The cake batter is more like a dough but can be mixed by hand since this is a small quantity. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar and use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to beat them together until fluffy and pale, about 2 minutes.
Add the vanilla and half of the beaten egg (the remaining will go into the topping, cover and set aside till then) and whisk it all together. If it seems a little uneven, that's ok.
Add the flour, salt (if using) and yeast and stir it all in, then pour in the lukewarm milk. Stir gently to combine, then use your hands to bring it together into a soft, slightly sticky dough, kneading very briefly to smoothen it out.
Press the dough into a 9x5 inch loaf tin that's lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal. Use your fingertips to evenly spread the dough right into the corners. Cover the tin with clingfilm and set aside for about 2 hours until doubled, or significantly puffy (see third photo below). To speed this up, or if it's a cold day, turn your oven to 100 C for a couple of minutes, then switch it off and place the tin inside. Repeat this if needed (taking the tin out before heating).
Preheat the oven to 175 C while you make the topping (just before the dough is ready, don't make the topping too much in advance).
To make the topping, combine the honey, water and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on low speed for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Because the topping has more butter than the base, a mixer will get better results than doing it by hand.
Add the remaining half of the beaten egg from step 2 and beat briefly to combine. Then add the honey mixture and the flour alternately, using a silicone spatula or the hand mixer on low speed, to gently stir the mixture together. It's like a thick cake batter.
Now add dollops of this to the puffy dough and smoothen it out in an even layer.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the edges are golden-brown, the center of the topping is a little paler and still wobbles a bit like a cheesecake. When you poke a toothpick in, it will come out with a liquidy, gooey mixture. You could bake it longer for more colour, but watch carefully so that the topping doesn't completely firm up. It needs to be gooey for the cake to taste great!
Let the cake cool in the tin for 30 minutes and it will firm up further. Remove from the tin using the paper overhang and slice into 8 squares. Eat immediately for the best texture in the base (soft and tender) and the contrast with the sugary, gooey topping!
Store in an airtight tin for 2 to 3 days (although it tastes best on day one). The topping will lose its crackly-ness once covered, but you can reheat it very gently in the oven, or if you don't mind it being soft, just microwave each piece before eating. Happy baking!