Spiced Honey Cake

With ginger, cinnamon, cloves and honey, this cake is an absolute winner. Moist, tea-cake style with crunchy almonds and just the most unbelievable flavours, that only get better as the cake is stored. A great one to make ahead of time! It’s quick to make and waiting for it to cool is the hardest part. If you’re a fan of spice cakes in general, you’ll love this. Let’s bake!

This honey cake, traditionally made for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, is one I’d made years ago. At the time, I’d baked it as a combination of recipes by Smitten Kitchen who uses orange juice and whiskey in addition to coffee, as well as one by Pretty Simple Sweet whose version makes one perfect 9×5 loaf, just the size I was looking for. This post needed a refresh though and with some fresh photos and small modifications to the ingredients and method, it’s now better than ever.

Since I definitely wanted to use the juice and whiskey, I upped the flour just a bit to absorb the extra liquid. This time I used ginger along with cloves and cinnamon, but it’s also delicious with nutmeg. Different recipes use different spices and you can change it up depending on your preference. I used a bit less sugar, swapping the white for brown just to give it that extra caramel flavour that goes so well with honey. The cake is so soft and moist because of the oil and unlike butter-based cakes which dry up once refrigerated and need to be eaten at room temperature, this one is wonderful even cold from the fridge.

With all these flavours, I was afraid they would clash but somehow they just work so well together. The spices are more present than the honey, the whiskey is subtle and there is a citrusy kick from the orange juice. It’s just unbelievable and you need to try it to know what I mean! Since the cake is so soft and moist, it’s also fragile so cooling it completely or chilling it a bit before slicing, is very important.

The flavours intensify by day two and I was blown away by how much more delicious the cake tasted. It’s perfect as is, but is also a lovely accompaniment to your afternoon tea or coffee. I hope you love this!

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Spiced Honey Cake

Soft and moist cake with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and honey

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Makes: 10 slices

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Ingredients

  

• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp soft brown sugar, light or dark (80 gms) (white is ok too)
• 2 eggs, at room temperature (I haven't tried an eggless version)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (100 gms)
• 1/2 cup honey (170 gms)
• 1/4 cup orange juice, (60 ml), preferably freshly squeezed
• 2 tbsps whiskey, (30 ml), optional
• 1/2 cup warm coffee (125 ml, see notes)
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 gms)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp ginger powder (see notes)
• 1/4 tsp clove powder
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds for topping (30 gms)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a 9x5 inch loaf tin with non-stick baking paper. You can skip the paper and grease the pan, but I find the paper much easier when it comes to taking the cake out, as it's quite fragile.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Whisk well until slightly frothy and well-combined, about 20 seconds. I used a balloon whisk and didn't find a hand mixer necessary but you can use one if you prefer.
• Now add in the oil, honey, orange juice and whiskey, and whisk again till combined. Finally, whisk in the coffee. The mixture will likely become frothier at this stage.
• Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Fold gently to combine and since there is a lot of liquid, lumps will form. Use a whisk to break them up and make a smooth, runny batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared tin, smoothen the top and liberally sprinkle the sliced almonds all over. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake has risen, cracked a little in the center, and a toothpick poked in comes out with only moist crumbs, no wet batter. The cake won't dome much and the top will fall slightly as it cools which is common in cakes that are heavy on the liquid, although it should not sink. If the top is browning too fast, cover the tin with foil and continue baking till the center is baked.
• Allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes in the tin, then use the paper to lift it out and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice into 10 pieces and for more convenient, grab-and-go slices, cut each one into two if you prefer. The cake is fragile so use a sharp knife and be gentle. It also helps to chill the cake for about 30 minutes before slicing.
• Although the cake is great freshly baked, the flavours of the spices, honey and whiskey are more pronounced on day two, especially after refrigeration. So I do recommend waiting to cut it and storing it in the fridge after day two, where it will keep for about a week. The oil ensures that the cake remains soft and moist even when cold. Serve with hot tea or coffee!

Notes

*This cake tastes more of spices than honey, with subtle whiskey flavours. Feel free to change up or reduce the spices as you wish, as written the ginger is stronger than the others. Nutmeg is also traditional in honey cakes, 1/4 tsp powdered nutmeg should be enough.

*This is not an overly sweet cake so you can increase the sugar to 1/2 cup if you prefer.

*For the coffee, use 1/2 cup hot water mixed with 1 tsp instant coffee powder (or 1 teabag if you don't want to use coffee), and set aside to cool slightly. You could also use brewed coffee, I wouldn't make it very strong. The coffee/tea does not dominate.

*Based on Smitten Kitchen and Pretty Simple Sweet