This Honey Cake recipe has a moist, tender crumb and big honey flavor, made in one bowl with oil instead of butter. It’s perfect for Rosh Hashanah.
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When I was a kid, the best thing on the Rosh Hashanah table wasn’t the honey cake, but the plate of apple slices and bowl of honey for dunking. Crisp, juicy apple and thick, syrupy honey are a perfect, sweet bite. And that’s the whole reason they’re there, to start the Jewish New Year with a sweet taste in our mouths, hoping the year ahead will be sweet too.
The honey cakes on the holiday tables of my childhood never delivered anything like that apples-and-honey bite. They were dry or gummy, and the spices—always cinnamon, often clove or nutmeg or allspice—buried the honey flavor the name promised.
This is the honey cake I wanted then. Sweet, honey-forward, unfussy, and, most important, moist and tender enough to outshine everything else on the table.
What Makes This Honey Cake Different?
So what sets this Jewish honey cake apart from the ones I grew up with? The key is in the ingredients, but also in the technique.
My #1 Secret: Use Oil Instead of Butter
Using a neutral oil, like avocado oil or canola oil, instead of butter does two separate things for your cake, and they both matter.
First, moisture. Oil is 100 percent fat, while butter is only about 80 percent fat and the rest is water. That water evaporates in the oven, and it takes some of your cake’s moisture with it. Oil has no water to lose, so it has nothing to give up. Less water lost means more moisture kept in the cake.
Second, tenderness. Butter is made mostly of saturated fat molecules, which are straight and stack together neatly, like bricks. That’s exactly why butter turns solid in the fridge. Oil is made of unsaturated fat molecules that are bent and can’t stack that way, so they stay slippery and fluid even when cold. That fluidity lets the oil coat the flour more thoroughly, which blocks gluten from forming long, chewy strands.
Less gluten means a softer, more tender crumb, and it stays that way even after the cake cools completely, since oil never firms back up the way butter does. So you get a cake that’s both more moist and more tender, for two completely different reasons.
My #2 Secret: Don’t Overmix the Batter
Overmixing your batter can make a cake gummy and dense because it creates too much gluten and forces out the air bubbles that help the cake rise. When flour meets liquid, two of its proteins bond together to form gluten. But hydration only starts the process. Every stroke of the spoon stretches those bonds and organizes them into a longer, stronger network, which is why bread doughs get kneaded for ten minutes. Gluten is elastic and stretchy, like a mesh of rubber bands. That’s perfect for chewy bread and ruinous for a delicate cake.
Since there’s no butter to cream, the batter for this cake can be mixed together in one bowl using a wooden spoon. Even when hand mixing, once you’ve combined the flour and liquids, mix only until the mixture is smooth, and then stop. If you do use a hand-held electric mixer or stand mixer, stick to low or medium speed.
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.
Using a neutral oil keeps the cake moist without competing with the honey flavor. I usually use avocado oil, but canola or another mild option works just as well.
The honey you choose matters more here than in almost any other recipe, since it’s the flavor you’re building the cake around. The best way to tell a more flavorful honey from a less flavorful one is color. Pale honeys are mild. They deliver sweetness, but not much flavor, and what’s there won’t survive the oven. Darker honeys taste more like the flowers they came from, and that flavor comes through in the finished cake.
Skip clover and orange blossom, which are both pale and mild. Wildflower is the easy upgrade, and it’s common enough that you’ll usually find it right next to them in the supermarket. If you want to go in an even bolder direction, try a much darker honey like chestnut, avocado, or buckwheat. They’ll change the character of the cake a lot, so taste before you commit a whole batch to one.
This recipe uses both white sugar and brown sugar along with the honey. The brown sugar adds caramel notes that deepen the flavor and keep the sweetness balanced.
Brewed coffee or strong tea add a touch of bitterness that offsets the sweetness and adds complexity. I prefer coffee, but strong black tea works if that’s what you have. And a splash of orange juice adds a bright citrus note. If you want to pump up the citrus flavor even more, add a teaspoon or two of freshly grated orange zest.
Because I want my honey cake to taste like honey, not a spice cake, l skip the ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg common in honey cake recipes.
How to Make It
This cake comes together in one bowl with a wooden spoon, no electric mixer required.
First, grease the baking pan or pans and preheat the oven. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture, including the oil, eggs, honey, both kinds of sugar, coffee or tea, and orange juice. Stir gently until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Transfer the batter to your prepared pans. Drizzle a bit of honey over the top for extra sweetness and a shiny glaze. Bake until the cake feels springy to the touch and a tester comes out clean, then let it cool in the pan before transferring it to a wire rack.
Tips for Making the Best Jewish Honey Cake
- Start with your ingredients, especially the eggs, at room temperature to ensure the cake bakes up light and evenly textured. Room temperature eggs blend more smoothly with the oil, creating a properly emulsified batter instead of a broken one that may turn out dense and greasy.
- This recipe makes a generous amount of cake. If that feels like too much, the recipe card includes scaled-down versions for smaller batches and even mini honey cakes or honey cupcakes.
- Whatever size 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 pans with greased parchment paper so the cake releases cleanly.
- If you’re baking in several small pans, set them on a sheet pan for easy oven transfer.
- The flavor improves after it rests. The cake is even better the next day, so it’s worth making it ahead.
How to Serve HOney Cake
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 Harissa 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 something lighter, sliced fresh figs or pears are lovely on top.
Looking for more Jewish holiday desserts? 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 brunch favorite. Love that honey flavor? Try No Bake Honey Cheesecake.
One-Bowl Honey Cake Recipe for Rosh Hashanah
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
I have been making a similar cake (slightly different proportions and probably a little less batter total) for 50 years and I think it is the amount of oil that keeps the cake moist. Originally, I got the recipe from my mother and wrote down 1 cup oil. About 20 years ago a friend told me she liked the cake except it was too oily. I told my mother the story and she said, “How much oil do you use?” When I told her she said, “One cup? It’s supposed to be 1/4 cup!” So the next year I put in 1/4 cup and thought it was too dry. Now I use 1/2 cup. I bake it in a 9″ x 13″ greased and floured pan with sliced almonds sprinkled on the top, and keep it in the pan, covered, on the counter as I eat my way through it. It lasts for well over a week and stays moist.
Hi Andrea,
That’s so funny about the oil! Topping it with sliced almonds is a great idea, too!
Happy new year!
Robin
I would rather use butter and I wish the alternative spice cake was here too. I used another recipe from Spruce Eats awful, made it two years in a row. So upset, dry and burned @ degrees 1 1/2 hrs like as per recipe no oil 1 stick buter Afraid to try ,again. Help
Hi Andrea, You can use butter instead of oil. Use the same amount (1 cup aka 2 sticks) and cream it together wtih the honey and sugar before adding the other ingredients. Let the butter come to room temperature ahead of time. As for the spices, you can add the spices from another recipe that uses them! I promise you this recipe will not turn out dry or burned if you follow my instructions!
BH Hi! I want to make this Honey Cake after finding this recipe by googling it online after reading a lovely inspirational story today (on chabad.org) about a Righteous Rebbe who gave out honeycakes. Honeycake is new for me (never had it)- and i want to make it…but i have one question: about the ingredient CoFFee- is it liquid or grounds?
Thankk you for your time! Shana. Tova!
Hi Marybel,
The coffee is liquid (brewed) coffee! You can also substitute tea or even water or orange juice.
Thanks!
Robin
Hi. Amazing delicious! About the coffee would prob make more sense to write how many tablespoons of instant coffee and then a cup of water.. as not sure how strong coffee cup should be.. but was delicious!!!
Hi Jason,
I’m so glad you liked the cake! About the coffee, really any brewed coffee is fine. I don’t keep instant coffee around, and I’m sure a lot of others don’t either. If you don’t have coffee, you can substitute tea or additional orange juice.
Hi can i change orange juice to milk?
Hi Veronica! I have never tried making it with milk instead of orange juice, but I think it would probably be fine. If you try it, post an update to tell us how it worked out!
I made this with a few tweaks to the recipe. It was so delicious! I used 3/4 cups melted coconut oil instead of 1 cup oil. I also only used 1 cup sugar and I replaced the brown sugar with 1/2 cup coconut sugar. Instead of coffee, I used 1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice (about 4 med/lrg oranges and 3 lemons). Since I only had raw honey on hand, it was extra thick and I had to take care to really scrape the bowl while mixing or the honey would settle in a glob. I also used two 9 inch round cake pans and made a layer of honey cream cheese frosting, then covered the whole thing with a lemon glaze. I’m definitely saving this recipe for future use (next time I’m going to try adding pineapple chunks!)
Wow, Julianne, that sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing and I’m glad you liked the recipe!
Honey cake is great. I’m success with your recipe.I want to ask you that How long can I store the cake and how do I store it? Thanks!
I’m so glad you like it! You can wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it on the counter for several days.
I am doing a bee theme birthday party, and of course I need a honey cake. However, it is for small children who do not like strong tea or coffee. Is the taste of the coffee or tea strong? Is there an alternative I can use?
Hi Monica! Your party theme sounds great! I don’t think you can taste the tea or coffee, and lots of kids have eaten this cake as is and liked it. But you can use weak coffee or tea or substitute another liquid–orange juice, water, milk–if you prefer. Have a great party!
Absolutely in love with this sticky sweet honey cake!
I used a lavender & chamomile tea which added a subtle flare to the flavor – I mixed in some lavender blossoms and orange zest and stepped into heaven! I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 for1 Flour and got beautiful results. I also ended up doing 3/4 cup coconut oil instead because I have no vegetable oil.
I took the advice of some of the comments and decided to bake with some aluminum foil the last half of the time to avoid burning the top. Definitely helped!
The cake was overall a big hit with the family but was a tad too sweet for me-I added a dash of nutmeg and a bit more salt to balance the flavors. Next time I’ll try to omit some of the sugar – anyone have any advice??
.
Thank you, Hannah! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. The lavender sounds like a brilliant addition! And thanks for sharing your gluten-free substitution as I often am asked if this can be made gluten free. As for the sugar, I think you could safely cut the white sugar by as much as 1/3 without issue.
I just made this and with 1/2 tsp orange extract instead of the orange juice the calorie content came out to 2132 according to my ipad. I’m going to let it “age” until tomorrow as suggested to improve the taste.
Hi Cynthia! I’m not sure what you are saying about the calorie count, but the number you are getting will depend on the app you are using to calculate it. The free calorie apps aren’t very accurate. Are you saying 2132 calories for the whole cake? Per serving, your cake should be pretty close to the calorie count of the original recipe since the original recipe uses 1/2 cup of orange juice and makes 24 servings of cake. The calorie count per serving of the original recipe is 265 per serving. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the cake!
Hi,
This sounds delicious. Which oil do you use and which brown sugar/dark or light
Thank you
Hi Lili! You can use any neutral-flavored oil. I like safflower or sunflower seed. For the sugar, either light brown or dark brown is fine. I usually use light brown because it is what I tend to have on hand, but dark brown would work fine, too. Thank you!
Is it possible to use a full-size bundt pan? If so, what baking temperature should be used and what is the approximate baking time?
Hi Brucene! You can use a full size bundt pan. The full recipe will need the largest size bundt pan. The information for cooking in different size pans is included in my post. One word of warning: I have made it in a large Bundt pan and it is not nearly as good as if you make it in, say, 3 loaf pans. When cooking it in such a large pan, the inside of the cake comes out a bit gummy and you get much less of the nice caramelized edges of the cake. So, I don’t really recommend it.