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This Honey Cake is perfect for Rosh Hashanah! If you’ve been let down by Jewish honey cake in the past, prepare to have your mind changed. This one is deliciously moist and perfectly sweet.
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What Makes This Honey Cake Special?
Honey cake often gets a bad rap. That’s because many of them turn out dry, flavorless, dense, or gummy. But set aside your preconceived notions of honey cake and you’ll discover that this one is wonderfully moist and flavorful. It’s a far cry from the disappointing honey cake recipes that have traumatized so many of us.
This recipe focuses on achieving a tender, moist crumb and a beautiful balance of flavors. So what is it that makes this honey cake different? The key is in the ingredients, obviously, but also in the technique.
Ingredient Notes
Other honey cake recipes use a heavy mix of spices, but this one lets the honey flavor take the lead. Here’s what matters in the ingredient list:
- Oil: A neutral oil keeps the cake moist without competing with the honey. I usually use avocado oil, but canola or another mild option works just as well.
- Honey: The honey you choose makes a difference. Lighter, cheaper honeys tend to fade once baked, while darker wildflower or clover honeys hold their flavor better. Pick one with depth, since it’s the star of the cake.
- Sugar: White and brown sugar work alongside the honey. The brown sugar adds caramel notes that deepen the flavor and keep the sweetness balanced.
- Brewed coffee or strong tea: A touch of bitterness offsets the sweetness and adds complexity. I prefer coffee, but strong black tea works if that’s what you have.
How to Make It
This cake is so easy to make! You don’t even need an electric or stand mixer—just stir the batter together with a wooden spoon. Here’s how to whip up this honey cake, ensuring it turns out perfectly every time:
- Grease the baking pan or pans and preaheat the oven.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add all of the liquid ingredients including the eggs, honey, both kinds of sugar, coffee or tea, and orange juice.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared pan, filling it halfway to allow room for rising.
- Drizzle a bit of honey over the top for extra sweetness and a lovely glaze.
- Bake until the cake feels springy to the touch and a tester comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.
Tips for success
- This recipe makes a generous amount of cake. If that feels like too much, the recipe card includes scaled-down versions for smaller batches.
- Whatever pans you use, only fill them about halfway so the cake has room to rise. Smaller pans will bake faster, so keep an eye on them and check early.
- Line standard loaf or cake pans with greased parchment for easier removal. If you’re baking in several small pans, set them on a sheet pan to make them easier to move.
- Mix the batter gently with a wooden spoon. Once the flour is in, stir only until smooth — overworking it will make the cake gummy.
- The flavor improves after it rests. The cake is even better the next day, so it’s worth making it ahead.
What to Serve With It
Honey Cake is so versatile that I serve it on most Jewish holidays. It even makes a great holiday breakfast or brunch. And it’s a perfect end to a meal of Brisket or roast chicken, latkes, and Beet Salad with Harrisa Dressing.
A dollop of whipped cream, or vegan whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream takes it over the top. Try rich vanilla ice cream or, even better, Pumpkin Cinnamon Ice Cream. For a ligheter take try sliced fresh fruit like figs or pears would be lovely on top. If you want to take it over the top, add
Looking for more Jewish holiday-ready sweets? Try Honey Cookies with orange and cinnamon, also perfect for Rosh Hashanah, Rugelach, or Hamentashen. Chocolate Orange Babka is another Jewish dessert that easily shape shifts into a delightful brunch offering. Love that honey flavor? Try No Bake Honey Cheesecake.
Honey Cake
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 3½ cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) honey, divided
- 1½ cups (300 grams) sugar
- ½ cup (110 grams) brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) brewed coffee or strong tea
- ½ cup (120 ml) orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease the baking pan(s) with nonstick cooking spray, baking spray, or butter. (Use either three 9-by-5-inch loaf pans, one 9-by-13-inch baking pan, or any equivalent-sized pans.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the oil, 3/4 cup of the honey, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, and orange juice. Mix thoroughly, until all ingredients are combined and no lumps remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s), filling each about halfway.
- Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup of honey over the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cake is set all the way through and feels springy to the touch (30 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of your baking dishes). A tester inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Let cool 15 minutes before removing from the baking dish. Slide a knife around the edges to help loosen the cake, if necessary.
Notes
Nutrition
Yes, yes, yes! Deb is so right in saying that honey cakes are “dry, dull, and coarse”. I, too, think that. Or did think that until I ate this honey cake of yours today. It is fabulous. Well, I can say “It WAS fabulous,” since it is almost all gone save a few crumbs of that wonderful crunchy thin covering.
And, yes, Juliana, the reason you never knew about honey cake for Rosh Hashana was that I could never bring myself to bring one of those dry, dull coarse confections into the house. Sorry for the lapse in your childhood, but now we can have honey cake for Rosh Hashana thanks to you, Deb and Marcy. Hooray!!
I believe the reason most honey cakes are/were so dry and tasteless is that they were baked in a flat pan rather than a loaf or tube pan. My mother who was a world class baker never baked a honey cake and never liked honey cake until I took it upon myself close to 70 years ago to bake one – and have made the same recipe every year since, sometimes as many as 10 to be shipped to out-of-town family and friends.
A Happy New Year to you and yours.
I often make a honey syrup to drizzle over my cakes for extra moistness… However I’ve never made a cake completely based round honey. This looks absolutely delicious and a good place to start!
Honey syrup sounds interesting!
Never made one before but this year made it hard to find one in the markets so I tried this one.
Wonderful results!! Gave my neighbor half and he called twice for MORE! My whole family LOVED IT!
Best, most moist honey cake ever! And easy to make…sweetness all all around!
Thank you, Sandee! I’m so glad you (and your neighbor) liked it! It is a huge favorite around here, too!
i remember reading the recipe on smitten kitchen and thinking that, though it seemed yummy, it was a bit too involved for cooking with kids. thanks for the simplification, me and the kids made this today and it is pretty darn good.
tried your recipe last night just have no words to say, accept i cant stop eating it. oh my have never tasted anything that good in years. thank you.
Being new to Judaism I came across this recipe for my first Rosh Hoshana and it is soo yummy! Super moist and just lovely. The edges sort I of caramelised into a lovely crisp. I used a large loaf pan and actually ended up cooking it for 1 and half hours.
This is the best honey cake I have ever made.Moist, soft and delicious! I added some raisins and orange zest. Everybody loved the cake ! Thank you very much for this recipe!
Simple, amazing, delicious recipe! I made it into honey cupcakes. Worked like a charm. Batter formed 24 cupcakes and baked for 22 min. Like all honey cakes, they have improved with age. Thanks and Shana Tova!
Since my Bubbie took all her recipes with her when she died and my first and last attempt at honey cake turned out so hard and dry I’m now using it as a door stop (!), I am looking forward to this moist and tender honeycake to share with 14 new friends tomorrow for Rosh Hashanoh in Denver. I will bake it today and let you know how it turns out. Wish me luck!
Everybody loved your moist honey cake. It will definitely be a family favourite .
Everybody loved your moist honey cake. It will definitely become a family favourite. Thanks Shana tova
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! I made it for Passover and it was a hit! I took an extra loaf to my non-jewish coworkers and they loved it so much they asked for the recipe! I’ve shared it on my dairy-free cooking blog too!
Nice recipe 🙂 sounds like a very delicious cake, looks good too.
This sounds like a great recipe. Does it work in a round cake tin? If so, does anyone know what size round tin to use?
Check out this baking pan size conversion chart: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cake-Pan-Size-Conversions/Detail.aspx. They suggest using 2 (9-inch) round cake pans or 3 (8-inch) round cake pans as the equivalent of one 9×13″ baking dish. I hope you enjoy it!
We’ve been looking for a great honey cake. The edges of a cake with this much sugar will burn easily. I tried this recipe at 350 degrees as recommended – and it burned the edges; the top was overly brown. So the burned sugar took away from the flavor of the cake. Next time, I will try 275 to 300 at the most for 60 minutes +/-. I rarely bake any cake over 325 degrees.
We enjoyed the center of the cake, and the orange, coffee, honey is a delightful combination. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thanks for the suggestion. It turned out great when I made it, but it would be interesting to experiment.
What would be the best way to store my cakes for a few days. Great receipe!
I’m afraid I don’t have an official answer on that one. I think it would be fine on your counter (wrapped) for a day or two, or good in the fridge for a few days. Glad you liked the recipe!
Honey cakes tend to store well and improve their flavour and moistness with age. If you added a dash of whisky, as in Marcy Goldman’s original recipe, the cake will store even better! A whole cake in a sealed cake tin stored in a cool place has always worked very well for me. Once you cut the cake, it’s best to eat it within a few days. The only problem for us has been keeping our greedy hands off it for long enough to let it mature!
I love this recipe. I have tried 3 size pans. I made it in 1 big loaf pan and it overflowed and collapsed. Used 3 small loaf pans and it overflowed and collapsed. I used a large rectangle pan and it worked. I may try next time to lower the temperature and see what happens. All in all, this my favorite honey cake recipe.
Perfect recipe for 24 cup cakes!
Thanks!
Can i use something to replace orange juice?
I don’t have anything to recommend offhand, since this is the only way I’ve ever made the recipe. If you find something that works, let us know!