Honey Cake is the sweet treat many Jews on Rosh Hashanah, AKA Jewish New Year, as a symbol of hope for a sweet year to come. This one is deliciously moist with an alluringly crisp edge.

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One day when my niece was about three years old, she declared, “I’m going to make a honey cake!”

I don’t think she had ever heard of honey cake. But she does love honey. And I love her! So I started searching for honey cake recipes the minute I got home.

Why Do We Eat Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah?

The holiday celebrates the dawn of the new year according to the Hebrew calendar. It is one of the two High Holy days in Judaism (Yom Kippur is the other) and therefore one of the most important holidays.

Honey cake is one of the traditional foods eaten on the holiday. Honey symbolizes our hopes for sweetness in the year to come. It is also customary to eat apple slices dipped in honey on the holiday.

What does Shana Tova mean?

During Rosh Hashanah, you’ll often hear the greeting “Shana Tova umetukah!” Or simply “Shana Tova!”

It’s the Jewish version of “happy new year,” translating more specifically to mean “have a good, sweet year!”

What makes this the best honey cake recipe?

The biggest complaint people have about honey cakes is that they are dry and lack flavor. I wanted something super moist and rich.

I searched for moist honey cake recipes and found one on Smitten Kitchen. It was a recipe by Marcy Goldman’s A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking.

If anyone knows her way around a Jewish dessert, it is Marcy Goldman. Smitten Kitchen calls Marcy’s cake “Crazy moist and soft and plush with a little crisp edge about the corners.”

Clearly, it would be reckless and irresponsible to try any other honey cake recipe.

This cake is perfect for Rosh Hashana

The first thing you want in a Rosh Hashana honey cake is for it to be sweet. After all, that’s the whole point, right? A sweet cake to usher in a sweet new year. This cake cake is sweet, and it is also:

• Moist
• Tender
• Not too dense
• Full of the flavor of honey
• Crisp around the edges

Honey gives the cake it’s signature flavor and makes it plenty sweet. But this cake has other flavorful ingredients, too. Coffee and orange juice give it bitterness and tang to counter the sweetness of the honey.

What ingredients do you need?

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Cooking oil
• Honey
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Coffee or tea
• Orange juice

Marcy’s version (and Deb’s) includes cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. But I’m not crazy about a spice cake. I just wanted a cake that tastes like honey.

It may sound crazy, but I left all of those spices out. The result was perfect.

How do you make this easy honey cake?

You only need one bowl and a spoon to mix this cake. You could, however, use a stand mixer if you prefer. Just be careful not to overbeat it after adding the flour, as this can make a cake rubbery.

1. Preheat the oven and spray the baking pan(s).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the oil, honey, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, and orange juice. Mix thoroughly.
4. Pour the batter into the baking pan(s) and bake.
5. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

A little trick that makes this honey cake pure magic

Remember those crisp edges I mentioned earlier? Before baking, I drizzle a bit of honey over the batter. It caramelizes in the oven, giving the bottom and edges of the cake an extra crispiness. It also adds the deep, rounded flavor of caramelized honey.

My niece was delighted and proud of herself for coming up with the idea. My mother, who doesn’t even like honey cake, took home an extra-large hunk. [Breaking news: Mom called as I was writing this post, and said, “I just ate a third of the cake you sent me home with, and it is the most delicious honey cake I’ve ever had. I can’t stop eating it.”

Tips for success

• This recipe makes a lot (us Jewish ladies worry that someone will go hungry, so we always make extra). You can use three 9-by-5-inch loaf pans or one 9-by-13-inch baking pan, or make 36 standard cupcakes.
• Alternatively, you can use a mini Bundt pan with 6 cups as well as a few different sizes of small loaf pans.
• Whatever size pans you use, be careful not to overfill them. Each pan should only be filled about halfway.
• Smaller portions will bake faster so be sure to adjust the cooking times and check early and often.
• If you just want less cake, you can reduce the recipe by 1/3 or even 2/3. See my recipe notes for details on how to cut down the quantity.
• The recipe uses cooking oil for its fat, which makes it kosher parve (no meat or dairy).
• The recipe calls for strong brewed coffee or tea. The bitterness of coffee or tea balances the sweetness of the honey. But you can substitute milk or water in the same quantity. Note that if you use milk, the recipe will not be parve.
• Feel free to add a diced apple or two, a cup of sliced almonds, a tablespoon of orange zest, or 1/4 cup of whiskey to the batter.
• The texture of this cake improves when it sits for a bit. I think it is best the day after it is made. Make it ahead and let it sit, uncovered, at room temperature.

This morning I learned inadvertently that honey cake, paired with a cup of coffee, makes a great breakfast. If you’re a sweets-for-breakfast person, you might want to try this Japanese Souffle Pancakes recipe, too!

More Jewish holiday recipes you’ll love

• Sufganiyot or Jelly Donuts for Hanukkah
• Potato Latkes for Hanukkah
• Classic Chopped Liver
• Vegetarian Chopped Liver
• Matzoh Fattoush
• Matzoh Toffee
• Honey Cake

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