Trust me. This.is.the.best.honey.cake.you.will.ever.eat.
I could just let the picture do all the talking, or, I can tell you why.
Did you ever taste the classic Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe? You know the one that is super moist and decadent? Almost fudgy? You know how no matter how many chocolate cakes you make, they can never measure up to that recipe? Well let me tell you a little secret. If you look at the recipe, you’ll see that it calls for a cup of boiling water to be stirred in at the very end. That water makes the cake almost pudding-like. It becomes super moist and incredibly delicious.
Why am I talking about Hershey’s chocolate cake in my honey cake post? Well…When my sister sent me this recipe last year, I thought I already had the best honey cake recipe. But when I saw the addition of boiling water at the end, it had me intrigued. It turns out that this is now my best honey cake recipe. And it will be yours too.
A few years ago, I made Martha Stewart’s honey cake with caramelized pears. The pears made for a beautiful presentation. But let me be honest. This honey cake is way better! I decided to take a cue from the queen of domesticity and top it off with caramelized apples, in lieu of pears, for that “apple dipped in honey” finish. Drizzle some more honey over the top and you’ll be in honey heaven! Talk about a sweet new year!
Honey Cake with Caramelized Apples
adapted from a recipe by Mrs. Dina Lili Sziewicz of Melbourne, Australia
4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c canola oil
2 c honey
2 c self rising flour (see tip)
2 c all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 c boiling water
Caramelized Apples (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs and sugar until creamy. Add oil and honey and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix flours, cocoa, cinnamon and baking soda. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour boiling water into the batter and mix by hand. The batter will be thin. Grease and flour your pans of choice (see note) and bake for 30 minutes for small pans or 50 minutes for large pans, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
BAKING OPTIONS: This batter can be made the following ways:
In a bundt pan (you will have some leftover batter to make an extra loaf or a few muffins).
In three 9″ round pans (makes for nice presentation when topped with caramelized apples).
In four 9″x 5″ (2lb.) loaf pans or eight mini loaf pans.
In 10 pint-sized wide-mouth mason jars (fill half way with batter).
In muffins or cupcake tins.
TIPS: If you don’t have self rising flour, add 2 tsp salt + 3 tsp baking powder to a measuring cup, and add flour until you measure 2 cups.
For bundt cakes, place caramelized apples on the bottom of the pan for a sunken apple and honey cake.
Place cake pans on a baking sheet in case of spillage.
PLAN AHEAD: This recipe freezes really well without the apples. Wrap well with 2 layers of saran wrap.
I am generally not a fan of honey cake, but this one looks amazing! Bookmarking the recipe! :)
Looks delish. Good tips too!
I just made honey cake–but this sounds really good! Maybe I’ll make more honey cake so I can try this out. I also add hot liquid to my honey cake at the end, but I use coffee!
Wonderful looking recipe. I love how you added apples and honey to the top. Great idea.
Looks amazing!!! but what is self rising flour, something we use for challah like high gluten?
Self-rising flour is flour that has baking powder and salt added to it. It’s used for breads, biscuits, pancakes…If you don’t have it, just follow the tip below the recipe to create your own.
Thanks for the tip on how to make self rising flour. ( I never buy that kind)
I already made one batch, froze 2 and kept one to taste…:) My kids loved it! Of course so did I. I can see Im gonna need to make another batch. As always, thanks for sharing!
I just made this honey cake and it was delicious! Thanks for the great recipes
I have a question. What kind of oil did you use? Canola, vegetable, or olive oil….you didn’t specify. I want to make this tomorrow so if you can answer by then, that would be very much appreciated!!
Also, do you have a good recipe for Challah?
I used canola oil. I’ll revise the post, thanks for letting me know! I have a great Rosh Hashana challa recipe that uses honey, I’ll email it to you!
Ditto.This.is.THE.best.honey.cake.I.have.ever.eaten.
Thank you!
I love the idea of honey cake and caramelized apples! “One huge pan” would 9×13 qualify? what size round pans do you use?
Shana tova and thanks!
It yields 3 9″ cake pans so you’ll need a pan larger than 9×13.
If using the tip forbthe self rising flour do we still use regular flour also?
As per the recipe, you need 2 cups of each. You can use regular flour for both just follow the tip to turn 2 of the cups into self-rising.
Ok. So I made this for RH and doubled it and it made 3 9×13 pans. It was positively delicious. Beyond.
Can this be frozen? Does it freeze/defrost well?
The cake (sans the apples) freezes very well!
Can I use 9″ springform pans?
Sure!
This cake is just amazing, the only honey cake I can swallow. I make it every year and everyone is amazed how moist and alive it tastes. Thanks BIB for another winner!
an i use two large budnt pans for this recipe
dont u think it needs less cinnamon
Not in my opinion. It doesn’t have the faintest cinnamon flavor.
Just to give credit where credit is due – this recipe was given to me by Mrs Dina Sziewicz of Melbourne, Australia. She was my son’s much-loved kindergarten teacher. Never underestimate the goodies your child brings home from kindergarten!
This cake is fabulous! Even those who don’t really care for honey cake loved this one. It’s moist but holds its shape nicely when cut.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing!
I would like to try this cake with the apple topping. I assume the cake gets soggy if the apples are on for a while? When you serve it, you just top it right before? Thanks
Exactly!
Omg can’t wait to try!!! Is it possible to put the cakes into loaf pans? Like 9×5 loaf pans? How many loaves in that size do you think I can bake them in?
You can definitely bake it in loaf pans, I did that one year (I wish I wrote down how many loaves I got out of it). I’d say you can probably get about 6 or so? Let me know!
I cut the recipe in half and used hot coffee insstead of hot water. It made one perfectly sized bundt cake. This is the best honey cake I‘ve ever had! Surprisingly not too sweet and with great notes of honey.
Can i make this in cupcake form? If so, how long should i keep it in oven?
Sure. You can bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. It will probably be about 15-20 minutes.
Can I lower the sugar content? If I do will it make a big difference?
Yes, the sugar affects the texture, as well as the taste. I know it seems like a lot of sugar but this makes a lot of cake! Trust me, this recipe is a winner, and it’s not cloyingly sweet either.
Can I freeze this cake?
Yes, this cake freezes really well without the apples. Just wrap well with saran wrap to avoid freezer burn.
Wanted to thank u for this recipe! It was amazing on Rh! My husband and 3 year old ate almost all of it in 2 days. I am definitely keeping it for the index cards. Only thing I may tweak is sugar as it was very sweet. But the density and texture was on point.
I’m so happy to hear that Bracha! Keep in mind that if you tweak the sugar, it can also affect the texture of the cake. But let me know how it goes!
can i use 2 loaf pans instead of the rounds? thanks
Sure! I think the batter might make more than two.
Hi, can bread flour be used instead of self rising flour? Thanks.
No, sorry.
Over the years I have tried so many honey cake recipes. This by far is the best and easiest recipe I have made so far. This will be the only recipe I am going to use from now on. Thank you
I’m so happy to hear that Binie!
I made this recipe to the T…. and I filled a big bundt cake pan. However I’m not an experienced baker. I didn’t know the recipe is enough for like 3 cakes (my friend just snapshot the recipe and sent it to me) and obviously filling the cake pan, it overflowed and was kind of a mess. Plus I kept it baking for like 2 hours. Nonetheless my husband LOVES crunchy, crispy crusts and loved the overflowed stuff that baked/overflowed onto the cookie sheet around the pan as much as the huge cake that came out! It lasted him about 2 1/2 weeks!! ❤️
Thank G-d you baked it on a baking sheet!
Oh Gosh! I also realized that I used ALL baking SODA instead of powder and soda (I had to make my own ‘self-rising flour’). That explains the Honey Cake volcanic eruption that commenced in my oven! haha!
OMG!! I can’t imagine what that must have been like to clean!
Same thing happened to me. Overflowed in the oven. Wish I knew that. Made a huge mess
If I could give some constructive criticism , it would be that this cake needs some acid to ballance out the sweetness . It looks like I’m the only one saying that , but I’ve tried this and it’s just to sweet . I’ve tried a different recipe before with coffee in it and it had that ballance . Either coffee , orange juice.
Hi Ita! I appreciate your input! While I’m usually one to agree with that, I think when it comes to honey cake, the sweeter the better. In any case, this isn’t a recipe that I developed, I just shared it from someone who passed it on to me and it has become the go-to recipe for hundreds of people so I can’t argue with that!
hello! is self rising flour the same as cake flour?
1 recipe gives you 3 cakes, or 2 recipes gives you 3 cakes?
can i place the apples in the bottom of the batter and then bake it? do u recommend?
thank u so much for the attention
Hi! Cake flour is not the same as self rising flour.
The recipe makes 3 cakes if made in a round cake pan.
You can place the apples on the bottom of the batter, I have done that!
Hi!
Is it better to bake it a day in advance for the flavors to develop or it tastes good the same day?
I find that honey cake gets better as it sits.
When you make this in a bundt pan do you put the caramelized apples on top after you pour the batter into the pan and then bake? How long would you bake for?
I have done both – I have put the apples inside the bottom of the bundt and serve as “sunken apple and honey cake”, or I’ve also just used it as a topping for the cake after baking. A Bundt takes about 50 minutes to bake.
Just curious what does the cocoa add in terms of taste?
The cake doesn’t take chocolatey but it does add a richness to the cake.
Hello! I’m excited to try this recipe for Rosh Hashanah. How many 9×13 loaves does this make? Do you think it would be ok to mail to a relative? Any advice or tips on mailing this would be appreciated! Thank you!
Hi I’m in Australia and we have white sugar and caster sugar (which is finer and used for baking). Would you know which sugar is in this recipe? I can use caster sugar and just use a smaller quantity. Thank you and can’t wait to taste it!
I skipped baking soda. what can I expect?
What if we want to just make one cake? How would we adjust the measurements?
Have you tried this cake with buckwheat honey?
I understand that different honeys have different acidities, which may affect rising.
I’m reluctant to experiment as there’s a shortage of buckwheat honey in my area and the price is outrageous. Many thanks.
L’Shanah Tova.
You did not say how safe the mason jar is? Any mason jar can withstand the oven heat???
If you use a reputable company, wash in warm water first so it doesn’t shock the glass when you put it in a hot oven. I do it all the time and it’s never cracked on me.
Hi. I baked the cake today and while it’s delicious for some reason it sunk in the middle. Any idea what I could’ve done wrong and how I can fix it as I like this recipe better than what I’ve done in the past. Thank you!
What kind of pan did you use?
I used loaf pans. Would it be better to use 9” rounds?
Both work equally well.
Can you explain how to make these jb mason jars? You can’t bake in the jar right?
Yes you can!
Hi Chanie, can I use light olive oil instead of canola? Thanks!
I would use grapeseed if you want to use something healthier.
Hi! Looks awesome! Tx for sharing! We don’t eat eggs so I’m going to attempt to bake this using my trusted baking subs, probably ACV .. if you’ve had success without eggs in this recipe please lmk!
thanks!
Let me know if it works!
Just made. It was actually fun. Very close to my two other favorites.
Discovered that my daughter in Australia knows the original baker quoted in the intro to recipe. Adds a touch of closeness to try the recipe. Cooling now so not tasting. G’luck!
So cute!
I just made this today and it’s delicious! I halved the recipe and mixed it all with a fork in one bowl and it came out perfect. I also made muffins with some of the batter and it was perfect! (Baked the muffins for 20 min)
I keep coming back to this recipe every single year- I can never make enough. It’s the day after Rosh Hashana and I’m already making another batch by popular demand. It really lives up to its name of “world’s best honey cake”.
I’ve been making this over the last few years. It’s my go-to honey cake for Rosh Hashanah and my husband bday that always falls right around the holidays. He loves it! I tried halving the recipe but it never works out for me (no complaints! We end up with 2 big cakes!)
Thanks Chanie for the recipe, I’ve been a fan for over 10 years and also bought your first book. Shana Tova!
Aww thank you for sharing, I’m so glad!