This was delicious. If I made it again I might increase the spices and add some diced apple to the batter.
This is in my oven right now and the smell is heavenly….and if the finished cake is even half as good as the batter (I ate so much that third cake tin probably wasn’t really necessary) it should be sensational. I didn’t bother to put any sugar in at all as I prefer a not too sweet cake, so will see how it goes (although given my batter eating frenzy I think I can safely say it seemed sweet enough to me).
I am going to try this for Rosh Hashsana, if I make this a few days earlier will it taste better?
Joanne — It keeps very well.
You do not say HOW MANY EGGS? Please let us know.
3 large eggs at room temperature is the fifth ingredient up from the bottom.
Hi Deb, I was wondering whether it’s better freezing the cooled cake immediately after baking it or letting it sit for a few days before freezing? 25minutes into baking it in the oven and it smells AMAZING! Thanks.
Stanley — I’d let it cool completely, then freeze it. Freeze it when it is the freshest so it has the least to lose if loses any perfection in the freezer.
Btw, I used the 1 tsp amounts for the leavening agents, baked it in a 9 inch springform pan filled about 3/4 with the batter, and it rose beautifully about an inch over the rim with no sinkage or deflation. It’s a baking miracle!
This is much betterr than the one I normally bake! I added slivers of semisweet chocolate….excellent!
Hi Deb-
This will be my 2nd year making this cake for Rosh Hashanah but this year I would like to make them as cake balls, dipped in candy melts and decorated as apples. 2 questions for you-(1) how long would you recommend I bake these for in a cake pop mold, since you can’t check it or will these not work as cake pops, and (2) what other flavors would you recommend complementing the flavor of the honey cake? As I mentioned, I was going to dip these in melted candy melts (and add sprinkles for sparkle) but is that too much sweet? I would appreciate your thoughts.
Just made a bunch of mini loaf cakes as Rosh Hashana gifts (plus a few cupcakes for us to taste!) and they turned out amazing. Packaged in cellophane bags with yellow Paper Source paper tags, I’m so proud of them!
Another Smitten Kitchen win!! I didn’t have OJ so I used pineapple juice and used Sugar & Spice tea from David’s Tea (instead of coffee) and it turned out beautifully. Thanks for another outstanding recipe :)
Hi Alisa — Sorry, I’ve never worked with cake pops before. I hope someone else can pipe up and make suggestions. As for complimentary flavors, cream cheese and lemon can work nicely here.
The second loaf is in the oven as we speak (I only have one loaf pan, heh) and the first came out perfect! I used the one tsp of baking powder and the cake did not fall. I put a bit of it in a tiny loaf pan so I could taste it and it is DELICIOUS. Thank you!!
Is there a typo here?
“Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using. Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (this will ensure the cakes bake properly with the bottom baking faster than the cake interior and top).”
Shouldn’t that be “… without the bottom baking faster …”?
I made half the recipe-one loaf for my husband and myself. I added about a cup of walnuts instead of the almonds and made a Grand Marnier sugar glaze. I heated up a slice for breakfast this morning. Delicious!
This is the exact recipe that I use, found it years ago on aol. It is perfect and reminds me of the honey cakes I had growing up. I just took mine out of the oven and it will be good to go tomorrow night, (if I can wait that long). I didn’t have whiskey so used brandy and from what I could taste from the crumbs as I took it out of the pan it’s just a good as ever!
Hi, If I missed the answer to this question, sorry, I couldn’t read 550 to get the info. Is this cake just as good if you make it the day before serving?
deborah — Yes, it’s even better on day 2.
OMG! I have been making this recipe for years and everyone raves about it. I can’t even remember where I originally found it. It is wonderful even though my version does not have any booze. Mine always sinks in the middle and this year I decided to do something about it. I reduced the baking temperature from 350 to 325 and resisted opening the oven for most of the baking time. It worked perfectly and two recipes later I have one bundt cake and 6 small loves for giving out to friends, none of which sunk. The cake keeps beautifully for at least several days and also freezes well. I always freeze the leftovers from Rosh Hashanah and then have them for breaking my fast on Yom Kippur.
Help! I just tried this in a bundt pan and also with a couple of cupcakes. The cupcakes, and I think the bundt cake also, are too moist in the centre – like jelly. The top and edges are chewy and a bit tough (which I like) but the centre seems almost undercooked – I left them in for a little longer and I can tell the centre is still like jelly. Any thoughts where I went wrong?
Marc — Just keep baking them until a tester comes out clean. If they’re getting too dark at the edges, try lowering the heat. Are you baking in a darker pan? Sometimes (it’s not always necessary) they benefit from being used in ovens slightly (25 degrees) cooler too.
The batter was not very thick when it went in the oven. Do you not think perhaps it needed more flour? That said, it rose beautifully – in fact it ended up out growing the pan.
Hi Marc — No, it’s a thin batter. There are a lot of liquids in there, it’s more than other cakes. But it all works out in the end to an insanely delicious and flavorful honey cake that you might be stuck making again and again for future holidays. Just so you know. ;)
Phew, I wonder if you should update the description, because I was kind of freaking out about it saying its a thick batter that you need to spoon into the pans. Can’t wait for them to come out of the oven!
Good point, thanks!
Hi there…I made your honey cake today with the 1 teaspoon of baking powder only ( I actually neglected to add the baking soda, oops) and it turned out incredible. It domed and held its shape, I got a nice tight, but soft crumb, I got the crisp edges and it couldn’t have been simpler. I’m taking this to my friends for Rosh Hashanah and I have no doubt they’ll love it. Thank you for the recipe!
I made this for Rosh Hashana! Accidentally forgot the orange juice!!! Halved the ingredients but with the same amount of spices & was still a great success.
Shredded coconut & slivered almonds on top were the perfect touch. Next Year with OJ!
Thanks for the recipe! Use your Challah one also.
Franky, I don’t care what the cake tastes like, the batter is divine. I added a little almond meal because I was a little worried about how liquid the batter was.
OMG the batter is amazing. Used the dregs of a lone crown royal bottle for the whiskey, not quite 1/4 cup, so I added a tablespoon of Amaretto. It smells like new years in my kitchen.
Just made this in two loaf pans and a few mini heart shaped muffins. I have a new electric oven though and the 45 mins overcooked my poor cakes! Oh well- the smell in the house in divine and they still taste good. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
I made this for Rosh Hashanah today and it came out beautifully in a 9×13″ pan. I had no issues with my cake sinking and even though I forgot to add the vanilla (I made it at 7am, don’t ask), it was delicious. Other than the vanilla, I made it exactly as written.
Just finished serving (and eating) it and it was fantastic. I made it with the amended amount of baking powder in a tube pan and baked it for 75 minutes and it was perfect. Served it with a side of whipped cream — which wasn’t strictly necessary, but hey, it didn’t hurt.
I’m 25 and threw my first Rosh Hashanah dinner last night. I worried this cake wouldn’t live up to Bubbe’s (which I’ve been eating for 25 years), but my friends think I’m a goddess! Cooked it in two loaf pans instead of three so they were pretty hefty loaves, and I should have left one of them in longer because of that — it was definitely undercooked in the very center. Didn’t seem to bother anyone since it is now all gone.
Also, I used the adjusted ingredients and the loaf that cooked all the way through (slightly smaller loaf pan) didn’t fall. The gooey one did but I think that was because lack of baking, not the lack of leavening.
No other adjustments. Maybe would add raisins next time.
By far, this is the best honey cake I have ever had. Thank you for this recipe as many of the traditional, old time honey cakes aren’t the same as this delicious version!
Thank you again!
Just made this for Rosh Hashsana and it was great. Mistakenly used two loaf pans rather than three so they were a little crispy at the edges. I was worried about sweetness using honey, brown sugar AND 1 1/2 cups of white sugar, so I only added one cup of white sugar and it was perfect. Also added in fresh grated ginger and ginger powder. Will tweak it a bit more for Yom Kippur. This is a keeper.
do you think you could put apples in it? and if so, at what stage and how? Because Apples and Honey are the prime ingredients on Rosh Hashanna. Thanks!
Hi elizabeth — I have not made this with apples but in Comment #132, an earlier version of this cake with grated apples is mentioned that sounds lovely. A few others in these comments mention using some too. To be honest, I think it’s a lovely idea for the traditional apple-and-honey element but it’s otherwise not necessary because the cake has so much character and moisture without them, they’re not going to be very noticeable.
made this for RH again this year with your revised leavening recs, omitting the white sugar, and raising the brown sugar to 1 cup. It’s so so good, and such a relief especially for folks who are expecting dry tasteless honey cake! I also upped the amount of orange by adding a tew tbsp of orange juice concentrate; and for the booze I used dark rum. Highly recommended!
made this for rosh hashanah [in a way; not jewish but always love baking in line with holidays!] and it was fantastically wonderful. used about 1.5tsp of baking powder and replaced the rye with rum. fiercely guarding the leftovers and rationing it over the past couple of days and, true enough, the flavour just gets better with each passing day!
I really HATE honey cake. Never had a good one. But it’s tradition to eat honey cake at our pre Yom Kippur dinner, so today I gave it a try. It is good. More like a ginger cake. (I added a tsp if ground ginger to the spice list.) No OJ, so I used 1/4 cup of orange marmalade mix with 1/4 cup of water. I also swapped 1 cup of white flour for whole wheat flour and added some ground flaxseed. Next time I am going to try to substitute apple sauce for part or all of the oil.
Majestic, moist, divine!!! So good and so easy to make. I substituted organic whole wheat flour, white sugar for brown (1.5 cups) and then agave for sugar (.5 cup). Used 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda – no sinking. Also used fresh lemon juice instead of orange. I do feel it was hard to get it to release from the bundt pan, but I also greased in in coconut oil. Then I candied walnuts in honey to make a decorative topping. Thanks Deb!
I have a question, I want to make this cake for a “Bee” themed Baby Shower, I would really prefer to make this without the alcohol…is there something that I could replace the alcohol with that would not compromise the recipe?
I have not read through all 561 comments, but I just wanted to add for folks who do not drink coffee and/or green or black teas, I used a orange spice herbal tea bag (double strength) to sub in for the tea or coffee and the cake was the best honey cake I have eaten since the one my grandma made. I actually halved the recipe because it is just for me and my husband and poured it into a single round 9″ layer and it was wonderful, especially on day two and three. It just got better. Thanks, Deb!
Deb, This a something like a chicken-crossing-the-road question: If a recipe calls for three [3] eggs and I want to halve the recipe….should I use one [1] egg or two [2]?
p.s. your website ROCKS!! i am inherently suspicious of recipes floating around on Internet websites (except those of certain manufacturers [KAF]….or ATK!!). but, your website is a “keeper”!! i even created a shortcut to it on the desktop of my computer!! that’s high praise!!
Joel — Usually I’d recommend 1 egg + 1 yolk. But this cake is so tender that I don’t think an extra half-egg would harm it, so I think you could use 2 whole ones, if you don’t want to split an egg.
Oh My MY! I love this cake, I am eating it as we speak! I had some dark amber honey and could not stomach the strong smell/flavor. I was about to throw it out when I decided to Google honey recipes and found this. I figured with all those ingredients the honey would not stand out. I had everything on hand, even Jack Daniels – wow I am so glad I stuck to the recipe. Made 3 loaf pans as stated – perfect texture, no sag, light and sweet, that lingering coffee/whiskey/allspice flavor is sublime. I must add that I only had enough of my Ceylon cinnamon for 3 teaspoons so I used one tsp of Chinese Five Spice Powder, added a hint of ginger and anise. I would normally freak out at using 1 whole cup of oil, so glad I did, thank you so much for this great find.
I love moist cakes of unusual flavours and stumbled upon this recipe. It looks amazing so I decided to make it for my birthday tomorrow; can’t wait to taste it. I’m surprised I didn’t find it earlier as your website is amazing and has led to me trawling through almost its entire history. So many of your recipes are just the right degree of unusual and so beautifully photographed that I salivate every time I read your site. Thank you!
Hi,
I wanted to tell you that this is a much-loved cake at our home. The flavor mix is perfect and I even tried it at a bake sale once! The name alone was a crowd puller and needless to say, it was sold out within the first hour of the sale! Thanks so much for this recipe :)
Honey, bourbon and coffee extract in a cake, sounds like addictive. I m about to make it and serve it at my cafe tomorrow
Hi deb. What can I use to replace the orange juice in this recipe? I am allergic to oranges.
Veronica — I think apple juice or, even better, apple cider might be nice.
This cake tasted awesome. I may be some years late, but I had to let you know that it’s a great recipe. And adaptable. My spouse requested “a kind of apple spice cake” for this year’s birthday, and I wanted to do something that would be really catching. Believe me, an apple honey cake definitely does it. Thanks for the research you did!
It was so soft and moist- and just sweet enough! The problem I usually have with honey cakes is that they aren’t sweet and don’t smell sweetly of honey, but this one hit the spot. It was nice and dark and fragrant Thank you, Smitten Kitchen!! Can’t wait to share with my friends.
(I was out of whiskey so I substituted rum and it was just fine!)
Why not edit the actual fucking recipe?? I saved this unto a recipe program, and made the one with the TABLESPOON, instead of the TSP, scaled by 10 at work in a kitchen, and thanks to that I have multiple cakes ruined, wtf??
Wow, your comment and language is way out of line. Try counting to ten, next time.
With the 1 tsp of baking powder, the recipe made 2 beautiful 9″ round cakes. The first time I made this, I used 1 1/4 cups of strong chai tea instead of the coffee and whiskey, apricot nectar instead of apple juice, and 4 oz. baby food pears instead of 1/2 c. of the oil. The honey flavor was subtle and lovely, and the cake absorbed moisture (as honey does) for the 4 days it stayed around, so it was always moist. The second time, I used strong Celestial Seasonings Cherry Berry tea, raspberry applesauce, and frozen raspberry-apple juice concentrate. Same beautiful results, with a raspberry essence. This is a fantastic recipe to tweak to your own tastes–just keep the liquid ingredients in their same amounts, whatever you use.
Rachel- she didn’t edit the entire recipe to reflect the 1 tsp. of baking powder because she only tested that using a tube pan, and didn’t want to definitively say that 1 tsp. was the end-all, be-all fix to the sinking problem. Perhaps you should request Deb re-test in other pans? Or perhaps someone else can give us feedback on their results? In the meantime, as a professional, you should always remember to reread recipes a few times before tackling them, especially when making multiples of a recipe. I do the same at my job.
I’ve made this cake two ways, both of which involve what I like to call the “baklava treatment.” Meaning, I toast sliced almonds really nicely, make a honey syrup, and drizzle the cake with the syrup, then layer with almonds (repeated a few times) to create a lovely sort of syrupy topping that really sticks to the cake. Delicious, and a nice crunchy contrast to the plush cake. The other change I sometimes make is that I add chopped apples to the batter, and swap the orange juice for apple, using earl grey tea for the warm/hot liquid (actually, I always go the tea route). Thus, an all-in-one honey + apple dessert perfect for the new year. [PS I’ve successfully made unsinkable cakes with the 1 tsp. of baking powder in both a tube pan, and a 9 x 9 square cake pan. That being said, the tube pan tends to yield a more evenly moist cake, as the square pan tends to have more well-done edges.]
In case it still matters several years later, I successfully used the 1 tsp. of baking powder version in two loaf pans and ended up with very nicely peaked domes. Silly me – one of the loaf pans was really a molded pan with a nice seasonal motif in the bottom … so the big peak wasn’t very helpful when I flipped it over … HOWEVER, it gave the chef an early taste as the dome needed to be shaved off and sampled.
Since this has also been a question – the molded pan was Nordic Ware. I sprayed the inside quite heavily with Pam, ended up letting it cool in the pan for about 75 minutes (lost track of time) and it slid out beautifully. The best imprint we’ve ever gotten with that particular pan, actually.
In this recipe, it said “1/4 cup (60 ml) rye or whiskey”. What is rye? Is it rye flour?
Thanks,
Ellen
Ellen — Nope. Rye is a type of whiskey, as is bourbon (which also works here). You can read about the differences over here.
I made this today and loved it!!! This is the first time I am writing though I have been reading for years. Thanks
I was so glad to know I am not the only one whose cake fell. It bubbled quite a bit as it baked and spilled over a little. As strange as it sounds, I was stung by a bee in the process and also ran around the kitchen after several other bees that had smelled the honey and came into to see what was going on. All in all it was worth the sting and once I cut the cake no one noticed but me that the shape was not so pretty as I had desired.
I’ve just recently learned there are TONS of different kinds of honey and not just the kind in the cute bear and a few others in the market. In your opinion do you think it makes a difference what you use? I was told to buy honey from the local farmers’ market for health reasons also, but I want this to taste good for Rosh Hashanah!
P.S. You are always my go to recipe gal! Thank you for your cheery blog and amazing food.
I am tasked with baking for Rosh Hashanah. I’m making an apple cake but I need a second recipe. My mom makes a great honey cake, but I can’t show up at her house with her recipe. The only complication is that my mom hates clove and allspice. Can I use something else instead? What do you recommend?
Thank you! Every time I’ve tried this, it not only fell and needed extensive trimming afterwards, but practically exploded in my oven first! What a mess! I suspected a tablespoon of baking powder was too much, but wasn’t sure how much to reduce it to – I didn’t want it to be a brick. BTW, NordicWare has a gorgeous pan that I use for honey cake – it’s a beehive! It produces two sides, so you can stand them up, stick them together with the honey frosting (recipe on the package), and drizzle the frosting over the top to hide the seam. Regardless of the pan, though, this is by far the most complex – in terms of flavors!- honey cake out there and well worth the effort.
Made this cake last year and gave everyone a mini-cake as they left Erev Rosh Hashana dinner for a sweet New Year. This year my son is a freshman in college and wants me to send some. Would appreciate suggestions for packing and sending to slightly homesick freshman. Thanks!
Love the honey cake- but my children arent sure about the whiskey taste- could I leave it out without ruining the amazing moist texture of the cake? Thanks-
Yummmm…a nice thick warm slice of this cake with a hot cocoa!
Made the cake in a 9×13 with 1tsp baking powder, baked for 55 minutes. It had a lovely dome that didn’t sink or crack upon cooling, and a slightly darker edge (for that carmelized honey bite). The kitchen smelled great! I am used to using 1 cup honey for one large loaf cake. Is there a way to upscale the amount of honey?
I have had a newspaper clipping with this recipe since 1999 and it is the only honey cake I have ever liked. My family goes crazy for it! I have never had a problem using the tablespoon of baking powder — I have baked it in tube pan, bundt pan and regular 9×13 cake pan.
Finally got around to this in time for Rosh Hashana – read your note at the top, and in fact, the teaspoon-instead-of-tablespoon of baking powder was the perfect solution to a beautifully domed Bundt cake and 1/2 a dozen cupcakes (which I tasted, and was excited to find that I believe this recipe will satisfy the many different opinions about perfect honey cake in my house!) I used Scotch, because it was handy (the Dimpled Pinch, if that matters) and didn’t taste the alcohol at all. And the smell was to die for!
Well, I finally got around to pulling this together last night after work. I made 2 8″ loaves and 2 minis. They sunk and were very thin???? I don’t know if my baking powder needs to be ditched? Or if i spread the batter over too many pans..?I am going to try again tonight, in a bundt pan with new chemicals……I also used nonstick pans and they are a bit darker than regular ones and that caused the outsides to brown a bit too much. I did one of the 8″ lined in parchment to see if that would affect the out come. No difference.maybe I should lower the oven temp to 325? I rarely have issues when I bake. But inspite of the buried treasure look, they are delicious. Happy new year!
DEB,
It is the new year again….did you ever test this recipe in the different size pans after adjusting the levening??? Do you think perhaps you could do that before the next new year?
I am wondering what other alcoholic flavorings can be used in this recipe. I’m going to try it tonight with the whisky, because I have a lot of that in the house, but has anyone thought of using calvados? Or elderflower liqueur? IKEA makes an elderflower and orange marmalade that is to die for, maybe it would benefit this honey-orange cake too? It seems like folks are using whatever they’ve got, run, amaretto, so maybe I should experiment!
Rachel — I think you can use any flavor you’d like in there. Calvados could be lovely.
This recipe is the gift that keeps on giving every year during Rosh Hashanah.
I am not concerned about keeping it pareve, so use 141 grams of butter in place of the oil, and cream it with the sugar. This year I eliminated the orange juice, and replaced it with milk, and because of the reduction in acid, I eliminated the baking soda entirely (which is not easy to get in Brazil in any case) and used 1 teaspoon of baking powder. This has eliminated the sagging problem entirely.
When the cake is still warm and just out of the oven, I top it with a bit more honey and smooth it out with a frosting knife. The honey soaks into the top of the cake, and makes a very nice topping of a nice honey layer. I highly recommend this as a last step.
I should mention that the 141 grams of butter referenced above is for a half recipe — one single cake.
**update from sept 4, 2013 comment**
i made your honey cake this morning for tomorrow night’s rosh hashana dinner. this time, i used 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and baked it in a bundt pan for 1 hour. it is beautiful. it baked up perfectly — no sinking or deflating whatsoever. I’m sure it will be just a big a hit this year as it was last year. thx again for the recipe.
Thank you for my favorite honey cake recipe! Made it today and my family went crazy over it. I used 1 teaspoon baking powder, didn’t have ground cinnamon, so just left it out, and used Cointreau instead of whiskey. Delicious!
Happy New Year! I made the recipe as written, but with one heaping teaspoon of the baking powder and Cognac. The cake in the standard loaf pan rose slightly more than the cake in the larger oval baking dish. It was nice!
Tried this yesterday and the day before, both with excellent results. I reduced the baking powder to 1 1/2 tsp. and things went beautifully. On the first occasion, I made 12 cupcakes, one large and two mini loaves. Yesterday I made one loaf and 4 mini loaves, again with wonderful results. Yesterday I reduced the cloves to 1/4 tsp, which seems to let the whiskey shine through a bit more. Thank you for a lovely recipe.
I just made the honey cake in a tube pan. I used 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda–it didn’t sag at all. I also used less coffee (3/4 cup) and more bourbon (1/2 cup). YUM!
I Googled “honey spice cake” and stumbled across this recipe — decided to make it for Rosh Hashanah because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, even though the combination of coffee, OJ and rye sounded weird. Made it in two square pans using 1 tsp of baking powder, and the result was fabulous! Thanks so much — this is going to be my new holiday tradition.
I made this for the new year with the teaspoon baking soda and teaspoon baking powder measurement- subbed apple juice for orange juice because we were out, but otherwise made it as written. It came out absolutely beautiful and delicious, and converted my honey cake-hating family (“honey cake is always so dry! why are you making it?” they said. “you’ll see,” I replied) into believers. I made it in a 10 cup bundt pan and a 1 cup ramekin, and both came out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
THIS IS AN AMAZING CAKE!!!!! Made it for Rosh haShana and the family devoured it. It is SO moist and flavorful. FYI I omitted the booze (used extra OJ) and the 1/2 cup of brown sugar, still turned out incredible. Thank you Deb!!!!!!
This cake is delicious! It´s the best honeycake I´ve ever had. I used spicy chai tea instead of coffee and will do so again next time! 1 tsp of bakingpowder worked out very well. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
The first instructions say to add eggs, and I may have misread but I don’t see eggs in the ingredient list… It is of course.. monday.
It’s totally Monday, I understand. There are three eggs in this recipe. It’s the 12th ingredient in the list and I looked past it twice before finding it too.
It’s funny, I didn’t see it either and made it without them and that’s when I had the sinking problem. I found the same recipe on epicurious with the eggs and made that one the next day, without the sink. Believe or not, I think I like the sunken one better…..!
I made this TWICE already for this year. Love this recipe. First time I made it I did a loaf pan and a square 8×8. Second time I did a loaf pan and 12 muffins…baked the muffins 30 minutes. Also swapped in 2 cups of white whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups AP flour and tasted great. I love this recipe, thank you!!!
I made this in a 13x9x2 today and decided to go with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and it was awesome! I used apple honey and it’s just delish. My plan was to take it to my friend’s house tomorrow night for breaking the fast, and thank goodness sundown finally came. Any later and the 13x9x2 would have turned in to an 9x9x2! (as it stands now, it’s probably an 11x9x2!) Thanks so much for the recipe!
After 609 comments, I can’t believe I have something new to say. But I made this recipe today – used two larger loaf pans. Anyway, here’s what happened: same batter (used 1 tsp baking powder), same baking pans, same oven, same rack, same baking pans underneath. Baked at the same time, together. Amazingly, one cake rose exactly the way I expected, and the other sunk in the middle. I am stunned and stumped. It must be the way the heat disperses in my oven, but still, really? They were inches apart from each other!
Aside: My father owned a bakery in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and made the most amazingly delicious, moist, honey cake (year-round) ever. I have been trying honey cakes ever since and all have been as you described – dry, tasteless, terrible. I can’t begin to count how many I have bought and thrown away. So I may have overly high expectations and warped memories, but I can’t wait for these cakes to cool so I can try a piece.
Follow up to Comment #610 – I tasted the sunken cake and it is perfect – just like my father’s! Thank you so much for a terrific recipe. Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I used 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1¼ cups of Turkish tea rather than 1 cup tea and ¼ cup alcohol. Finally, my daughter confirms that the left side of our oven works better than the right. Who woulda thunk?
I made this today with 1 tsp of baking powder in a silicone bundt pan & it rose perfectly. I am not usually a fan of honey cake (my husband loves it which is why I baked it) but this was delicious. Moist and flavorful. As usual, your recipes are perfection!
I just wanted to be the 613th comment. A mitzvah, this recipe. Made it again, for a bake sale at that, and it’s not even the yontif! At the request of an 8 year-old!!
Had to let you know that my boys requested this cake for their birthday for this coming Thursday. It’s the only cake they can agree on!
Reading this recipe reminded me a lot of Claudia Fleming’s gingerbread, and gave me some great ideas on how to tinker with her recipe. Maybe half honey, half maple syrup instead of molasses, and homemade Nocino in place of the stout. Diced apples and almond extract should round it out. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for the inspiration.
hi — is there any reason why this cake would be done before a toothpick inserted in the center is clean? i just made it (half the recipe in a 9″ circle tin, forgot to put it on baking sheets though) and it’s delicious but a bit dry. i waited until a toothpick came out clean but it passed the ‘springy’ test much earlier. wondering if would have been ok to take out in advance? thanks. also i used about 1 tsp of baking powder and halved everything else and it rose very nicely.
sumayya — If it was 99% baked but the toothpick wasn’t clean of batter (and it’s batter you’re looking out for, there will of course be crumbs on the toothpick even when it’s done) it might finish baking out of the oven just from its residual heat. But it’s not as likely. In general, if the toothpick is picking up raw batter, it’s not going to be baked through. Did it seem dry? Or get too dark?
Just made this, and what a success! I used two 9-inch cake pans and only used 1 teaspoon of baking powder, as suggested. It completely filled both pans and rose to be quite thick, so it really wouldn’t work in 8-in pans, if anyone was wondering. They sunk just a tad (probably not as much as they would’ve) and rose a little unevenly. Maybe that would’ve been a problem if I’d wanted to layer them- but I didn’t, so I didn’t care and neither did anyone else who ate it. What counts is it’s flavorful, moist (Seriously, even after three days? What kind of cake can DO that? This one.), and goes wonderfully with bourbon honey cream sauce. Thank you!
correction on above comment: probably not as much as they would’ve **with one tablespoon of baking power**
I love this recipe! Do you think it would also work with set honey, if it was heated to become runny again? Would you change the quantities at all? Thanks!
I haven’t worked with it at all, but if it’s warm once heated, I wouldn’t expect it to be a problem here.
Sorry, I’m new at this. Is ‘tube pan’ the same as a bundt pan? The cake looks heavenly!
Nevermind – just found the answer – sorry for the spam. :)
This looks amazing but if I want to exclude alcohol, what can be used in its place? Also do you have a tea you recommend?
I saw this recipe for the first time yesterday and had to make it today. This is an amazing find! I used a tube pan and baked it for exactly an hour at 350 degrees. No sinking because I used the 1 teaspoon of baking powder and soda each. The only thing I did a bit differently was using what I had left of a freshly squeezed orange(50 ml) mixed that with two tablespoons of grand marnier and about 70 ml of pure maple syrup to compensate for not having the full amount of the orange juice needed. No additional liquor… The cake sprung back after an hour, was nice and crusty on the outside and moist and delectable on the inside. It looks exactly what I see on your site. if your desired result is a nice high cake, I recommend using a tube or bundt pan. There is enough room for all of the batter to bake evenly.
Hello, I’m planning on making some small individual cakes for a friend’s wedding party but will need to bake them a couple of days beforehand as it’s in another city where I have no kitchen facilities. I thought something like this would probably keep quite well. Any thoughts? Thanks for all the food by the way- I’m a long time reader but never commented before. Your presence is often felt in my kitchen!
Hi May — Yes, this keeps very well, gets even more moist after the first day. And thank you! I’m happy to be part of it.
I made this cake with a few tweaks and absolutely loved it! Such a classic and easy to make recipe. I did make it with the 1 teaspoon of baking powder and it rose like a dream. I posted about it on my blog if you have a minute to check it out: http://piesandplots.net/not-quite-classic-honey-cake/ :)
So, I made FAR too much, but that meant discovering just how amazing this cake is sliced, toasted (singed at the edges) and slathered with salty butter once it’s a bit stale. Seriously delicious!
HUGE fan here! I’ve just baked this cake this evening, for no particular reason, other than the recipe caught my eye. The quantities are far too much for someone living alone but I didn’t let that deter me;) I just halved it.
The aromas coming from the oven were just heavenly, I was practically hopping up and down in front of it, willing it to finish. It took the full 45 minutes and a few more to be done.
But so well worth the wait. Incredibly moist, and nicely domed. I really wasn’t expecting that, given all the comments about sinking, and baking powder (I used 3/4 teaspoon, plus a half of soda). I did, though, find the whiskey a little strong (30 ml of Jack Daniels – all I have other than my precious Caol Ila (a deliciously strong single malt) and I wasn’t about to cook with that!).
Definitely a cake I’ll be making again.
I love the website, Deb, and your cookbook was the first on my list when I was given an Amazon voucher for my birthday. I have so many recipes tagged … …
Very many thanks for this website, this recipe, and the book!
Oh, and before I go… I had mice in the house, too! And I live on the outskirts of a town in Oxfordshire. Pleased to say that I no longer have unwelcome guests!
All best wishes,
Penny
Happy New Year, Deb! For the holiday, I will be making 3 of your recipes: Mom’s Apple Cake, this Honey Cake and your Roasted Red Pepper Dip! What size loaf pans did you use? I keep looking at the comments to make sure this question isn’t redundant. Apologies if I missed an earlier inquiry.
Paige — I use a standard 9×5-inch loaf. I’m sure if yours is close, it will be just fine.
If I wanted to really amp up the honey flavor could I add an extra half cup of honey and reduce the white sugar to just one cup without any issues? Thanks!
Sharon — I haven’t made it this way but this cake is surprisingly flexible so you might be okay.
I absolutely love this cake! It converted my entire extended family into being honey cake lovers. Does anyone know if it can be made in a bundt pan?
can i use 11 by 5 loaf pans and do 2 instead of three. how long should i bake for?? don’t have parchment paper can i grease instead?? thanks
(fyi, traditionally many people do not eat nuts for the Jewish new year.)
Perel — I haven’t made it in a bundt or tube before, but many people who have commented say they have successfully. Good luck!
matilda — I don’t know how many cups of batter this is offhand, so I cannot say for sure. And I don’t have a loaf pan that size that I can suggest a baking time in line with, but I think if you start checking in at the cooking time suggested here and then every 5 to 10 minutes from that point on, you should be just fine. Hope you enjoy it.
Would like to get a printed copy of the Majestic Honey cake recipe. Do not need the pictures. I am on Social Security. Thank you, Shelley Germane.E-Mail is nannie44@att.net.
Thanks for the quck response to my loaf pan size queation. One more question, do you think this cake can be made 2 days in advance? I love that I can make your Apple Cake a day in advance, and I would like to spread out my cooking, so I would like to know if the honey cake can be made two days before it is served. Thanks!
Hi Deb:
I’m getting ready to start baking for the holiday. Do you think I can swap coconut oil for vegetable oil in this recipe? I saw one commenter above did so, i just wanted to get your feedback. What about other “healthier” oils such as sunflower seed oil?
Thanks!
Dorit — Yes, you can use coconut oil or any other oil you like to cook with.
Fabulous recipe – thanks for correcting the original. It is flavorful, moist and yet, light. This recipe makes a lot – one bundt pan for Rosh Hashanah and then a small loaf pan frozen until Yom Kippur. We can’t have much sugar, so I keep the honey but sub out 0.66 cup of light agave for the 2 cups of sugar and cut back a little on the oil. I used coconut oil (very healthy) and it worked fine. I am not a baker, I have no technique – I just whisked the whole thing together and pour it into the greased pans. Thanks again, Deb.
So, crazy question. Do you have a version of the recipe that makes just one loaf? I get nervous about cutting recipes in half and in thirds without knowing what the original recipe is like. I want to try this cak to bring it into the office, since I’ve never had honey cake, but I don’t want a years worth of leftovers lol. Thanks!
Blair — Nothing to be nervous about when dividing recipes. You can cut all of the ingredients in half and it will bake in one loaf just fine.
Does anyone know if the alcohol can be omitted without affecting the outome?
I made this today with the 1 tsp baking powder adjustment. I baked some of the batter in regular-sized glass loaf pans and the rest in smaller ceramic loaf pans. For the larger versions, I increased the baking time to 55 minutes. If I took the pans out at the 45-minute mark, I feel they would have fallen. I also sprinkled almonds on top of the batter before baking and they’re really pretty. The only glitch was removing the cakes from the pans. That wasn’t so pretty. I had to loosen them along the 4 sides with a cake spatula and shake them out. Quite a bit of crumb was left on the bottom of the pans. I’m not sure how you get around this, as the cake is sticky due to the honey. The cake is super moist and saturated with the flavor of honey. It’s like a spice cake you’ve drizzled with honey and a hint of orange.
1/2 tbsp baking powder in a sheet pan and it was PERFECTION!!!
I made this today using a bundt pan and a mini loaf pan (both nonstick metal). It was the best honey cake I’ve ever had but had the same problem as the poster above, cake sticking to the pans, despite liberal spraying with nonstick spray (Pam). Is there something else I should have done to get the cakes out of the pans cleanly? We ended up cutting the cake in the bundt pan because I just couldn’t get it out.
I made this today with Honey Jack Daniels (was short on honey) and oh boy was it good! L’shanah tovah!
FIX FOR THE CAKE SINKING:
For those of you that have complained about the cake sinking, I too had that problem the first try w/this recipe. As an expert baker, I believe that the cause is too much liquid & baking powder. To fix this problem, omit the 1/2c of liquid orange juice and replace it with 1 tablespoon of frozen orange juice. Reduce the baking powder from 3 teaspoons to 2 teaspoons.
Notes:
1)It’s important to use fresh baking powder. I date mine with a permanent marker on the lid. If it is older than one year it gets tossed.
2) Grand Marnier is (orange) whiskey & promotes a great flavor!
3) If you don’t have brewed coffee, you can use 1 tablespoon of instant coffeeinto 8 ounces of water.
4) If baking for gifts, the dollar store has very cheap prices on aluminum mini and medium sized loaf pans.
5) Michael’s Craft Store has Jewish themed cellophane gift bags which many people use for candy, but small & med. size loaf pans to perfectly into these bags. You can Scotch tape them closed and tie them with blue and white ribbons. They look beautiful.
-Hope this helps everyone.
As a layer cake, try filling with a spread of peach preserve diluted with coffee or liquor or even lemon juice, then sprinkle with crystallized violets.
Love this post–because I had exactly the same problem, when I adapted the honey cake recipe of another iconic Jewish food writer, Claudia Roden. Reassuring to know that those crazy sinkholes happen to the best of us. (And it still tastes good :-) I’ve also use Marcy Goldman’s recipe, and like it a lot. Ever try dried cranberries? Olive oil? I keep experimenting!
Is there anything else you can substitute for the coffee or tea? I don’t drink caffeine so I don’t have any:)
Thanks!
AMAZING recipe! Here are my substitutions:
1) nutmeg instead of allspice
2) cranberry juice instead of OJ
3) spiced rum instead of whiskey/rye
4) strong tea blend with added apples/orange/ginger (called xmas blend at my local tea shop) instead of just strong coffee/tea
5) double the vanilla (I always double the vanilla)
Ps this is my very first comment on any cooking/baking blog :)
Made this for Rosh-Hashana ofcourse:-) It was really delicious, even better the next day when i took one to my office and had to scoop peoplw of the floor as they were swooning:-)
I didn’t have OJ or any other juice for that matter but i did have almond milk so in that went instead and it was great. I also use the adjusted baking powder amount and the cakes domed beautifully – no sinkage.
Wonderful recipe, and blog!
Perfected the GLUTEN FREE VERSION of your amazing cake.
Substituted coconut oil, added a tsp of guar gum, used mixed “flours” (bit of rice flour, almond flour, garanzo bean flour) that totaled the same as the original recipe, added an extra XL egg, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce. I also used coconut palm sugar instead of brown or white sugar and a bit less. Came out tasting the same and SUPER MOIST, which is highly unusual for gluten free baked goods. I love your recipe and thank you so much for it. I have probably baked 20 cakes now, maybe 4 gluten free.
I finally finally got around to making this cakes not the hopes of to taking it to my county beekeeper’s holiday meeting. I buttered and floured my nonstick bundt pan but it stuck to the point that the cake ripped in half despite cooking thoroughly and cooling properly before removal. I used a medium golden amber honey from my bees, whiskey, espresso and apple cider as well as 1 tsp. each of baking powder and baking soda. It rose nicely though the overwhelming flavors are the oil, I used a mild EVOO, the baking soda and cloves. What did I miss?
Jodi — Bundts can be difficult with sticky/moist cakes like this, that’s really all it is. I’m sorry you had bad luck.
I made this with the 1tsp of baking powder & 1tsp of baking soda in an 8 inch round. I left out all the white sugar (and didn’t replace it with anything.) Rose beautifully and stayed that way. Amazing texture!! Takes like an ancient, hearty recipe.
Possible tip: if you grind about 1tbsp mulling spices (available in lots of places like Whole Foods) in a coffee grinder, you can get some fresh ground spices of the type listed in this recipe.
Hi there, thank you for the amazing recipe. do you have any suggestion on type of the honey to have a great fragrance too?
Jarrah?? red gum??? Manuka Honey?!!
Am a devoted fan of your recipes and your writing! Today my kitchen smells UN.BE.LIEV.ABLE thanks to this recipe. 10-15minutes more in the oven and I will get to TASTE this heavenly creation. Thanks for all you do for us at-home bakers/cooks.
Hello from India! I have made this cake four times and it has turned out perfectly every time. This is the most delicious recipe of honey cake which wasn’t even my favorite type of cake until I found this recipe.
What eggs??????????
Not sure I follow the question; there are 3 eggs in the recipe.
Would this honey cake freeze well?
Yes, freezes very well.
Can this cake be made gluten free?
I’d expect it to work with a gluten-free baking mix.
I was brave and tried it a few days ago. It’s a testament to the heavenly perfection of this recipe that it came out great gluten free! I make this cake every year. It is literally THE greatest honey cake ever created.
If GF is important, you will need to sub out the whiskey or rye for something else.
That is incorrect. Distilled alcohols do not have gluten.
I just wanted to say, I have made this honey cake for the Jewish New Year every single year since you have posted it, and it has won me friends and fame every. single. time. Truly an astounding recipe! I’ll be making it again this week in celebration and I won’t deny that I’ve been dreaming about it for the past month, since I only make it for the holiday to keep it special. Thank you for posting it!
Do you think we can cut amounts in half??
If so how many eggs??
Sure, but it makes more sense to 1/3 (for one loaf) or 2/3 (for two loaves) it. To split an egg, you can beat a whole one and use half or in most cases, just the yolk works fine in cakes as a “half” egg.
What can I substitute instead of using alcohol? It’s not possible for my Rosh Hashanah gathering. Thanks very much!
Skip it or use tea or more coffee or a juice or cider you think would taste good there.
Has anyone ever made a honey cake using date syrup? Found a recipe I want to try for the holiday. It was on “the nowhere”?
I haven’t but feel like it could work here.
You have left the eggs out of the ingredient list! I just realized it after looking up the recipe this is based on. It should say 3 eggs. This might also be why you’re cake sunk?
They’re between the brown sugar and vanilla in the ingredient list.
So sorry! I had an old xeroxed copy right in front of me. I must be blind.
The funny thing is that I won a major tv baking competition, but I can’t follow a simple recipe. Lol.
Can you make this in a Bundt pan?
I did, and it worked wonderfully. I used a 10-cup bundt pan.
In answer to Susan of 9/27/16, the suggested baking pan types are listed right under the ingredients.
I’m posting this comment because this is the only honey cake recipe I need. I have five that I keep in my recipe files, but this is the one I’ve relied on for years. It never fails me. On those others, I have notes like “good flavor but a little dry” or, “weak flavor but moist”. On this recipe, I added the words, in caps, “THIS IS THE ONE”. I garnish the cake with some chopped candied orange rind. I make it in loaf pans. The flavor gets better after a day or three. There is usually a shallow “channel” running down the center of the baked loaf cake, but for me, that makes a good place for the orange peel.
I wanted to add–for more honey flavor, I use buckwheat honey– most supermarkets carry it.
I use 1 tsp less cinnamon and add a pinch of nutmeg. The honey flavor comes through.
This honeycake saved my family’s recipe! For years we always had a sunken middle due to the leavening. We’ve tried everything from flouring the raisins, letting it rest a few hours before baking… didn’t think of this! I’d never considered finding another recipe because we’ve been using the same one for as long as I can remember, making it in ridiculous amounts and shipping it out to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors – basically anyone we can think of! Once we changed the amount of baking soda the cake magically rose and became a bit lighter but with all the same flavor. We made both our family recipe last year (leavener adjusted) and this one to compare. Both great (ours is a bit heavier on the spices) and we’ll be making both again this year! Some other stuff we’ll be making are your mom’s apple cake and challah. I wrote about my recipe list here: https://aluminumfoiledkitchen.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/shofar-sound-off-rosh-hashanah-recipes/
Thanks for all the great ideas! Have a sweet new year!
in France, it is called “Pain d’épices” :)
If you were trying to make this without caffeine (coffee or tea) what would you do? Maybe decaf instead?
Decaf coffee is fine. I do it all the time in honey cake.
Some notes that may be of interest to Rosh Hashanah honey cake makers: My grandma’s ingredient list (there are only index cards of ingredients in the rusted tin box I inherited at her death 15 years ago) shows 2 1/2 tsp baking powder so almost a tablespoon and then she notes to separate the eggs. This should produce the loft that you were seeking. Also she calls for a full one pound bottle of honey(!), less sugar, less cinnamon, less oil, the rest is the same. The end results are moist, light and spicy!
I use 1 tsp less cinnamon than this recipe calls for– I don’t like to overwhelm the honey flavor.
Oh how I giggled as I read this, as I too had an EPIC honey cake concave failure that has become legendary among my friends and family. It even earned the name “The Hippo Cake” – you can see it here https://samanthamcgarry.com/2013/07/12/the-incompetent-chef-the-legendary-hippo-cake/
To this day I don’t know what I did wrong but maybe I’ll give it another go using your directions!
for years I’ve tried honey cake recipes and none of them have turned out the way I wanted them to – some too harsh others bland. This one is perfect – everyone raved about it! Thanks so much for posting.
Wow!! I am not a fan of honey cake but I am hosting our family’s Rosh Hashanah dinner si I just baked this. The aroma while baking was fabulous. Luckily I made 3 loaf pans and as soon as they cooled enough to take a slice to try, I cut in to 1 and fell in love. I could eat the whole loaf. And supposedly it tastes better the next day??? How is that even possible ? I LOVE this cake and will be eating it Year round. I think the coffee and the whisky really make this amazing. Thank you for this terrific recipe!
I’ve used this basic recipe from Marcy Goldman for years… Maybe a dash more whiskey… And I add nutmeg, less cloves, and it’s always a hit.
Sold!!!!! A cake that has a holy trinity of coffee, whiskey and honey AND you published real life, unstylized photos of an actual – delicious – cake! Getting my pans and ingredients out right now. Thanks!!!!
Just pulled cakes out of oven. Made one in a square 9 in. brownie pan and the other in a loaf. I omitted the alcohol. All of the nuts that I sprinkled over the cakes somehow wound up in the center during baking. The brownie pan one came out okay, but the loaf one totally caved in the middle and is prob. burnt on the bottom. I filled the pan slightly more than half and the sides rose to the very top, cooked, but the middle was still liquidy, so I had to bake it 15 min. extra. Is it that I put too much baater in the loaf that made it collapse in the middle? Looks like I will be bringing a bottle of wine to Rosh. Hash dinner on Monday. :((
I make this recipe in the recommended 3 (disposable foil) loaf pans. I’d say the batter fills these pans a bit more than 3/4 full– the baked cake rises almost to the rim, and domes a bit. I wonder if keeping in the whiskey (or the equivalent in any substitute liquid) helps the rise.
When I use the cake tester and the center is still wet (not liquid, but wet), I turn off the still-hot oven and put the cake back into the oven for the 10-15 minutes longer it needs. But that’s based on my oven.
Thanks for the inspiration! Just made this – very easy.
I made it onto muffins and put a smal slice of Apple on top of each. Very Rosh.
They took about 15 minutes to bake. Looks amazing!!!
I followed the recipe to the letter and baked the cake in a single 10-inch round pan. (No one mentioned a pan this size and I’m terribly inexperienced when it comes to baking, so I just hoped for the best.) The cake rose about one inch above the rim , then settled back down. No pour over. I fear I may have over-baked it, though, due to worry about raw batter in the middle. It looks dark compared with the photos, and I have a feeling the outer edge, along the pan, might be tough. We’ll see tomorrow! I baked a day ahead to reduce stress, and also because there’s agreement here that the cake is better on day 2.
it turned out beautiful in a tube pan with the reduction of baking powder. can’t wait to cut into it tomorrow night
I saw this recipe today on your fb page and after going through it and the comments, couldn’t resist making it. since mine is a small oven, I cut the ingredients by 1/3.
Oh my, it came out so lovely and good!
And my one and half year old toddler quite enjoyed mixing the batter. For a kid who hates food, he is in love with it and can’t have enough of this cake.
Thank you Deb for this wonderful recipe and giving me a fun thing to do with my little love.
I made this last night- it’s great! I made 3 loaves, and I did use 1 tsp baking powder which prevented sinking and resulted in a light and fluffy cake. I also used chai (tea bags) for the tea, and thought it added a nice flavor and went well with the spices in the cake. My only issue was that it stuck to the loaf pans despite greasing them- next time I would put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom. This recipe is a keeper!
How many eggs? They are listed in instructions, but not in ingredients!
the ingredients list includes 3 large eggs
Holy Cow! I made this cake this morning and it is spectacular! Not too sweet as I imagined it would be, it was just right. And the sugary-chewy top is heaven! I made it in a 10-cup bundt pan and it was perfect. I gave a third of the cake to my neighbor and now i’m watching the slices slowly disappear. Easy and delicious. Will definitely be making this one again! Thank you ;)
I forgot to mention that I used your revised 1 tsp instead of 1 tbs of bp. I omitted the OJ and alcohol, and used the Chai Spice mix from Spice Tree Organics. Perfect!
Made two loaves for back to back potlucks. In the less successful i made it in a well greased bundt pan – I DO NOT RECOMMEND A BUNDT PAN: it would not come out at all =( and also burned a little around the edges. However, I cut the broken pieces into cubes and layered with a whipped cream/yogurt combo, and it was definitely well received with noone the wiser. Just kidding of course I told everyone. I used coffee in that one and liked the flavor a lot.
In the other version I used strong earl grey tea, which was nice but more subtle than the coffee, and added 3 bartlett pears, cubed and “dusted” with flour (well, the dusting quickly became gummy); the pears stayed near the top and cooked perfectly. Did this in an angel food pan lined with waxed paper, was glad the instructions said to place on top of cookie sheets because some batter seeped out the bottom, but it was fine in the end.
I’m looking to make this tonight. I don’t have any orange juice on hand, do you think it would taste alright with apple cider? Has anyone tried this? Thank you!
looks like a great recipe.
how about something like this without the alcohol, i teach kids and would like to celebrate with them.
what could replace it?
happy new year’
bonna
When I’ve made it without the whiskey, I sub in that amount more of coffee or oj.
Delicious and came out just like the picture! I was a little concerned that something would be goofy with mine, because I had to leave the batter out for almost an hour before putting it in the oven, but everything was great and the rising worked perfectly. This is a great, simple cake to have in your back-pocket for fall brunches or rainy days.
The cake is a tiny bit too sweet for my taste (I may add less sugar in the future, while leaving the honey level the same). But everyone loved it and it does get even more delicious over time.
My loaves got the dint in the middle yesterday too, using 1 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of baking soda. However, I am at 1, 159 metres above sea level. I wonder which way and how much I ought to adjust these quantities.
Does baking with honey have a tendency to produce this result? I’m just wondering because I used to try to make some delicious honey-yogurt-cornmeal muffins, and every single time they failed to rise and flowed over the edges of the muffin pans. Finally I had to throw that recipe out so that I wasn’t tempted to make them any more.
But I also forgot to put in the diced pear and had to drop it in the tops of the pans just before putting into the oven so that was probably why it created a small crevice. It’s delicious!
Any suggestions on high altitude adjustments? Over 5200 ft
UPDATE: I made my cake a day ahead with the new, updated amount of baking powder–1 tsp–and 1 tsp. baking soda. I followed the recipe to the letter and poured (it was too thin to spoon) the batter into a 10-inch round cake pan with 2 inch high sides. The cake rose to about an inch above the rim but didn’t pour over or fall–in fact, it came out perfectly and was much, much praised at the Rosh Hashanah dinner we attended. Moist, flavorful–delicious. Made me look good! The only thing was, I had to guess at how long to bake it and kept resetting the timer for another ten minutes, then another ten. I have no idea how many minutes it baked in total, but I got lucky–it was perfect. Drizzled some honey on top and wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, as recommended by another commenter here. Just before heading to the dinner, I sprinkled the top with powdered sugar to dress it up a little. Thanks so much, Deb, for making my first-ever honey cake a huge success. I actually looked like an expert baker, which I most definitely am not. I highly, highly recommend this recipe!
I just baked this cake for the second year in a row, to bring to a Rosh Hashana dinner (using the revised recipe, with 1 teaspoon of baking powder). I used a bundt pan both times. Last year, when I unmolded it, only the bottom lateral half of the cake came out, much to my dismay. I eventually got the top half out and “glued” it onto the rest of the cake using honey. Not so beautiful, but delicious and much enjoyed. This year I was determined to redeem myself, and tried again. I just unmolded it, and about an inch from the top lateral half remained. It’s pretty ugly, but I’ll dutifully bring it again. Any advice on what to do? I guess I should stop using a bundt pan.
I’ve only made it in loaf pans, which I grease, line with parchment, and grease again. It’s a sticky cake and a bundt has that many more crevices for the cake to hold on to. A tube pan might be easier (and there are pre-cut parchment liners available for tube pans).
I made this yesterday for the holiday and it was delicious. It came out perfectly and it got lots of compliments at dinner! Thanks for the recipe.
Love your website and recipes! However, I find the new design really hard to follow. Everything is too big (like reading a large print book) and there are constant interruptions/jumps which are distracting. Browsing all your lovely recipes is the best part of your site and it is just much harder than before. I have held off writing in the hope it was just a matter of getting used to the new site, but I just can’t learn to like it or find it easy to use. I hope you would consider going back the the old or moving on to version 3.0.
Thanks for listening!
i just made this earlier today using 2011 (?) modifications with 1 TBS baking powder as I had stored it in my online recipe card box. I thought my sunken middle in the 2 9-inch round pans after rising so gloriously was because I had taken too long to rotate it that the temperature differences made it sink. So good to see now today’s version. Perhaps also because I used the aged Japanese whiskey, it was more boozy than I had expected so may try to reduce it to ⅛ cup next time. Super moist and delicious!
This is definitely the best honey cake I’ve ever had! I made it yesterday for Rosh Hashanah dinner and it was a huge success! I did not have orange juice on hand and used 1/2 cup of applesauce instead. I also used 1/4 cup of water instead of the alcohol. It was moist and perfect! This recipe will be a yearly tradition!
I’ve never had honey cake before and once I saw your pictures, I knew I had to make it since honey is one of my favorite flavors in the world. Wow was this worth it! I substituted about half the AP flour with buckwheat flour since I think the flavors of buckwheat and honey go well together, and substituted rum for whiskey since I didn’t have any. Halved the recipe and baked it in a 9″ round cake pan. I took a shower during the baking and came out of the bathroom smelling something like heaven opening up in my whole place. This is the essence of fall in the best way possible! Texture is as moist as promised, flavor is complex and addicting (even sans allspice and cloves since I don’t like them), and I love the slight crunch from the sliced almonds on top. Definitely a keeper and will be made again and again! Thanks Deb!!
Last night I got served a piece of extremely delicious honey cake in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where they’re serious about this kind of thing… and the baker told me she’d gotten the recipe here!
I made two cakes and accidentally left out the honey in one of them – and it turned out to be surprisingly better than the one with the honey. I would in the future dial down the 1 cup of honey to 1/4 cup and see how that fares.
This cake turned out great Deb! Such a fabulous flavour, thanks so much for the recipe :)
I can’t get the printable version when I click on the icon of the printer. It usually works. Is the link missing or is it just my browser?
Should be working here, either Ctrl-P or using the icon under the recipe in the “DO MORE:” line.
This is a beautiful cake. Perfectly moist, light and fluffy! Thank you for the recipe!
I think I will make this as a layer cake with the sour cream chocolate icing you recommend. Does that sound daft?
No, it makes sense and should work.
thanks for answering! I will let you know what happens. Also think it might work to use honey instead of corn syrup in frosting.
Made it today and waiting to cool…
I made this with the reduced baking powder, and it turned out so well! I made one cake in a 9×13 pan, and cooked for 48 minutes. I used spiced chai tea bags to add a little more spiced flavor. The cake was so easy to come together. At first it seemed too liquidy, but after a few more whisks it thickened up. I used parchment paper to line the pan since I get super paranoid about sticking!
I made this for Rosh Hashanah and everyone raved about it! I happen to own Marcy Goldman’s cookbook so I looked at her recipe at the same time as Deb’s adjusted one. I decided instead of going with 1 teaspoon of baking powder, I cut the original in half and went with 1 1/2 teaspoons. I used extra OJ instead of the alcohol. I found that the batter was quite runny — I needed a soup ladle to put it in the pans — and I used a loaf pan and an 8-inch square and I didn’t need any more. Which is perfect as there’s one to bring to the family holiday dinner and one to keep at home! They baked for 50 minutes and the edges started to brown, but 45 minutes was too short. So next time I’ll go with 47. This is definitely now part of my Rosh Hashanah baking!
Making this today (!) for the upcoming holiday. Can I use light brown sugar? Or does it need to be dark brown sugar? Thx!
Absolutely. Dark brown sugar just has more flavor, but this cake has plenty regardless.
My cake came delicious! But it was not yellowship like the picture, but mostly brown (like light chocolate cake color wise). Why do you think that is? I omitted the alcohol but otherwise followed the recipe as is.
PS: thanks for the hint on measuring the oil then the honey!
I am so so so so HAPPY to have found this recipe. I made it and DEVOURED it. It is simply the best cake ever, flavorful, moist and easy to make.
I made one change, instead of the spices called for I substituted an equivalent amount for Chinese 5 Spice. Do yourself a favor and try that.
Thanks so much I will have this cake in heavy rotation for a long time to come!
I made this for the holidays and it cake out spectacularly. Everyone asked for the recipe. All this despite my total inability to discern this instruction: Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together.
I’m confused if this means, stack to baking sheets together, then put both pans on the the stacked sheets. OR, if it means put each pan on a sheet and then stack them one on top of the other. OR, some variation that I’l completely missing. I did the first, since that’s the only thing that didn’t see insane to me, but I still felt like it was very confusing. Also, I didn’t have two sheets big enough for this purpose, so I put each pan on a separate single sheet and it worked out fine (as far as I know – maybe it would have been even more amazing if I smartly invested in more baking sheets). Please tell me – do I ask for more baking sheets for hanukkah this year?
A double layer of baking sheet was recommended by the recipe’s creator to better handle the heat, the way a pizza stone is. I’m not sure I’ve done it once since the first time.
I have been making this for years and everyone raves. I use bourbon for the alcohol. It was what we had in the house.
I do have a question about mini loaf pans. I have made it in a tube and in 3 loaf pans but wanted to try mini loaf pans to use for little gift for several people and they did not cook properly. I used the cookie sheets and didn’t cook them as long, but they rose weirdly and about 1/4 inch on the bottom was very wet. I would love to do this but don’t want to waste another batch until I have some suggestion as to how to cook such little pans.
I make this in foil or metal loaf pans, minis and full loaves, and I haven’t had that problem. My oven tends to run hot, so I reduce the temp. by 25 degrees, and put the pans on a cookie sheet. I check them well before the suggested time periods have ended. If they appear to be at risk for overbaking on the edges, I turn the oven way down, or even off, for the last 10-15 minutes of baking time. I wonder if your baking soda or powder was the culprit.
I would consider blaming the levening products except I had just used the exact recipe, one for a tube and one for 3 loaf pans. Both of them were perfect. The temperature is something to consider. Thanks.
Yum! I just made this and look forward to making it again. I love finding recipes that use coffee because I always have some left in the pot that I hate throwing out. My only regret is subbing with whole wheat pastry flour as I wanted to get rid of it, so it taste a bit bitter.
Just whipped up a batch of this and as I was just about to put it in the oven when I gave the batter a taste — it seemed bland, so I double checked the ingredient list. Ooops, I started with the wet ingredients, then added the dry ingredients — Sugars??? I forgot to put in the sugars. I did remember the honey. I’d already dished this out to make miniature cakes and I wasn’t going to try and undo that.
No probs!! I’ll just glaze them heavily. I can still make this work!!
This cake turned out fantastic! I made it in a Bundt pan and baked it for 55 minutes. I used coffee and Kahlua (only alcohol I had on hand) and will definitely be making it again. Thanks for a great recipe!! Also, I love the placement of your search window, it’s so easy to find!!
I have the same sinking problem with Claudia Roden’s Ginger Cake (which calls for Lyle’s Golden syrup instead of honey–brilliant!)from the Book of Jewish food, but I make it anyway. It only calls for 1/4 tsp of baking powder & 1/2 tsp of baking soda but does call for self-rising flour.
Could that be the problem?
I’ve made this recipe twice, mostly because Deb makes it sound so ridiculously appealing. Both times I used the same amount of leavening: 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder.
The first time, I misread the instructions and didn’t put my tube pan of batter on anything but the oven rack (I wrapped the bottom of the tube pan in foil so it wouldn’t leak). The cake rose about an inch, no higher than the top of the pan, and baked up completely picturesque.
The second time, I followed the instructions to a T. With the tube pan resting on two baking sheets, the cake rose like gangbusters out of the pan, and burned a bit on the outside before the inside baked through.
I’m not sure if this is because the heating element is located at the bottom of my (gas) oven, but would personally recommend baking this recipe without the doubled pans. Either way, the cake is delicious, and the batter even more so (like liquid graham crackers, in a good way[!]).
Calling this cake “majestic” is probably the most appropriate description of a recipe I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve used 1,5x of all the ingredients as I made this as a birthday cake to bring it into the office and slightly reduced the granulated sugar as the batter was already incredibly sweet with all the honey and brown sugar. My cake turned out a bit too dense (I think I just put in the baking powder and forgot the baking soda – whoops) but smelled and tasted incredible. I’ll definitely make this again – probably with even less sugar, but adding spices more generously.
Is there a viable egg substitute you can recommend?
I haven’t tried it here but I know in a lot of other baked goods on this site, people have used flax eggs as an egg-free swap.
Hi I am searching for a honey cake recipe to enter into a Honey Show. The predominant flavour must be honey. In this recipe (which I am sure is delish) is the honey flavour still discernible or is it overpowered by spice or alcohol? Could I make it with no alcohol and the same spice? Or vice versa?
There’s a lot else going on here. You can reduce the spices for a more clear honey flavor. Also, it’s quite ambitious but have you heard of a Russian honey cake?
This is my all-time favorite cake. And if it lasts that long, it’s fabulous days later! I make it in a chiffon cake pan and it’s gorgeous.
The recipe sounds wonderful except for the booze. What would you suggest I use in its place.
Use orange juice or more coffee. This was the recommendation of Marcy Goldman.
More coffee, tea or juice.
This looks incredible. Could I make this in a bundt pan?
Marcy Goldman, the creator of this cake says “I like this cake best baked in a 9-inch angel food cake pan, but you can also make it in a 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan, a 9 x 13 inch sheet pan or three 8 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans.” The cooking times are angel/tube(60 to 70 minutes) loaf cakes (45 to 55) sheet cakes (40 to 45) I would assume bundt would be the same as tube, BTW I tried the to do mini loafs and it didn’t work. I don’t know what I did wrong, but they didn’t cook properly. I have been making this for several years now and it is always a favorite.
Odd question. I’ve been enlisted to bake the birthday cake for My non-Jewish niece and her birthday (sadly for me) falls on Rosh Hashanah.
What are your thoughts on using this cake with a Swiss meringue buttercream frosting? Would this cake be too dense and sweet to go with a ton of frosting?
Her mom’s only request is cake be moist and decorated as a pineapple (hence the copious amounts of frosting), so I thought this might be fun to secretly celebrate
I don’t find Swiss meringue buttercream very sweet; it’s more butter-forward to me. I think it could work. Personally, however, I’d never be able to resist making this with cream cheese frosting.
I know it’s a year later (was re-reading the comments for fun), but I’ve made this cake as a layer cake, with a bit of bitter orange marmalade between the layers, and filled & iced with an ermine burnt sugar/orange frosting, the flavor of which (am pretty sure) I invented. It was amazing! I also love this just plain–my notes on my copy say “not just the best honey cake–one of the best cakes ever!
I use Constant Comment tea, and rum for the liquor.
This is my all time favorite honey cake, and really the only one I like, and I’ve made it in a 9×13 more than once before, with excellent results.
But it overflows Nordic Ware’s 9″ Bavarian Bundt pan (only by a little), and the batter fuses very strongly to the bottom of the oven and creates a lot of smoke. It was delicious as always, but I would recommend caution when using a 9″ bundt pan.
Is this something that can be made a day or two in advance? Does it taste as well the next day? Thanks a ton.
I think it’s better the second day.
Preface by saying I’m not a baker but tried this recipe with my son to freeze for RH today. I lightly oiled my no stick copper 9 inch loaf pans but the cakes split off with about 1/4 staying in the pan and the rest coming out but Falling apart. We’re bummed. Any ideas of what I can do to salvage? Would it work as the base of an ice cream cake? Could I put it at bottom of pan then cover with vanilla ice cream and freeze then top with warm apple caramel sauce on the night of? Would this work? Any tips for this- again, I never bake.
I’m sure it’s better if Deb answers your question, but I’m sad to read that this recipe didn’t work for you. For me, it has not failed, and I haven’t experienced the problem you described. I’m wondering if you let it rest in the pan for the 15 minutes before you turned it out.
Can I make these as mini muffins? Would I need to use liners or could I do it directly in a nonstick mini muffin pan? How long would I bake them for?
Haven’t tried these as mini-muffins so I cannot say for sure, but most bake in around 10 minutes, yes? I’d use nonstick and also grease it.
Can you make this recipe in cupcake tins?
Absolutely.
Would it be crazy to sub. half the veg. oil for applesauce? What would you predict?
Thanks!
Probably would be spongier.
Do any of the ingredients on the recipe or the oven temperature need to be adjusted for mini loaf pans? How long would mini loaf pans take to bake?
Same temperature, less baking time. I can’t say for sure but it’s usually good to check in halfway through the baking time.
I just made this. I made 3 loaf pans (and 2 cupcakes to give it a try). We ate the cupcakes… yum.
I used only 1.25 teaspoons of baking powder. Beautiful domes.
I found the cake to be very sweet, and that is with each 1/2 cup of white sugar underfilled. I think I will try 3/4-1 cup of sugar next time instead of 1.5 cups.
I also only used 3 teaspoons of cinnamon because my husband doesn’t like too strong of a cinnamon flavor.
I’ve been a SK lurker for a long time; so glad to have finally made one of your recipes.
Hi! The cake came out really well but also too sweet for my taste. Have you made it with less sugar? If so, how did it come out?
Thanks!
Here in Denmark, honey is usually quite firm, not pourable at room temperature (it becomes less visouc if you heat it slightly). In Australia I think that sort of honey is sold as ‘ceamed’ honey. Would that still work in this cake, or do I need to change the recipe in some way?
I’m sorry, I’ve never cooked with firm honey so I cannot say for sure.
This gorgeous cake is currently cooling on my counter. This year I added raisins, orange zest and coconut. Excited to see how it is received on Wednesday night. I was worried about it coming out in one piece from the bundt pan. I followed instructions for prepping a bundt pan from the King Arthur website. I sprayed it with canola spray and dusted it with granulated sugar. Cooled the cake in the pan 15 minutes, loosened the edges (though it needed need that step), flipped it over onto a rack and it just slid right out all shiny and perfect! So happy!
I have been using this recipe for years. I use a tube pan or 1 big loaf pan and it always comes out great. My family looks forward to it every Rosh Hashannah. I guess the question is why do I only make it once a year.
Ooh this was so good. I candied the orange peel I used for the juice with a little cardamom (clove would also be good), chopped it up, and mixed it into the batter. I also put a few full slices of candied orange on top for decoration, and used the leftover syrup as a glaze. Highly recommend doing this.
This is the honey cake I have been for a few years now. It’s gorgeous and does have a tendency to fall. Since it is so moist I correct this by cooking it about 10 minutes longer and for good measure, leaving it in the oven turned off for a few more minutes. It ripens overnight well covered. I posted my version on FB and was pleased to see Deb did too.
Can this be turned into cupcakes? What adjustments to cooking time would be suggested?
I printed out this recipe in 2003 and only started making this honey cake about 4 years ago after making my grandmother’s recipe for the last 30. I’ll never make any other honey cake than this one. Hands down, the best I’ve ever tasted. Sorry, Bubbe! ;-)
We’re an alcohol-free household – is there a substitute for the rye or whiskey?
More orange juice.
This sounds wonderful! I’m Greek, and we have something similar. Unfortunately, now I am unable to eat gluten. Any suggestions for making this cake gluten free.?
i use cup4cup flour — its great
When you say rea/coffee, do you mean it black without sugar?
Tea*
Hello, I can’t eat wheat and try not to use sugar. Do you have any alternatives that work? Thank you
Sorry if this is a repeat question. Can you offer alternative ingredients for wheat flour and sugar? Thank you. Zoe
Do you think substituting some applesauce for some of the oil would work?
Also, would reducing the sugar a little tiny bit screw things up?
This recipe is fabulous!! I make it for Rosh Hashanah every year (my mother-in-law requests it specifically!), and several times in between…it’s easy, always turns out perfectly, and makes enough to freeze a loaf for later!! I omit the alcohol, does not seem to hurt the outcome, this year I have made a gluten-free version, so I will have to report back on how that one turns out (in the oven now, smells delicious).
One of our family favorites, thank you!!!
For close to 40 years I have made the same honey cake every year for Rosh Hashanah. It uses honey and coffee. I’m not a honey cake lover but this was a hit. It’s from a book called In Mama’s Kitchen [published perhaps by B’Nai Brith back in the day, which seems to have disappeared but I have copies.] I was underwhelmed by the results this year. My holiday sweet challah was too dense. I was wondering if it was time to give up baking, a horribly sad thought… and then this. I should have been cleaning the kitchen, clearing the clutter but I had to try this recipe. My faith has been restored. It’s perfect and tasty with a rich crust and rich color. The spices are the secret. I used Bushmill Irish Whiskey, in the house from the last Bonnie’s Irish Creme episode ala SK. The recipe yielded two 7.5×4 and two smaller loaf pans ~ 3×4]. None were done at 40 minutes. Don’t know if it’s because they fit snugly on the cookie sheet. This one’s a keeper. Out with the old, in with the new.
I can’t drink alcohol (even if it’s “cooked off”). What could I substitute for the rye or whiskey that would still work? Thanks!
Just making this recipe for the first time. I didn’t find the batter particularly “thick” as noted in the instructions. The thickness seems like regular cake batter or even a just a bit thinner with so much liquid. Anyone else notice this? It is in the oven now and I added just about 1/4 cup extra flour just to see the result.
Actually, I agree. I don’t find it thick, just normal. I probably wouldn’t have added extra flour; did it seem dry?
Hi Deb – it was actually perfect. The extra bit of flour didn’t make it drier. I thought maybe I’d measured incorrectly, so I added that little bit extra. Next time (and it will be soon!) I’ll stick with the exact recipe and not worry about the batter consistency. It baked up like a dream, 75 minutes in a well-greased angel food cake pan!
Since the flour is measured by a cup, not a scale, 1/4 extra is not going to change it. I also find the batter thin. I actually wrap foil around my tube pan to make sure it would not leak. Been making this for 5 years now, including batches of loaf size to give away. Everyone loves it
This is truly the BEST honey cake recipe ever!! I’ve been making it since i came across it in its original post (maybe 8 years ago?) and in fact just baked them yesterday. Soooo easy and they are delicious!!!
Hi, Deb–I don’t drink alcohol but have a bottle of bourbon (made bourbon balls last Thanksgiving). Could I substitute that for rye or whiskey?
Shana tova.
I use Jim Beam because, although I don’t drink hard liquor, I do use it in cooking and I know I like it in a bread pudding sauce recipe I have. Also meant I had it in the house, so bourbon is fine.
oh my gosh this cake came out soooooo good!! I didn’t have cloves in the house so I just left it out – still delish! I forgot the parchment paper – big mistake – so the pans went with the loaf to mom’s for presentation purposes. This will be going into the holiday rotation from now on!!! YUM!
Great cake. I by mistake put the almonds in the batter which everyone is loving. Recommend doing so
Awesome recipe! Made this today in 2, 9-inch round pans- I know everyone’s ovens are different, but I ended up taking them out at the 40 minute mark when they probably could’ve come out a few minutes earlier. If you make this with the same tins I would definitely do an initial check around the 30 minute mark or so to judge how much longer they need. I also cut down the white sugar to 1 cup and bumped up all of the spices 1.5-2x (basically, I didn’t level my measuring spoons). I used instant espresso because that’s what I had on hand and it worked just fine. Next time I’ll try to get some rum or brandy to add, I just didn’t have any on hand. I’m looking forward to how the spices settle in over the next few days. I’ll definitely be eating it for breakfast with my morning tea!
Update: So this cake made in a bundt pan with sweetened coconut and sultana raisins and orange juice instead of whiskey was delicious! A huge hit and still not too sweet. I brushed a very thin layer of honey on top as the glue for coconut that I lightly toasted and it looked gorgeous.
Have made this recipe twice once using a bundt cake pan and loaf pans amd the second using 5 mini loaf pans; substituting all purpose flour for gluten free all purpose flour, the orange juice for apple sauce and omitting the whiskey/rye… I fill the pans halfway maximum and when baking it rises to almost thrice its size and when done it looks deflated and is so sticky it can’t be taken out of the pans without crumbling… What am I doing wrong? :( How can I fix it?
can I use butter instead of oil?
Hi,
I made your honey cake for the first time and I must admit, it is definitely the best homemade honey cake I have ever eaten. I am about to make another one to share and enjoy for the rest of the holidays.
I followed the recipe and got a very runny batter, not thick at all.
The cake still turned out very good. (used much less sugar)
Thanks
I made this yesterday just to get in the modd of fall. Substituted the flour for whole wheat, just put 3/4 cup brown sugar, used applesauce instead of oil and then added a very ripe banana i had to get rid off.
The cake turned out beautiful(made a loaf pan and a 9*13 round) . Freezed one of it and cut the rest to devour and to take to my friends. This is my first time having a honey cake and THANK YOU Deb . Love the spices especially this time of year.
My daughter brought this to our house for a weekend visit. It was scrumptious and it is nearly devoured in 2 days. She also introduced me to your great website –many thanks for the delicious recipes and inspiration!
Made this cake for the Jewish New Year last month and took it to work to educate my co-workers. Everyone went literally mad for this cake! It was just perfect… Moist bit not too moist, perfectly spiced AND it did not collapse! I made the whole recipe and the only thing (well, two things) I changed was the amount of alcohol (I used less) and the amount of orange juice (I use more to compensate for the lesser amount of alcohol I used). This one is most definitely the keeper! Спасибо! 😊
WoW you are really making me a master chef.I personally love eating cakes.This one is a different cake I have ever tasted.Thank you so much.
Made this into two loaves this past week. Used buckwheat honey from my favourite honey vendor and surprised her with a loaf at the market this weekend.
Was really a good loaf. Will definitely be making this again and again. Next time with a different flavour honey to see the difference.
Hello! This cake came out so well! I made it in two 8×8 square pans and they cooked perfectly. Question – can I put less white sugar? Thinking 1/2 cup of white and 1/2 cup of dark brown. It was a bit too sweet for my taste. If so, anything else I need to modify to make sure it cooks correctly?
Thanks!
Lisa, FWIW, I make a lot of Deb’s recipes, and a lot of sweet recipes in general, and I ALWAYS cut the sugar down in everything I make by at least a third (sometimes half — I have no qualms about tasting the raw batter and adjusting to my personal taste). There’s so much added sugar in everything anyway, and I like less sweet treats in general. I also never use white processed sugar — haven’t used it in a recipe for years. I use natural “raw” brown sugars, Demerara sugar, or Turbinado, depending on what I can find in the grocery store (commercial brown sugar, as I understand it, is usually white sugar with molasses added — been told this but have not researched it). I think you can use whatever amount of sugar pleases your palate — it never seems to have affected the quality or rise of my baking. Where I live now, I generally can’t even find soft brown sugar, so I just use brown natural sugar crystals. I think you can feel free to experiment!
Wow was this spectacular. It made the sticky toffee pudding I made for my husband last week for his birthday look like chopped liver, haha. Was scared off of my bundt pan from other commenters, glad I stuck with 2 – 9 inch cake pans as it even stuck a little to that. Mixed all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl before adding to dry. Easy and incredibly moist, yet light and packed with flavour. Absolutely will make again. It definitely doesn’t need it, but tasted lovely with a bit of whipped cream. Thank you!
I’ve been making this cake for decades (published in the Boston Globe citing “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking” by Marcy Goldman). The last few times I’ve made it the almonds have sunk into the batter. Last time I tried not putting them on top of the cake til 20 minutes in but I’d rather not open the oven door during baking. Was looking for other ideas. I’ve sprinkled them on the outer edge of the tube pan but they still gravitate towards the center and start to sink.
I’ve made a number of recipes from your site but this was so good I had to leave a comment. I made it as it is (replacing the alcohol with more orange juice cos I do not have alcohol lying about nor do I drink it, and brewed strong tea), but halved it for a 9 inch cake pan (so I used 1 egg and 1 egg yolk).
I regret being lazy and skipping lining the bottom with parchment paper, and was painfully reminded of why I should line it when half the cake tore off. However, it tasted excellent. So good that I kept sneaking bits of it and am now quite sad that I baked it for my rapier class tomorrow, i.e. I have to share.
But I will repeat it because it is so easy (one bowl, one measuring jug) and tasty. Thank you!
The instructions call for the addition of white sugar but the ingredients don’t mention the quantity. Any thoughts?
It’s added (written as “white sugar”) right before the brown sugar.
good but perhaps better second day? not as complex as I expected from the ingredients. probably better with a whipped cream!
STUCK to my pan in spite of my efforts. Perhaps left too long to cool?
This is actually the best honey cake EVER.I have to make a double batch each time because people eat it so quickly. Only thing I would say is that this is more spiced than your traditional honey cake – which in my opinion makes it better!
It’s been snowing all day in Michigan. Can’t get out of my house. Made this honey cake recipe and it was divine! So very good and so easy. Perfect for a winter day with a cup of tea and a good book. Thanks for another great recipe.
This cake has been a weekly must for my husband and kids. My son even asked me to make this the base of his cake for his birthday. So moist and delicious!!
I made this cake exactly to directions & it was a huge failure. It stuck to the sides & was definitely not done in the middle (like uncooked batter) & the sides came off in chunks. The center also sank (I used an angel food pan) & the almonds drifted to the center. What could have gone wrong???
Can’t use alcohol in my baking. Any suggestions what to replace it with in the honey cake
I make some with the whiskey and some without. I sub in the equivalent measure of additional orange juice or cold coffee or tea.
Just use more orange juice or tea or coffee in its place.
This is the honey cake to which all others must aspire to. This past weekend I made eight of them, using doubled disposable foil pans, well greased and floured. I lower my oven temp to 315 F because my oven tends to run hot, and also because foil pans aren’t insulated. In the oven, I set them on a baking sheet, per instructions, and I rotate them halfway through. I check for doneness earlier than I need to, to be sure they don’t overbake. After 15 minutes out of the oven, I make sure they can slide out of the pans (never a failure) and then keep them in the pans and glaze them with warmed honey. After they cool, I wrap them in foil, let them sit at room temperature for a day or two to intensify the flavor, and then eat them or freeze them. Majestic and moist, indeed.
This is my honey cake recipe:
1 lb Self Raising flour
1lb Golden syrup (stand tin in boiling water and heat for a minute)
8 ozs corn oil
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 tspn Bicarb
1 1/2 tspns Mixed spice… 1/4 tspn cinnamon… 3/4 tspn ginger
1/2 pint boiled water into which Bicarb is melted.
2 medium size eggs
Bake in oven at 170 degrees. approx 1 hour
This recipe makes 2 cakes…. 1 x 9″ and 1 lb loaf tin.
When I make these cakes, they come out perfect.
When my daughter or I make these cakes in her oven they sink in the middle.
However, all her other baking in her oven comes out perfect.
PLEASE CAN YOU ADVISE WHAT WENT WRONG AND WHY.
When I make this cake it co
I made your honey cake, added 1 teaspoon of baking powder, as you suggested instead of 1 T. The batter comes out really thin and not thick, it has to be poured into the pan not spooned. I must be doing something wrong. Please help. I love the taste of the cake but am afraid to try it again.
Forgot to say that the cake rose up in the oven and then fell in the oven- I continued to bake it and it came out a little heavy ,flat top not domed. I love the taste but….. Please reply with some sort of answer to fix my problem. Is your cake batter thick or thin?
Just took my 2 loaves out of oven . Have not tasted them yet. Used 1 tbls. baking soda and less sugar and they look beautiful. have not tasted them as I will be freezing them for this holiday
This is very close to my grandma’s lekach although without orange juice. The coffee needs to be very strong, and for the baking soda to “behave” the alcohol needs to be poured over it :-) Make it every year.
https://noshingacrossthenation.com/2015/09/03/just-another-rosh-ha-shana-recipe-traditional-honey-cake/
Thank you for this genius recipe! I made it exactly as the recipe, besite the allspice that I dont have, it came out perfeeeeect!!! High, fluffy, everything I can expect from a honey cake! I envy myself for the crazy smell in all my house that was during baking!!! Now it will wait till Rosh haShana
Thank you for the adjustment to the baking powder – I made this a couple of times with 1 tablespoon and it just exploded all over the oven. I was looking for a solution, and this is it!
hi,
I am preparing for Rosh hashana and was wondering whether you have a few recipes you would recommend ?
I will try the brisket and the honey cake…
You can peruse all of the “Jewish-ish” recipes here: https://smittenkitchen.com/recipes/jewish/?format=photo
There’s also a fig, olive oil, and sea salt challah I make every year, as well as an apple and honey challah. There are challah buns, briskets, and if you’re thinking of chicken, it’s not on the site, but one of my favorites for the holidays is the harvest roast chicken with grapes and olives in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.
This recipe sounds amazing!
This year I am making mini bundts as gifts, about the size of muffins…how should I adapt for these?
Thanks x
I’m not sure how many it will make but most muffins bake for a minimum of 20 minutes, so you might check then, sooner if the thickness of the cake is thinner than a muffin.
On Marcy Goldman site the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup coffee and 1/2 cup coke a cola without the bubbles but yours has 1 cup coffee
Does it make a difference or preference not to use soda ?
There are a lot of versions out there and I don’t remember whether I got this originally from her book or a version a magazine had run. Regardless, I’m sure all will work.
Used a tube pan and all the almond slices enddd up around the inner tube , actually looks pretty but they were scattered on the top when it went in the oven ! What do you think caused this
Wish I could send you s pic
How have I missed this much-needed recipe for TEN YEARS? That’s crazy. Cannot wait to make this beauty with tea, and wishing you and yours L’shana tova!
This sounds delicious as is and I will definitely be trying this recipe … but could you substitute maple syrup for honey? I’ve been looking for a sweet, dense, moist recipe for a maple syrup cake and this looks like it might be just what I’m looking for… but with maple syrup!
It should work here!
Can this be made without the booze? There’s no drinking in our house, so no booze to add. Thoughts?
Yes, lots of tips within the comments: a juice, more tea, etc. Just use another complementary liquid.
Whew! I can’t imagine a tablespoon of baking powder in anything less than 5 pounds of flour. Surely it was a misprint..lol.. I love honey cake !! Never had a dry one, used tea & pineapple juice no whiskey..yum
Wowowowow. I was very skeptical of this, mostly because the flavors (orange juice, coffee, whiskey?!) just didn’t seem like they went together. But. It’s amazing. It tastes great with cream cheese.
I did bake mine in 2 loaf pans (1 lb, 8.5 in long) because I didn’t have 3. I would say… don’t do that. It came out ok but took 1 hour to cook and ended up a little crispier on the outside. I will say I had no issues with rising. It ended up looking and tasting a bit more like bread than cake but was still very moist.
Many, many years ago a colleague insisted I try his wife’s honey cake, even though I said I wasn’t a fan. “You’ll love this one. Marcy’s a great baker. Did I tell you she writes for The Gazette?” His wife was, of course, Marcy Goldman. And so the cake was, of course, fantastic. (As are her hamantaschen fillings…)
I followed the recipe carefully (even weighing the flour) and made in a Pyrex 13×9 pan stacked on two baking sheets as directed, with convection oven at 350. But baking time took 60 minutes when recipe calls for 40-45. Taste and texture are wonderful, the bake just took quite a bit longer than expected.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I made this recipe yesterday and, oh my, it is out of this world. I haven’t made honey cake for a few years. Each year I would try a new recipe and each year I would be disappointed. This year I decided to research recipes and had finally settled on Marcy Goldman’s recipe, but the amount of baking powder was bothering me. When I came across your recipe with your tweaks on the original, I changed my mind. I also did a bit of tweaking – I reduced the cinnamon to 1 Tbsp (3 tsps) and added 1/2 tsp of ginger, I used buckwheat honey and I added the rind of one large orange.I also reduced the granulated suger by 1/2 cup The cake is absolutely amazing. It baked beautifully – in 3 loaf pans but did require about 15 minutes longer. After the cake was in the oven I had a brainstorm but a little too late. The next time that I make this cake I shall use 1/8 cup whisky and 1/8 cup Grand Marnier. I hope that the guest this evening find the cake as yummy as I do.
I also use buckwheat honey for a more pronounced honey flavor that can stand up to the spices.
I just made this using a gluten free baking mix 1:1, and coconut sugar instead of brown or white sugar. It turned out excellent!
Excellent recipe. A moist, flavorful honey cake. No problems with sinking or collapsing–my cakes were domed nicely. I made a couple changes: I only used 3/4 cup of oil, ginger instead of allspice, walnuts instead of almonds. For me, this recipe made 1 dozen cupcakes, 1 long narrow loaf pan, and two mini-loaves. There was enough for sharing–which you should do at the New Year anyway! Thanks so much! (Oh, and the whiskey was the perfect secret ingredient–and I don’t even like whiskey!)
I have never had or made honey cake before but I have been trying different Jewish holiday recipes. It’s in the oven now, so I don’t know how it turned out, but the batter was delicious! I used Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey whiskey, because it just seemed right.
How about as cupcakes?
Should work fine, would be more like muffins.
“I was feeling pretty good about the copious tastes I’d had of the batter (um, before remembering how much booze was in there and look at that! It’s party time in here!) when it went in the oven but then.”
My favorite rum cake recipe :-)
http://cfcl.com/cfcl/vlb/Cuute/f/rumcake.txt
In my convection oven, a 9×13 pan needed a little less than 45 minutes. The flavor is fantastic, but it is less moist than what I infer from your pictures (no glossy crust). With all that liquid in the batter, who would have thought? I guess the large surface area and the convection feature caused too much evaporation. I used rum for the booze and substituted the zest of one orange for one of the cinnamon teaspoons.
Deb, do you know you have a fan club in Ithaca, NY? I have been baking twice a week for the volunteers at Friends of the Library and your recipes reliably elicit their most positive compliments. They have enthusiastically eaten their way through many of them by now. I am in awe at how reliable your creations are. Not to mention delicious. I haven’t had a single failure. Thank you!
I had no idea but it makes me very happy! Re, the cake, give it until day 2, I bet it tastes more moist. Did it?
You’re right, it did get nice and glossy by the next day, and it is addictive (“just another little piece…”) It didn’t even last an hour in the break room. Next time, I will bake it a few minutes less.
Happened on this recipe yesterday. Made it today. AMAZING. People could not get enough of it. YUM!
iHi!!
I love your recipes! btw, your mom apple cake really did come out amazing!!
I have a family recipe for this honey cake, aka “lekach” from yiddis. I’ve tried yours sincemine come out too dry, but this one did as well…( also the amount of cups did not match up the same amount of grams..)anyway was wondering if you have any tips on how to keep this amazing cake nice and moist especially with that sticky layer on top..
Thanks!
Maymie
Just wrapped (I usually use foil, or cover a plate it’s on with foil) at room temperature should be fine, or in an airtight container.
I made this for Rosh Hashana this year. It’s so good and moist. My family has always made a ‘mock’ honey cake. I have no idea why! This is amazing and will be made many more times. Thanks, Deb!
Hi, I very much like to make this but I can’t find the eggs you Menton in the instructions? Please help😀
There are 3 large eggs in the recipe and you add it with the oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, etc.
Hello! I hope to put this in the mail and send it to a loved one. Do you think it would make the trip OK? Or I was considering mom‘s apple cake as another option? Thanks so much for everything you do for all of us, Deb, you are a daily inspiration!
Either should work. Just freeze it and wrap it tightly.
What size loaf pans?
1.5 cups of sugar on top of 1 cup honey?!
I know this cake is traditionally ultra-sweet, but I eliminated the granulated sugar content entirely.
Love this!!! It’s comes together easily and it’s delicious. Would be excellent w a cup of tea or for dessert w a dollop of ice cream! I might cut back on the Allspice next time as not particularly a fan of Allspice but overall this one is a winner!!
Thank you Deb!
I made this for my family dinner party Sunday night. Everyone raved. I even got a text from my son the next day telling me how much he liked it. I made almost just as written. I was a little short on oil (about 1/4 cup) and only had scotch. Whisky is whiskey right? Oh and I had no cloves. Next time I would use a better honey, one of the dark ones from a friend with bees. Most importantly there will be a next time.
PS
Baked in an angel food pan. Served with sweetened whip cream.
This was so amazingly good. Moist and flavorful and easy to make. I wanted more honey flavor so used 1 1/2 cups of honey and reduced the white sugar to 3/4 cup. For the booze I had Jack Daniels so used that. It worked out well because it also has a bit of sweetness. I used one loaf pan and one springform pan. I’m definitely making this again!
Deb, this is one of my go-to cakes for Rosh Hashanah! I actually own Marcy Goldman’s cookbook in which this originally appeared and I compared it to yours. For the past two years I used 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder for a loaf and an 8-inch square pan, and my loaf did sink. I’ve already made it 3 times in the past two weeks and I went with 1 tsp and it was better. The second time I made it with two 8-inch rounds and a mini loaf and each was perfect.
HOWEVER, I am having a massive fail in the oven right now — I’ve used a 10-cup (2.36-liter) Bundt pan — a decorative one shaped like a square ziggurat if that makes sense — and thank goodness there are baking sheets underneath because it overflowed in big globs. You’re always right on the money, so I was surprised to see that happen. I would guess it should read, possibly, how much to fill to in the Bundt and use a mini-loaf for the remainder. I’m going to have to slice off the overflow when it’s time to turn it over. It’s an excellent experiment and next time I’ll adjust. Just thought you’d like to know.
Yummilicious!!! Glad I made 3 loafs so I can share!
made this cake the other day…IT IS AMAZING! There seemed to be a lot of ingredients and the consistency of the batter seemed looser then traditional cake batter but It was truely a delicious cake and so moist…I made it in a large tube pan and frosted it with fresh whipped cream…
Hi Deb,
Incredible and delicious recipe!! Quick question – what size is the “regular loaf pan” size? I have a zillion loaf pans in a zillion sizes! Thanks so much.
I have made this cake for the past 6 Rosh Hashanahs, and it’s always a crowd pleaser. Today, I attempted to turn it into a birthday cake for my picky father in law and it was a hit! I took out one half of a cup of the granulated sugar and the whiskey, and what resulted was a fluffy, moist cake that wasn’t too sweet to have with frosting. I frosted it with a lemon whipped cream. It went lovely with some tea and coffee!
I love your blog! I come here whenever I need a dessert recipe, and now I’m known in my family and friends circle as the one who bakes. This was the first time I’ve ever modified a recipe of yours to serve a different purpose. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes over the years!
I made this cake yesterday and all i can say is wow!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe.Definitely a keeper.
Delish. I made a half recipe, substituting mostly oat flour and part almond flour for the white flour and olive oil in place of “vegetable oil” and it was great.
Terrific tasting.!! I made with original 1 TB Baking Powder, so cakes were a little flat. I omited brown sugar , and found cake was sweet enough. Made 1 9″bundt and 4 mini loaf pans. Loaf pans were easy to remove but bundt pan was very difficult. This is the most liquid cake I have ever made, and am wondering is it should have less liquid. Like many of the readers I have never liked honey cakes because they were always too dry. This one is very moist and delicious.Will make again and use only 1 tsp baking powder.
I made this in a 9×13 glass pan. I used my pizza stone instead of 2 pans. I found that the middle was still raw after 45 minuets. It needed an extra 20 minutes before a tester came out clean. However it did turn out very good! I recommend using the almonds!
I don’t celebrate Passover, but this was spectacular. I made it in a big tube pan. It only took me 50 minutes to bake in a dark pan at 325. It’s a real keeper!
Oops, wrong holiday reference—but the review of the cake remains the same! 🤦♀️ It’s super.
Im planning on making this tomorrow! How big is a full loaf tin? Are we talking 1lb or 2 lb here? :)
This turned out lovely! I made it as written and got two loafs and 8 cupcakes. It really does get better after a couple days, softer and delish. A note for my fellow bakers using cast iron loaf pans: wait 30 minutes before trying to turn them out, not 15. I tried one at 15 minutes and it left a bunch of cake in my (well oiled and seasoned) pan. Tried the second one at 30 minutes and it came out 98% cleanly.
I made this today. This is a fantastic cake. Thank you!
Made this with Mike’s Hot Honey. AMAZING
What a fun idea — thanks for the tip.
I have Bees Knees spicy honey in an unopened jar. This idea for using it in this wonderful cake intrigues me, as a variation. I know the spicy aspect from different brands will vary, but did yours infuse the whole cake with heat (spice) or was it a subtle addition? I’m also wondering if I used the spicy honey just for the glaze (a glaze of warmed honey that I always add to the baked cakes) if that would be too much spice at first bite (since the glaze isn’t baked). Any thoughts?
I want to make this recipe into mini loaves for gifts. How long would you recommend baking them for?
I’m really going to try this for a coffee shop we run at church but do you think the freezer will ruin these cakes as so many suggest? Obviously you’re not going to eat the lot at once_ are you?!!
Thanks for your advice Deb.
I’m not Deb, but I’ve been making this cake, for years, and often freezing it. After it cools I let it sit out, tightly wrapped, at room temp for a day or two to develop the flavor, and then I freeze it. I’ve frozen it for up to three months, and when defrosted, it was still moist inside. I use wax paper inside the aluminum foil, since the cake is slightly sticky.
This was a very thin liquid;y batter for me – I’ll see how it turns out but not sure why?!
Is is a very thin batter. Not to worry. Just make sure you test it for “doneness” and let it sit in the pan before turning it out.
Is is a very thin batter. Not to worry. Just make sure you test it for “doneness” and let it sit in the pan before turning it out.
THank you!! It seems like it turned out beautiful and moist but the result will be in the tasting…!!
Hi Deb – is this a cake that gets better after a few days, do you think? Just considering making it for a dinner party tomorrow night, with the second loaf for second night of Rosh on Monday… mistake or good idea??
THANK YOU!
Love everything you do! Is it possible you can crunch this down so I can make just one cake? Thnx
Hi Susan! I just divided all quantities by 3 to make a single cake. Turned out great.
I’ve been making this recipe since 2011 (is that when you originally posted it?) with the original 1 Tbsp, and it always comes out perfectly. I’ll try reducing it this year to see what happens.
Lovely Deb, do you use metal or glass loaf pans for this recipe? Should we adjust temperature and/or baking time to accommodate one or the other?
A sweet and healthy Shanah Tovah to you and yours!
I continue to make this yearly but would like to try mini Bundt pans. How long should I cook them?
Interesting solution. I’ve been making this cake (with the full 1 Tbs of baking powder) for about 15 years now. The only problem I ever encountered was the first time, when I poured it into an angel food cake pan and it leaked out the bottom. (I was fairly new to baking then.) But I have never had the sinking problem. I think the change in leavening will change the texture, one of the things I love about this cake. Not quite the fineness of a pound cake, and not the open crumb of a regular loaf cake, it has a beautiful in-between texture of its own. The “trick” that makes it work for me is to always just slightly underfill the pan. I made a batch last night: one 9″ bundt, three mini loaves (3×5″) to give away. No sinking, delicious cake, great texture. I know this cake is “old news” and you have other things on your plate. (Ha, ha). Just thought I’d mention how I work this out. Shana Tova.
Just for contrast, I’ve only ever made this cake with the Smitten adaptation (as above) of using 1 tsp of baking powder. I fill my loaf pans about 3/4 full and they dome slightly but nicely. I am able to fill three foil loaf pans per recipe (I double the foil pans since they are so thin). Love the texture, flavor, and moistness, so it seems this is a forgiving recipe, one way or another.
Could you sub the honey in this for golden syrup? Not because honey isn’t great but because golden syrup is too?
I definitely think so here.
This is wonderful! I have never had honey cake before so have no basis of comparison, but have made this one a few times and can confirm it is moist, tasty and has lovely chewy crust.
I made mine with a 2 year-old ‘helping’, which caused all sorts of random additions and loss of ingredients here and there, so think it is a pretty forgiving recipe.
This time I used ‘Nuttalex’ – a non-dairy butter substitute – instead of vegetable oil as didn’t have any, and it turned out fine. I baked in one standard sized round pan and four mini ones.
Thank you Deb, a winner as always.
With all due respect, changes are great and tweaking recipes is up to the cook, but this is a honey cake…why not use honey?
I made a change to the recipe when I first made it several years ago….instead of whiskey I use Grand Marnier to compliment the orange juice, coffee and spices.
This is without question, the best honey cake I have ever eaten.
L’Shana Tova
For some reason, this came out dry for me. I sometimes improvise, so I was very careful to follow the directions and not do so.
It came it fry for me too. I did use whole wheat flour so maybe needed to alter other ingredients…
thanks for sharing!! really easy and fast to make
first time I only tried 1/3 of the volume, and used flax eggs (for my vegan daughter) – it was eaten in one day (2 meals)!!
second time, I made a whole batch, and again used flax eggs. I also split it in 2 loaves, one without nutmeg (my son didn’t like it) and the other not only with nutmeg and all spice, but I’ve added chopped pecans and one diced pear – it was an instant hit!! next time, I’ll try gluten free, so I could taste as well
both my sister and one of my sisters-in-law, and a couple of friends asked for the recipe :-) of course, I sent them the link to this post
oh! and I only used orange juice both times (instead of part tea/coffee and part o.j.); and I used rum instead of whiskey first time, and brandy the second.
this will undoubtedly become a family traditional recipe: it’s moist, very tasty, versatile, easy to make, not too sweet… in one word: ideal!!
have a very good year!!
i think sugar makes an important contribution to the structure of a cake. Maybe just reduce the sugar a bit?
Was this reply to my sugar comment or the honey cake recipe in general?
L’shana Tova
Just so you know, if you only have extra large eggs, I use 3 and it is fine.
I usually make honey cake in loaf pans because it’s what my mom did and I don’t like change, but round is symbolic this time of year (and don’t have a bundt or an angel food pan). SO I’d really love to make little honey cake cupcakes (because round is so cute and who doesn’t love a mini-cake?) but worried that it A. will cook too fast or B. dry out (see A). would you cut the time to say 30 minutes?? less? you know what? I’ll give it a try and report back <3
I’ll be looking for your results. FYI, I have made this in doubled round foil pans (from the supermarket) or my standard round cake pans. I grease them, line with parchment, and grease again. That won’t help you with cooking times for muffins/cupcakes, but since they were round, I thought I’d mention it.
Smells incredible!
Baked in a bundt pan – added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter & 1/2 cup slivered almonds to top w/cinnamon sugar
Make last night, ate today. Used a bundt pan. Wonderful cake with my favorite kind of crumb – so moist and flavorful. I think next time I’m going add raisins and chopped apricots. Seems like a wonderful base for a fruit cake.
Hi Deb– I have been a fan for a long time and almost always have good luck with your recipes, but it is a real mistake cutting back on the baking powder. I’d been making this cake for years before you posted about it in ’08 and never adjusted, but–this year–decided to follow your advice and cut back to 1tsp. It’s been in the oven for an hour and hardly risen. I don’t have time to make another one–plus it’s a very expensive cake–so will just have to serve whatever comes out. I did have a problem with sinking, but I will put at least 2tsp if not the full tbsp of baking powder in next year.
I’m sorry your cake didn’t rise, but maybe the baking powder was old? Or,maybe it was just a bad-luck kind of baking day. I also have been making this cake for years, only with the 1 tsp of baking powder. This year alone, I produced 12 loaf honey cakes using this adjusted recipe. They have been rising perfectly, with great texture, so I can’t agree with you that the 1 tsp. is a mistake.
Just made this case for Rosh Hashanah 2019 and it’s jewish in-law approved now! One of my cakes didn’t make it out of the pan in one piece, but that divine crunchy crust made up for it (even without the sugar)
Next time I will use parchment.
I made a half recipe and made 4 mini loaves – (pans measure about 5″ x 3″) – about 8 1/2 ounces batter in each – bake time 35 minutes – I had some sticking even with parchment on bottom of loaves – I used Numi Chai Tea and Jack Daniels. Super delectable!
Made this too today
Added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter
Thoroughly Greased bundt pan with butter
Added 1/2 cup almonds to top of batter with mixture of cinnamon sugar
Baked for 75-80 minutes at 350
Middle rack position
Looks and smells delicious! Tastes amazing!
Super easy and a huge hit for dessert after Rosh Hashanah dinner! I halved the recipe for one 9X9 inch cake. Thank you for the recipe!
This was good. It did well in a loaf pan
I made this as cupcakes for easier distribution at a potluck dinner.
25 min @ 350 worked for me.
They were a hit.
I convinced a table of honey cake skeptics to love honey cake with this recipe. A non-traditional move, but I was really trying to work the crowd and added cream cheese frosting, which really does work beautifully here (I worried it would be too sweet). I halved the recipe (one egg, one yolk) no prob, and made in a square pan. Thanks Deb.
Hi! Can I make this with spelt flour instead of all purpose flour? Thank you
LOVED this. Made it and it was delish. Wondering if it can be made without orange juice?
I made it once with apple juice because it’s what I had on hand. I reduced the sugar in the recipe by 2-3 tbsp, and added a tbsp of lemon juice for brightness. I prefer it with the orange juice, and I even add some grated orange zest. But that’s me.
Majestic and Moist Honey Cake – there are not enough superlatives to convey how amazing taste of this cake. I am NOT a fan of honey cake. I tried this on a lark to see if I could make a honey cake Hubby would not critique. This cake left him speechless as he cut piece after piece. I loved the cake. So tasty, moist and EASY to make. So forgiving when I realized I didn’t have enough orange juice(added water to get a 1/2 cup) or cloves (found 1 whole clove and crushed it). Oh did I mention not a fan of cinnamon, so I used 1 tsp. This cake is PERFECT. Thank You.
i’ve been making this for RH for years and it is adored! i use chai tea instead of coffee and add orange zest and juice as well bc my favorite honey is orange blossom and it pairs deliciously. i also add some more warm apple/pumpkin pie type spices bc i like them. i have an 8×4 and a 9×5 loaf pans and the batter split perfectly between them, so we had the small one for the first night, the large one for the second day w/guests, and the apple cake on the first day w/more guests. so delicious! am v sad all the leftovers are gone. (but i have the plush coconut cake cooling on the counter so 😁)
This is by far THE best honey cake I’ve ever made or tasted! I don’t like honey cakes but was required to make it and this was a HIT! I read the ingredients list and was instantly attracted to the recipe and decided to give it a try and boy am I glad I did so. I’ve already referred your website/recipe to many of my friends and family!
Thank you for making me a honey cake lover ;)
I wonder how to mix this with apples or pears to have a cinnamony, nutmegy, clovey, honey and apple cake? It looks so good!
This is the most delicious & easy cake! I subbed applesauce for oil & only used 1 cup sugar. Turned out plenty sweet for my tastes-will be saving this for future use. Perfect fall recipe!
Hi i live in india and we don’t get allspice but i can find all the ingredients easily, can you tell me which individual spices to to add as a substitute?
I’m not Deb but I’ve made this recipe many times. If you don’t have ground allspice, you could slightly increase the amount of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg that are in the recipe by 1/8 teaspoon each. The cake will have plenty of flavor even if you don’t add the allspice.
What about cloves?
any problem with my cutting back the sugar amounts? Any sugar to prioritize on cutting?
Karen
Cutting back sugar will make the cake more dry, but if you’re okay with that, you can remove a little.
Yay! So glad I found a revised version to prevent sinking. I just received this book and am wanting to bake the honey cake for RH in a couple weeks. Did you use warm coffee or strong tea? And which brand of whisky did you use? Thanks!
I use whatever whiskey I have around; no preference. I have made it with coffee and tea in the past; both work, just think of the flavors you prefer.
The instructions mentionn eggs, but I do not see them listed in the list of ingredients? Are there eggs in this cake, and how many?
The eggs are added in the third paragraph:
Is it possible to make this without eggs?
Besides using one of the common egg substitutes — 1/4 cup of applesauce or carbonated water, for example — I can vouch that if you inadvertently completely forget to add the eggs, it still comes out mostly okay. More sunken than usual, but still pretty light and moist. (It’s also remarkable how many people decry that eggs are missing from the ingredient list or the instruction list in these comments; although, it is clearly in both. Shifty eggs in this recipe!)
I’ve made the original recipe several times in a 10 inch angel food pan using 1 Tbsp of baking powder and have never had a problem with falling or cracking.. I use buckwheat honey. It makes an extraordinarily flavorful cake. And, I always allow my cakes to ripen. That is, when cool, I wrap them in plastic wrap for at least a day before serving. My family and guests love the sticky shiny glaze that comes to the surface as the cake matures and the cake is sooo moist. The cake also freezes beautifully. Just finished making 1 of 3 and it looks perfect.
Looks great. Can you freeze it if made a week or so ahead of Rosh Hashana?
I’ve made this for a big Rosh Hashanah potluck for many years. It’s the best! This year, between the smoke and the quarantine (no potluck), I want to do something for the neighbors on my street and give out mini loaves of honey cake. I’ve always made the whole recipe in a tube pan. So my question: how full should I fill the little loaf pans (5.75″ x 3″), and how long should I bake them?
I’d also like to know this! Have 5 1/2″ x 3″ inch mini loaf pans as well.
Do you know how many cups of water they hold? A full loaf (as shown) will hold 6 cups.
Hi Deb – They hold 2 cups. Thanks for the speedy reply!
Then you could use this recipe for three of them. Possibly two; I cannot remember offhand how full the big tin gets.
Thanks, Deb. Any idea how long I should bake them for? I see some sites say to cut down the bake time by 25% if using mini loaf pans, but not sure. Just don’t want to overbake and waste the honey.
I won’t know without testing it. I’d check in at halfway, then every 5 minutes if it looks close.
Hey Deb, RPVCKATE, and whoever else is thinking of baking them in mini loaf pans:
It took 30 minutes in the oven. I checked at 20 and at 25 and would bake them just a touch under 30 mins next time. Filled all 4 pans halfway but they could have been filled up a little more. The rest went into a standard loaf pan. Not enough to fill it up but that’s okay!
2 cups of water fill my mini loaf pans (5.75″ x 3″) up to about 1/3 inch from the brim. One and 1/2 cups of water fill them about 2 thirds.
This is an absolutely fabulous and forgiving cake recipe and it’s delicious and moist and I can’t stop nibbling! I used it as one of the bakers for mini-loaves for all our congregation’s families this Rosh Hashanah, while we’re isolated and surrounded by fires in the SF Bay Area. I used 2T cinnamon but no cloves or all spice. I substituted the liquor with OJ. I used high quality gluten free flour for the GF ones. I just have to add that it may not be the baking powder that resulted in the fallen middle. Four of 16 min-loaves fell in the center, and they were all from the same batch. Anyway, I’ve shared the recipe to all my friends, so thank you and L’Shana tova!
This cake is absolutely fabulous and delicious! I made three separate batches as we are baking mini loaves for all families in our congregation during isolation and surrounded by wildfires in the San Francisco Bay area. As I left out the allspice cloves, and liquor, I used a tablespoon of cinnamon and an extra 1/4 C OJ. I also used a high quality gluten free flour for the GF ones, and they came out perfectly. I couldn’t stop nibbling. BTW, the fallen middles may not be from the baking powdered. Four of the 16 I made fell in the middle, and all were from the same batches as those that stayed puffed. (If this is a repeat, please delete. My iPad crashed as I left the first comment and it’s not showing).
In Marcy’s original recipe, she doesn’t specify whether the 3 eggs should be at room temp or not. Is that something you recommend? What does room temp eggs do vs cold eggs?
Thanks!
I don’t usually bother, tbh, but most bakers will tell you for best results, ingredients should always be at room temperature.
Would using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil work?
Yes
Many years ago I made Julia Child’s pain d’epices from The Way to Cook in small loaf pans as holiday gifts. Every one of those little stinkers sunk in the middle. I filled them with almonds and dusted them with powdered sugar and gave them away, anyway.
I suspect there’s just something about honey cake that does that.
How long should I bake for in 9 inch round pan?
I omitted the orange juice…let’s see how it comes out!!
Did you ever leave it out too?
HI. Will the recipe work without the alcohol? Is there something I should substitute? Thanks!
You should swap it with more tea, coffee, or a juice.
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out amazing – by far the best honey cake I have tasted! It has such a deep rich flavour with the honey, orange juice, coffee, and whiskey. I decided to bake a batch in glass mason jars for Rosh Hashana gifts and they worked out perfectly. I sprayed the jars with Pam and filled them half way with batter. Using the quantities in the recipe, I was able to get 7 mason jar cakes. This recipe is easily our new family favorite!
I make this cake every year to give to family and friends. It is always a hit!
thank you!
Very disappointed. Bottom of cake was still liquid after baking in (2)9 inch loaf pans for 55 minutes. Covered with foil and put back in. Even parts of inside still not cooked after putting back in oven. Even with 1 teaspoon baking powder my cake caved in. Which wouldn’t bother me, but I didn’t even love the taste. Will not bake again. I am a very decent baker and cook and I am 2 for 3 with Smitten Kitchen. Everyone loves their recipes but I have not had good luck.
After clipping this recipe from the L.A. Times, I made this cake for years. Then I started to sleuth because well, my cake sank. I stumbled on to this post and oh joy! you solved my problem. Thank you and Marcy Goldman for the most divine honey cake. And Happy New Year!
Made this today for Rosh Hashanah. I reduced it to 1/3 the size and baked in a 5×9 loaf pan. I also didn’t have orange juice so I replaced with half lemon juice/half water. It turned out delicious! It is a really fantastic moist texture without being gummy or sticky and the sweet comes through without tasting sickly sweet (which I was a bit worried about since there is honey, white, and brown sugar in the recipe). We have been eating it with spiced tea all morning. Highly recommend!
There is nothing wrong with the original recipe by Marcy Goldman which needs absolutely no modification. I have made it countless times and it has come out perfectly. I use either a tube or a 9×13 pan and you just have to keep an eye on it and if you take it out too early and it will fall. Every oven is different so you have to adjust. The recipe is perfect as is. I have made so many recipes from her holiday baki g book and usually have no issues. I found that at times I do not need the two sheet pans underneath. Hi
I thought this cake was lovely: moist with a light and tender crumb and full of flavor.
I cooked it in a Nordicware mini Bundt pans plaque. I filled each mold about 2/3 full and baked them for 20 minutes, on a sheet pan, and they were perfect.
I used freshly brewed espresso, whisky and toasted walnuts instead of almonds. I like clove in small doses so I only used half and put in a little ginger.
I love the chewey crispy crust and think they’d be nice cooked in financier pans or little tartlet pans. You’d get a higher ratio of crust to cake. I’d also double the nuts.
I made one third of the recipe for this honey cake and got one 9″x5″ loaf. We did not eat it until the 2nd day (wrapped well in plastic) but it still seems a bit on the dry side. But the flavor is very good…not knock you over the head spicy, like spice cake can be, thank goodness. The first flavor is honey. Mild and sweet and a bit plain like I think honey cake should be. Mine rose without a hitch and I used a bit more than one third of the leavening. I put a parchment sling in the pan to avoid any sticking. Can you believe I got the whole thing ready to put in the oven and my husband, who was licking the rubber spatula asked me what spices were in it. That is when I realized I had forgotten the cinnamon! Do you ever do that sort of thing? So frustrating and even worse because of the parchment! But I got the cinnamon mixed into the batter and the batter into a clean parchment lined pan and was relieved I when I got it into the oven. I guess it would have been worse if I figured it out after it had begun to bake! So shanah tovah, Deb and tomorrow, we are having your brisket recipe, but sous vide! Will report on that after dinner tomorrow! Many thanks!
I’ve made this a couple of times and ended up tweaking it, like a lot of other people have. I decreased the white sugar by 1/3, subbed half a tsp of cinnamon for ginger, and used chai for the tea since it’s similar flavors. I had enough for a 10 cup bundt pan (baked in 1 hour – honestly could have done with 5 mins less) and a bunch of mini muffins/cupcakes (baked in about 13 mins). It released beautifully – I used a paste of equal parts butter and flour to paint the pan, which has always worked well for me. The mini muffins were perfect the day of, and I waited till the next day to serve the bundt and it was slightly less moist than the muffins but still great. It was still plenty sweet with decreased sugar – I think it could stand to be less sweet, but not sure how even less sugar would affect moisture.
Delicious. Moist and nicely spiced. Would be great with sautéed apples or vanilla ice cream + caramel sauce. I was initially underwhelmed when I tried it a few hours after baking, but the flavors melded nicely overnight and it was wonderful the next day. Next time I would omit the whiskey- it was too strong for my taste. Subbed rye flour.
Very excited to make this for Yom Kippur. When you say to put the pans on two cookie sheets stacked, do you mean that the two cookie sheets should be on top of one another and then you put the pan on top of them? Or, you put one cookie sheet down, the cake pan on top of that, and then another cookie sheet on top of the cake pan?
Yes; two pans stacked. It’s a trick some bakers use to help distribute heat.
Deb, would a baking stone work too?
Sure. I don’t usually use it for cake, but I know some people bake everything on theirs.
I made this precisely as written and it was a major disaster. Way way too much liquid. It was overdone on top and gooey in the middle. It broke when attempting to remove from pan. Liquid had seeped out at the tube pan seam and then got hard , adding to the difficulty in removing it.
I loved the flavor but am uncertain how to modify this to make it work in a tube pan.
Make it in a 9×13 pan
It definitely sounds like it needed more baking time. I guess that the tube pan had two pieces? If so, it might be better to wrap the outside in foil next time, as you would for a cheesecake in a waterbath. The batter is wet, but that’s also what gives it that tender, plush crumb and great edges, so I’m resistant to modifying it.
This is an excellent cake!
(The batter IS quite runny.)
I swapped some ground ginger for part of the cinnamon.
Whipped the eggs with the white sugar for a little more structure.
Used chopped toasted pecans instead of almonds. (Smaller and tossed with the dry ingredients so they wouldn’t sink through the liquid batter.)
Knob Creek bourbon.
It’s a winner.
I have been searching for a moist rich honey cake since I left my home town over forty years ago. We used to get it from the kosher bakery in town twice a year on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In the years since leaving, every honey cake I tried was tasteless and DRY as the Negev desert. I didn’t think I would actually have anything like my hometown honey cake again. However, since my son told me about your website and all the wonderful meals he has cooked using your recipes I forged ahead. I first made your apple cake, which was delicious and moist by the way, and then made your honey cake. I was transported back in time to happy memories eating honey cake.
Thank you for your love and passion of cooking and baking. So far your recipes are spot on. I can’t wait to try more recipes.
P.s. What are your thoughts on using a silicone bundt pan vs. a metal one?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. I personally don’t like silicone baking pans, or really silicone anything, but it might be my own “issues” — I don’t like that they feel oily even when washed and absorb smells. However, if you find that your bundts release easily from a silicone pan, it absolutely makes sense to keep one around. It might even convince me!
Here are the high-altitude baking adjustments I made that worked perfectly (in Denver at 5,280 ft). No sinking in the middle at all. :)
+ 3 T flour
Reduce baking soda to 4 grams
Reduce baking powder to 4 grams
+ 1.5 T orange
I have been making the Goldman honey cake for a few years now (so good that we don’t save it only for the holidays) and have never had a problem with it sinking, although I do bake it in a bundt pan. Absolutely best honey cake ever!!!
Love this cake. I make it for family/friends for special occasion. I have always wondered (since it is helpful to bake in adanced) — How long does this keep if it has not been cut? Any special storage instructions?
Thank you!
Simply fantastic!
When was last update on majestic honey cake?
Your pictures remind me of the honey cake my mom used to make – and yes, it always sunk. But unlike all the other recipes I’ve tried, hers was very moist, with that darker brown, somewhat chewy/gooey yet crisp top. After a few days, the top would get chewier. It was heaven. I dug up her recipe out of her collection of hand writtten scraps (at least 50 years old), and it’s almost the same.
Here’s the thing- the TOPS are to me the best part, and I want to make cookies that are like the just the honey cake tops. With a consistency like ricciarelli. My first attempt was to make the recipe, spread over 3 half sheet pans. Tasty, but too cakey, the top crust never really formed. I am committed to figuring this out. I’ve always assumed the crust in brownies was sugar migrating to the top. Maybe spread so thin it cooks to quickly for that.
Any ideas? Think of it as a challenge, the prize will be the most delicious cookie of all time.
Thanks so much for bringing to light how bland and dry EVERY honey cake is! I want to love them, but I just can’t. I can’t wait to try this recipe for the Jewish new year! Thank you for making it right :)
p.s. I just made your consummate chocolate chip cookies and I have been given the verdict of “best cookies I’ve ever made” by my cookie loving husband
Just made this and it is INCREDIBLE! I only had half a cup of honey so I subbed in half a cup of maple syrup. Used a tad less white sugar as I do t like things too sweet. Also used about half the whiskey. Deep rich flavour, moist, addictive! Thank you so much for sharing :)
Thank you for the recipe, it feels like making so strange potion, but it tastes and feels exactly like described ! A recipe I’ll keep.
can this cake be stored at room temperature?
Absolutely, and should be.
LULU
So I need some help: I want to make this cake, but in loaf tins to gift to people in a Rosh Hashana lockdown, but I’m unsure when you say you made 2x full size loaf cakes and 2 miniature ones! What sizes are the full side ones please? I’d like to make 3 loaves for gifting.
Can I substitute more orange juice or coffee for the alcohol? I just don’t like the taste of it in my desserts.
Thank you.
Hi Deb-
Would this recipe still work out if I cut everything in half? You’re probably wondering why I’m asking this. I’m making a few desserts and not sure if honey cake will be a hit so want to try one loaf first :).
Thanks & happy new year :).
I’m not the author of this page but I’m sure that it would come out just fine if you cut it all in half (I’ve made this cake multiple times and it is amazing. The leftovers freeze very well btw).
I have probably commented in the past but just wanted to say that this is the absolute best honey cake recipe. I make it every year on Rosh Hashana and I usually end up making two so I have extra to share and some to freeze for the following weeks.
The problem is not the honey cake but the HONEY you use, it has to be a dark rich full bodied honey for baking, I use buckwheat honey…..if can hold it up to light and see through it it not good for baking…..yes it costs more but it’s worth it, if there are bee keepers near you be sure to tell why you want this, the trend now is to lighter honey so the will mix dark honey with lighter.
I made this for a friend’s birthday. She wanted the little honey cakes for tea you read about in fantasy books, so I halved the recipe and made exactly 12 standard cupcake sized cakes. I used 1 egg+1 egg yolk, skipped the allspice/cloves, used instant espresso for the coffee/tea, and used more orange juice in place of the whiskey. I baked them for about 20 minutes. Next time, I would skip the cinnamon for a more honey-forward flavor, but otherwise, they turned out great and my friend loved them!
Want to make this over this weekend, but, although I scrolled through questions & comments, never found the answer to a previously posed question about dimensions of a regular loaf pan. I did see, Deb, that you say it should hold 6 c. of water. Could you provide actual dimensions additionally? Also, I’m planning on making 1 loaf, and, as juice oranges aren’t in season right now, would need to buy bottled, which I’m loathe to do for such a small amount needed. Can the oj be left out, or subbed with something else? Saw 1 commenter said she use Grand Marnier. Would that be a could replacement for both the whiskey & oj? Meyer lemon, perhaps? Would very much appreciate advice. Thanks.
I’ve just put a 9×13 pan into the oven. So looking forward to tasting it. Has anyone frosted it? I’m thinking a cream cheese frosting but there are so many to choose from on the website. I’ve not made any of them. Suggestions? Is there one you think would match really well?
Do you think this would work in mini bundt pans?
(P.S. HUGE fan!)
Curious what the role of the rye/whiskey is (e.g. whether I need to go buy some)
I don’t know what the role is, but I omitted it and forgot to replace it with anything (like additional orange juice) and the cake was fantastic.
Made this today and it turned out so great. Used a Bundt pan and I was quite nervous so I liberally buttered and floured the pan, let it come to room temp and it released perfectly. Looks glistening and moist and I’ll do a lemon confectioner sugar glaze on the top with toasted slivered almonds. Perfect for Rosh Hashana dessert this week.
How long did you bake it in the bundt pan? Am going to make it later today. Thanks!
Hi :) Just wanted to give another shout-out to this awesome honey cake. I’m printing it out to make for Rosh Hashana – I think I’ve been making it for about a decade and it’s always a hit. So easy – and no mixer necessary! Have a happy sweet new year <3
Unbelievably moist and delicious. I omitted the alcohol and used extra orange juice. So moist. Thank you Deb.
A great recipe! I had to make some adjustment for the flour: the dough looked too liquid to my eye. As I ran out of ginger (one of my favorite spices for honey cakes), cayenne paper came in handy.
I have one of your books, and keep coming back to the website. Thank you,Deb!
For those wanting to make 1/3 the recipe, hope the calculations I made for required ingredient quantities will help (for odd measurements, just estimate), & that I haven’t made any errors:
5.18oz/14.18T apf
1/3 t. Baking powder
1/3 t. Baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/3 t. ground cinammon
1/6 t. cloves & allspice
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. gran. sugar
1 lg egg
1/3 t. vanilla
1/3 c. warm coffee/tea
2 2/3 T./8t. oj
1 1/3 T./4t. rye/whiskey
2.66T/8t. slivered almonds
I thought this was a very good recipe. Baked my loaf 45 mins. & would bake 1 or 2 mins less another time.
this cake looks absolutely divine! i’m wondering if you think this cake would work as a good base for the caramel apple upside down cake i planned to bake this weekend! my only worry is that the batter seems like it would be thinner than the batter in the original recipe i was looking at. would love any tips if you think that would work!
I loved loved this cake, and my family, friends, and coworkers did too! I used coffee and a 9×13 pan and it came out perfect. I followed the directions exactly. It is sooo moist with such a rich, unique flavor.
SO strange that everyone has had dry honey cake experiences! I always think of honey cake as a moist thing; I don’t think I’ve ever had a dry version except maybe a store-bought packaged cake (i.e., not homemade) from which you wouldn’t expect much anyway. Weird, I would not have guessed that dry honey cake was a prevalent issue!
Happens to be this cake actually came out a touch drier* than my usual expectation of honey cake, but that’s my fault because I accidentally overbaked it. The cake still came out delicious. I decided to leave out the almonds because I was short on time and didn’t think them necessary, and only remembered after the fact that traditionally nuts are not eaten on Rosh Hashana (a tradition I observe). Phew! Totally not your responsibility, Deb, but it would be a nice gesture to add a point on that next to the “optional,” something like “optional – omit if you don’t eat nuts on Rosh Hashana” as a helpful reminder for those who are more strictly observant and may not be thinking to look out for “forbidden” items in a recipe marketed for Rosh Hashana use.
*Wow, there are two different spellings, one for “more dry” and another for the machine, and I had never realized this until I typed that sentence with the word “dryer” and it looked wrong. Am I the only one who had not known this?
I’ve been on a bit of a cake surge the past three weeks – Blueberry Boy Bait, yogurt grapefruit, and most recently M/M Honey Cake. I made the MMHC as per the recipe subbing a cup of whole wheat flour for a/p flour. I made it in a tube pan with a removable bottom. It came out of the pan cleanly and held its impressive shape after cooling. While using loaf pans might be slightly easier, the result I got was made for a great presentation. It was in fact both majestic and moist AND delicious. I made it for a weeknight dinner with neighbors and everyone loved it, great spicy flavor, not just sweet. The “everyday cake“ category is great for me – generally a pie-guy. And the MMHC is an exemplar – a nice treat that is not tooth-achingly sweet. A repeater for certain.
Thank you for this superb recipe! I am gluten free, so I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour. The texture and consistency were perfect: no sinking and no sad spot! I baked it in a bundt pan, and it turned out of the pan intact. This is rare for GF baking. It can be hard to get a GF cake out of a bundt pan.
I did cut the granulated and and brown sugars in half and we don’t miss the extra sugar at all.
One more change: I made a whiskey glaze and sprinkled the almonds on top of that.
Would this cake translate well into muffin form?
Yes, absolutely.
Have you tried freezing this? I make this every year and it’s the best honey cake ever! But I was hoping to try freezing it so I can make it ahead of time. Curious if anyone has tried that and how the cake holds up
It should freeze well.
Can this be made a day in advance? Thanks!
Yes
Hi Liza,
I absolutely love this cake, and have made it many, many times. The times I’ve baked in a couple of loaf pans, I’ve wrapped it well in waxed paper and then aluminum foil on top of that, and it lasts a very, very, very long time (as long as you an resist eating more than one slice every few days). That must be due to the honey, which has been used as a preservative since ancient times.
Great! Thanks so much for your reply. Will be making it today for Rosh Shoshana.
Can you use another juice – like strawberry lemonade?
Yes
I baked this honey cake yesterday. Should I freeze it between now and Sunday? Keep it in the fridge? What’s the best way to store it between now and then?
Thanks much in advance.
My mother says it gets better with time. It will be fine for Sunday! Wrap it up good till then.
What are the dimensions of a “full” size loaf pan? I see this question posed many times, but haven’t found an answer :(
4.5″x8.5″ at the bottom is fairly standard. It usually holds 6 cups of liquid to the top rim.
Thank you for fixing this recipe! Your ingredients are almost the exact same thing as my grandmothers recipe except for the spices. My grandmother didn’t use 4 tsp of cinnamon. She used 1 tsp cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves. Well, I made your recipe with my spices and it was perfect! My mother was so pleased! Thank you for figuring out the BS problem! Lol. Happy New Year to you!!
I just love finding a recipe that takes us back! Thank you for sharing and Happy nEw Year to you!
Wow! I made this recipe tonight and it turned out amazing! I did adjust the white sugar to 1c since I am watching my sugar intake and was out of all my natural sugar and subbed organic coconut brown sugar for the brown sugar. This cake is amazing – and I love that the comment feed goes back to 2008(?) – this looks to be a tried and true recipe! Thank you for sharing your passion so we can all benefit!
Made this two days ago for Rosh Hashana and OMG it’s divine. I cut the white sugar to 1 cup and it was still so sweet- could probably cut it to 3/4 and not tell the difference. I made a lemon glaze for the top which was delicious with the complex flavors of the cake. Baked it in a Bundt pan – well greased- and held my breath as I turned it out. It stuck a little bit in one spot but otherwise it released pretty well. This will be a recurring cake in our holiday table. It’s so moist and flavorful people were raving!!
I just made this and it was delicious. There were no problems with structure and the use of a well greased non-stick tube pan obviated any sticking. We are not fans of what I term “autumn spices,” so I halved those and it was fine. Question: if I wanted to omit them entirely, do you think substituting vanilla or almond extract work? And if so, what amounts would you try? Many thanks.
I made the cake in an angel food pan. I found 1 1/2 tsps. of baking powder was perfect. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly with spectacular results. And to confirm, the liquid measurements are correct. There is not too much liquid. The batter is supposed to be runny.
I need to clarify my review. I did make one other change to the recipe, one I’ve been making since I first started using Goldman’s original recipe. I use buckwheat honey. It imparts a richness and depth to the cake that is absent when using milder flavoured honey.
Moist (thanks to oil!), however it tastes to me like a generic spice cake or even banana bread sans banana or carrot cake sans carrots. A tad sweeter- maybe too sweet- and I decreased white sugar by 20 g. I’ve never tried another honey cake so maybe they’re all like this. Would be interested in a tangy frosting or fruit topping to give it more complexity. I used strong black tea. Maybe coffee gives it better/different flavor? Couldn’t taste the whisky.
Putting icing on a Jewish honey cake is sacrilege. Try using a dark honey for more complexity. I use buckwheat which is very complex, deep, and earthy. Be aware that reducing sugar also changes texture.
I made this cake this afternoon, for my roommate on a medically mandated no-dairy diet. (I swapped the three eggs for 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce.) the house started smelling amazing after only half an hour in the oven, and the cake itself is moist and not too sweet and everything I wanted on a rainy fall day. Thank you ❤️
Was a bit worried by the liquidity of the batter but it cooked perfectly in a 10 inch Bundt pan. I left it in for the full 75 minutes which was a few minutes too long.
Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and leave at room treatise for about 2 days. It develops flavour and becomes very moist.
I halved this recipe and made it in an 8×8 pan and it came out beautifully in about 50 minutes. Used two small eggs instead of trying to halve three large ones and it worked fine, good height and moisture and excellent flavor. I suspect the flavor will be even better tomorrow, if there is any left by then…
My local library holds a Library Cooking Club with a monthly theme. This month our theme was honey. I took your honey cake, made as directed except for the addition of zest from one orange. It was indeed majestic and moist. I highly recommend this recipe.
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
I freeze mine all the tome. After it’s baked and cooled I wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit for a day before freezing. This allows the flavours to ripen and a glossy syrupy top of deliciousness to develop. Then in foil, and into freezer. I take it out a day before serving snd keep it wrapped for more ripening. It’s the very best honey cake and if you make it with buckwheat honey which is often difficult to find, it’s over the top.
My husband and I do not drink coffee so all I have in the house is instant packets of Starbucks. Will this work or do I need to run to my cousin’s house one street over for a cup of “real”coffee?
To the individual who only had a packet of Starbucks coffee: You can use Starbucks instant coffee DISSOLVED in 1 cup of water or you can use 1 cup of tea.
Instant coffee is just fine — just add the water recommended.
What if I don’t have rye or whiskey? Could I substitute more coffee or more OJ, or water???
Yes
A bit late but…I am pretty sure Goldman’s recipe comes from old Maxwell House High Holiday season ads (I remember them in the 80s in our local Jewish newspaper). Our kids used the recipe in elementary school, and made batches as annual fundraisers. Somewhere stuck in one of my cookbooks is a cut-out ad from back in the day, but I now have a digital version and no time to check so stuck in a cookbook it will stay.
I have been making this honey cake for years and this year used your baking powder modification. Cakes came out perfectly, nicely domed and smelling great. thanks for the tip!
Can you make this in advance and freeze it?
I would like to add shredded apple for taste/moisture. Is 1/2 cup too little?
I cut this identical recipe out of a newspaper about 30 years ago, with the only difference being it called for a half a cup of shredded apples instead of the booze. It’s the only way I’ve ever made it. So from my experience 1/2 has always worked perfectly. But as an fyi, there’s not much of an apple flavor that comes through.
Just made this in a tube pan. I realized, too late, that adding the slivered almonds at the end results in them being at the bottom of the cake, once inverted. Would adding them before pouring in the batter work? Also, I had trouble with timing. When I used a toothpick to check if the cake was full baked, it came out clean, after 60 mins. However, when I inverted the cake, the bottom was still very underbaked. Luckily, I was able to replace the cake in the pan, and cook it a few minutes longer until done. Any more reliable method for ensuring cake is baked through? Cannot understand why toothpick was clean, but cake underbaked.
The bottom is supposed to be wet and sticky. It’s a combination of the oil from greasing and honey. I believe your cake was baked when you tested. Mine always present as you describe. If you place the cake which has been removed from the pan on a rack, the bottom begins to dry out. Pouring batter over the nuts will displace them. The nut thing doesn’t work well if using a Bundt.
Well, this is the most helpful, thoughtful, and speedy reply, Lee. Thank you SO much. Wondered about the almonds, and good to know that placing them in the tube pan first doesn’t work. Btw, I did not follow the instructions for using buttered parchment paper, as that seemed like a challenging step. I generously buttered, and floured, my pan. Worked perfectly. And, neglected to say the cake is absolutely delicious. Glad, this time, I made the full recipe, so we’ll be enjoying it for awhile.
My pleasure. A couple of more things: The cake is quite high. I always use a cake tester rather than a toothpick which is short. A cake tester is a very long thin metal “ needle” with a plastic head attached at the top. You hold onto the plastic piece and insert the metal needle. It can reach further into the cake. Another hint. I find the cake is better as it ages. I call this ripening. I wrap the cake in plastic wrap for a day or more and the honey rises to the top. It becomes glisteny and candy like. The cake itself becomes denser. I also use buckwheat honey. It’s hard to get in some locations but it takes the cake over the top. This cake freezes beautifully.
Oh yes, I have one of those cake testers. Tried that, too, and it came out clean. I always think that, because it’s smooth metal, perhaps it doesn’t pick up wet batter and crumbs as well as toothpicks. I also have one of those cake testers, where the tip is supposed to turn red when inserted, if the cake is done. My dilemma was that while the toothpick & long toothpick-like testers came out clean, the temperature sensitive tester did not turn red. Much consternation. But, all’s well that ended well. Again, really appreciate your input.
Can avocado oil be used instead of vegetable?
Yes
Can I use an equal amount of butter instead of oil? And if not, what kind of oil do you use for baking?
Butter and oil are not equivalent. Butter contains water and oil is a full fat. You would require more butter. You can find ratios on line. However, this cake relies on oil for moisture. I use corn or vegetable oil. I detect a fishy flavour in canola and there is some concern about a possible connection between it and dementia. I personally would not suggest butter. It’s often used for flavour versus oil but this cake is a different animal. Note that many Jewish honey cake recipes were developed to be dairy free to conform with Jewish dietary laws ( kashrut) that restricted the consumption of dairy with meat. This cake is pareve meaning it is neutral and can be eaten with dairy foods or meat foods. It is specifically designed to be prepared with oil not butter.
The point about the Jewish dietary laws doesn’t really matter; the fact that Judy’s asking about butter indicates that they’re not relevant for her.
Also, just a side note, the use of nuts in this cake means that it isn’t developed totally in line with all of the Jewish “rules” since the stricter rules forbid nuts on Rosh Hashana.
In response to B: My comments with respect to kashrut were provided to give context with respect to the origins of the recipe’s development. Many people find this information of interest and they explain why the recipe was developed to work with oil, as opposed to butter. Many cookbooks provide this kind of information.
I don’t think you can assume someone’s background or what is relevant to them based on the inquiry whether one could substitute butter. If one is serving a pareve meal or a dairy meal, one could serve a butter cake.
I note that nuts are optional in the recipe. In any event, the practice of not eating nuts is a custom, and one that is limited to Ashkenazi. Even among Ashkenazi, the practice is not universal.
Finally, I am nonplussed why you would post such a belligerent post, particularly at this time of year, when many Jews are contemplating their behaviour, asking forgiveness for their sins and offences, and looking forward to a new year, a tabula rasa. L’ Shanah Tova.
Agree with you, Lee. Also, sometimes a well-meaning guest who is not familiar with the dietary laws will make the lovely gesture of preparing a holiday dish. Reading your post could save someone an awkward encounter!
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for your kind words. L’Shanah Tova. May all your honey cakes be delicious.
Lee,
I must defend myself that I did not assume Judy’s background at all (she could be anything from not Jewish just wanting honey cake to fully observant Jew just baking for a dairy meal, or a Jew who does not observe the dietary laws). But Melissa below is right, I should have taken into consideration that she might be preparing it for someone else. Although it was not a situation that would have immediately come to my mind (since my experience has been with people who are either non observant in kashrut or very strictly observant, i.e., no oven sharing), I obviously should have thought harder before posting because it’s a reasonable scenario that negates my point.
I think I mistook your comments, which you say were intended to be more of a side note about context, as if you were lecturing to Judy that, if she were not observing these laws, she should be. I misread it as an “attack” on Judy so I commented to “defend” her. However, this explanation is just to exonerate myself from being viewed as a complete boor; it is not an excuse. You are totally right that my post did come across as belligerent. Even if I had been correct in what I thought you were saying, I still shouldn’t have stuck my nose in with such a post. I hope I can learn my lesson and hold myself back in similar situations in the future.
I regret my post and I apologize for it. I hope you can forgive me.
OY! When I first posted I was going to say something about the whole pareve issue which as a Conservative Jew who also has lived in Israel, I am well aware of. I was just trying to be succinct.
In any case, it’s actually been fun chatting with everyone – I’ve rarely asked Deb a question and certainly not had so many responses.
Shana tova – wishing everyone a happy, healthy and peace- filled next 12 months no matter who and what you are.
Yours is not a hanging offense. Of course, I accept your apology. Again, I wish you a very happy new year filled with much sweetness.
This looks wonderful, will try to make it this year.
Can I use springform pan for this? Or a pyrex pan? If so, how does that effect cooking time?
I make this honey cake every year for Rosh Hashanah. It is far and away THE BEST honey cake I’ve ever had in my life!!! So moist in contrast to just about every other honey cake. I make it exactly as written and am blown away every year.
Thank you Lee – I do understand why most Jewish desserts are pareve and as B noted, that isn’t a concern of mine, however I very much appreciate your initial response to explain the reason why butter and oil react differently. Very helpful. I rarely buy anything but olive or coconut oil and did indeed use canola oil in the past but stopped for other health reasons as you noted. I didn’t realize there are oils just labeled vegetable and I will look for that and use it because I always have incredible luck with Deb’s recipes as written.
This is literally the only honey cake love to eat. I make it every year for Rosh Hashana. I wanted to ask – is it possible to bake one big (round) cake out of this amount of batter, and if so – how much time and what temperature should I bake it? Thank you and Shana Tova!
Yes, it’s all listed in the recipe! Which size pan did you want to use?
I’m trying to figure out which size will be suitable to the whole amount of batter
This cake fits in two (shown here) or three loaf pans; two 8-inch square or two 9-inch round cake pans; one 9- or 10-inch tube or bundt cake pan; or one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake. If you have big round pans, a 9×13 is equivalent to an 11- or 12-inch round.
Thank you for your reply!
If I use one big pan, how long should I bake it for, and what temperature?
It’s all listed in the recipe — the temp is 350, the baking times depend on the size of the pan.
I made this wonderful cake tonight, but although I baked it for the minimum time suggest (60 minutes for a Star of David Bundt pan) it burned. I did put the pan on the 2 cookie sheets. What did I do wrong? And how can I correct it for next time?
It might have been the pan — if it was smaller or thinner (slice size, not thickness of pan) than a standard bundt, it would bake faster, closer to what the cake in 3 loaves would.
Can you freeze this cake? I assume yes, but what do you think?
Thanks
I’ve been making this cake for years and always freeze it. I like to wrap it in plastic wrap after it’s cooled and allow it to sit for a day before I freeze it to allow the flavours to mature. I also use buckwheat honey. It’s a wonderful recipe and Deb’s modification works.
Hi just want to say I LOVE this recipe! I’ve been using a printed out copy that a friend sent me in I think 2009 or so…then I did notice the update in flour measurement a couple of years ago and made a note but only today did I see the other updates and it is still THE BEST honey cake EVER! It’s super easy and so delicious (and I was never a fan growing up) Anyway just wanted to thank you! Also I have celiac and so I swap out the flour for GF cup for cup flour and it is still amazing! :)
Belatedly getting my Rosh on, and pulled up your recipe and realized the granulated sugar conversion is wrong! The volume is correct (1 1/2 cups), but that should be 300 grams, not 150.
Apologies — the cups are correct (1 1/2 cups); the weight was not (previously 150 grams, now fixed: 300 grams is correct).
I’ve made this cake for years, but this was the first time I needed it to be gluten-free. I used King Arthur Measure-for-Measure GF flour and this recipe, as always, turned out amazing. This time I took the white sugar down 10 percent, and realized that with this recipe, the taste did change, and next time I’ll put it back.
For me, the amount of batter makes a loaf cake and a 8-inch square, though that one is not all the way to the top. My husband (not GF) and I already started noshing on the loaf cake, a couple days before Rosh Hashanah; I gave the other cake to elderly relatives, and no one could tell the difference in the flour!
Hello,
I have a different honey cake I use as base for my apple cake, but I thought I’d give this a try and it’s a blast! Thank you. My kitchen smells wonderful!
(I do believe by “3 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons” you mean 3 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour as the original called for 3 1/2 cups of flour.)
I can’t believe it. My loaves didn’t dome at all. This would never have happened if I had wanted a flat top cake.
Could I half the recipe as I only need one loaf cake? Do you think this would work?
loved your write- up that preceded the honey cake recipe. i hope the floor scuffling creature doesn’t come back.. unless he’s waiting to mooch some cake crumbs!
Planning on making this exactly as listed. However, I feel like this cake would be AMAZING with a mix of AP and rye flour. Has anyone tried it with some rye flour?
First time making this. Cake a bit dry on day one, but rave reviews on day two. Will make one day ahead for next year.
Made it again for first time in years- nervous because it can’t be as good as last time? Needn’t have worried. Deb’s recipes are FOOLPROOF! It is perfection. ( just had to leave oven in longer than suggested for my rectangular tin). Vive Deb et Smitten Kitchen! ( from Paris)
Made this gluten-free with Measure for Measure flour. Sunk like crazy in the two loaf pans. Tastes delicious. Any suggestions on how to remedy? Followed Deb’s updated instructions.
Oh my gracious goodness, Deb….. This honey cake is splendiferous! I wanted to lick the bowl.
Had the oven on a timer while I brought a teen from one activity to another, and stood in front of the oven to try and take some of that heavenly smell with me.
The cakes (2x 9” loafs) rose beautifully, and I’m so glad that I could keep your suggested liquids (though I forgot vanilla & will add it next time!) because the combo with the spices and honey is soooooooooooooo good. Such a wonderful depth of flavor! Definitely a keeper. Thank you! And may you have a sweet New Year!
Also, two of us in the household have Type 1 diabetes, so we typically avoid honey cake for the holiday since we’d have to take so much insulin to cover for it. I was able to use Splenda for Baking in place of both the white & brown sugars, each has a ration of 2:1, so I used 3/4 cup of their white sugar mix and 1/4 cup of their brown sugar mix. We were both able to bolus and cover the honey cake without too much trouble. And the cake was dense and moist and fabulous, so the sub seemed to work. So, swapping in Splenda for Baking could be an option for those folks who asked if they could cut any of the sugar.
I make this cake every year, and it is perfect, super super moist, gets better after a day or two even, spice level is lovely, and the honey comes through beautifully. Just trust Deb, make it as written.
EPIC FAIL!
Unfortunately, my honey cakes sunk badly. New baking powder and soda, I don’t know where I went wrong. If the flavor is great, I will try again.
I’m confused. The ingredients list says 3 1/4 PLUS 2 tablespoons flour but the notes say 2 tablespoons LESS. Which is correct? Thank you!
Hi. I used the scale, but I assume that the original recipe was for 3 1/2 cups flour, so taking away 2 Tb would be half of a 1/4 cup, so 3 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs….
The recipe has the adjustment in it. The notes are just to detail what has changed from previous versions (i.e. it’s now 2T less than before)
Thanks so much, Deb. I look forward to making this cake!
Made this on the weekend, never having either made nor tasted honey cake before. It was a breeze, just needed a couple bowls and a whisk, and was totally delicious! Plush and moist, with a lovely slightly sticky exterior.
I made half a batch and baked it in one 9-inch round cake tin, sprayed well with baking spray and lined with parchment on the bottom. Topped with sliced almonds but had to omit the booze this time (subbed the equivalent amount of orange juice. Otherwise I followed the (halved) updated recipe exactly going by the weights — the batter seemed super liquidy but it baked up perfectly, and tasted fantastic. I generally don’t like super sweet desserts, but somehow this turned out just right, despite all the sugar and honey in it.
(Oh, I’m in the UK and used straight plain flour, which is probably somewhere between US AP and cake flour. No issues at all with that!)
I gather, as the recipe notes, that this is more on the spice-cake spectrum of honey cakes, but certainly there were no complaints at our table about that. I could see making this all winter long. I imagine it’d be great served warm with some vanilla ice cream or cold custard/creme anglaise if that’s your thing! Thanks Deb!
The note confuses me because I’m not sure if the recipe was updated to include that info or not? Was it originally 3 1/4 plus 4 tablespoons flour, and you do 2 tablespoons less, so it’s only 3 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons now? Or, do you just do 3 1/4 cups flour now?
I suspect, since it looks like other notes were updated in the recipe, that I should use 3 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons and that will take your note into account, but wanted to be sure. Thank you!
The recipe reflects the newer, lower amount. I’ve clarified this in the note. I use notes to alert people to changes in the recipe.
This year I tweaked a few things….. altitude adjustment (at 7200 ft). Less sugar, no juice, less BP and BS. It’s perfect! And it’s even better a few days later.
I make this every year for Rosh Hashana. I give to family and eat it at home. Always a winner!!!!
Honey Cake recipe reads 3 1/4 + 2 tbls flour. You omitted ‘Cups’. Could be read as 5 1/4 Tbls. flour, as I did, the first 2 times skimming over recipe.
Ah, thanks for catching it. Now fixed.
I prepared this honey cake recipe in a fluted bundt pan, exactly as directed. The two difficult parts of this recipe is 1. getting it out of the pan and 2. not nibbling at it until the next day. I’ve found turning off the oven and allowing the cake to sit about 5-10 minutes helps prevent cakes from falling. Hubster loved this cake and I will definitely make again and again!
I finally made this today and it is delicious. Out of necessity i substituted the flour with an equal amount of All purpose gluten free flour. So good! I’m curious how it will taste after a few days, but it might not last that long.
So not only does this cake sink, it’s COMPLETELY RAW in the middle and burnt to a crisp on the top. Used exactly 6cups of batter in a loaf pan, baked for nearly 1hr 20 minutes. Simultaneously a charcoal briquette and a sloppy soggy mess. So incredibly disappointing at the waste of ingredients for a pile of slop I had to dump into the trash the next morning.
How sad and frustrating your cake didn’t work! Something must have gone wrong. As you can see from previous comments, it’s a huge hit with dozens and dozens of bakers, ( me included) who swear by it as the perfect honey cake and cook it year after year.
This happened to me once with a blueberry cake. It turned out my oven température was way off! Try an oven thermometer just to be sure that’s not the issue.
I have made the recipe multiple times, but always in an angel food tube pan. Based on my experience, the loaf pan wouldn’t be suitable. I do watch the cake carefully, and find mine is baked sooner than the directions say.
It’s really a wonderful cake. Perhaps, try again with a different pan and oven thermometer. Good luck.
Every Rosh Hashanah, my dad would bring home a honey cake from 2nd Ave Deli, where he worked for over 30 years (he’s since retired). I loved the cake, even though it was always a tad bit dense and dry. I wanted to make this for nostalgia sake and it delivered!! I followed the recipe exactly, except I used 2 eggs instead of 3 because thats all I had. I made 2 loaves. It turned out excellently, did not sink and rose gorgeously. Thank you!
Hi Deb, moving on now from the Jewish New Year (thanks for that!), any festive Succoth recipes coming up for holiday hosting soon upon us? Haven’t come across anything in the archives..
I’ve got what I consider the perfect shortbread recipe, but not a tremendous amount of others.
I absolutely love this cake and make it all the time!! It seems like the recipe has changed in the last few days, is it possible to get the recipe as it was before then please? It came out delicious 2 weeks ago and what I just made is a bit weird texture…. Thank you!
As as I recall, the previous recipe was Marcy Goldman‘s moist and majestic honey cake with one adaption. Instead of 1 tablespoon baking powder, I believe Deb reduced it to 1 teaspoon. I think Deb’s most recent iteration of the recipe, the one you found weird, has increased the baking powder to one and a half teaspoons, and also changed flour amounts. You can find Marcy Goldman‘s original recipe here: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/majestic-and-moist-new-years-honey-cake-350153. It’s the one I use, except I reduce the baking powder as Deb originally recommended to 1teaspoon. I don’t get a dome on the cake, which Deb said she achieved by now adding another 1/2 tsp of baking powder (1 1/2 tsp or half of what is called for in Goldman’s recipe) I prepare it in a large angel food tube pan with a removable bottom. It’s flat in the top, but I prefer that aesthetic. I also use buckwheat honey. I’ve had great success. I hope this helps.
Thank you!
The cake is delicious! and has a beautiful texture. I made it for the first time last night to serve to a group of friends today, always appreciating a recipe that can, or even should, be made ahead, It received many compliments! However, I’m the outlier who had a problem with sinking, using the updated amounts. When I peeked through the oven window during baking, the cake was rising perfectly, but when I pulled out my 9×5″ loaf pan at 60 minutes, the long edges were bowing inward toward a deep crevasse running through the center. Slicing crosswise pieces at the ends and lengthwise ones adjacent to the crevasse solved the presentation problem – and left the sunken center to be cut into cubes of honey-cake-“fudge,” also delicious. I’d love to know where I went wrong – I halved the recipe, but checked and rechecked my math and used weights, even for the half-egg. Maybe the issue was overbeating – I used a hand mixer rather than a whisk. This recipe deserves a “next time,” but I’d like to get it right.
Hi Carol — I wonder if it was just underbaked. If it’s not baked in the center (fudgy), it can dip there.
Deb, thank you for responding. When I took the cake out, the temperature of the non-sunken part was 212F and all the edges of the cake were well pulled away from the sides of the pan – and I thought “done,” despite the sunken center. I didn’t think to take the temperature of the center section. Wish I had! Next time, I’ll do that, and I’ll also heed the recipe directions to “stir” the ingredients together, rather than using a mixer – I know I whipped a lot of air into the batter that probably didn’t belong there. This cake is too good not to make again.
Smell great, but zero doming which makes me sad. I used the right sized loaf pans……. tested and are definitely baked well. GAAAAAA :(
Also this was Deeeeeeelicious!!
I made this several years ago for Rosh Hashanah and loved it. Now I’m wondering if I can make it for Passover, subbing out the flour for matzo meal. Has anyone tried this?
I’m just a home baker, not a professional, but after decades of being the dessert person for Passover I absolutely would not recommend this. I think it would be very disappointing and a huge waste of ingredients. Subbing for a recipe with very small amounts of flour with matzo meal might be ok but not a cake like this where flour is a main ingredient. Try a meringue based cake (pavlova) or a flourless chocolate cake or a recipe based on almond flour instead. Recipe creators test and test and test until they get it right so a trusted source for kosher baking likely has some Passover dessert recipes that you could count on.