This Honey Cake Recipe is perfect for a spring dessert. If you want a light and sunshine-y dessert to celebrate some warmer weather, this honey cake is the way to do it! The sheet cake can then be topped with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting for a delightful finish!
You guys are in for a treat today!! I’ve been thinking about making this Honey Cake Recipe for quite some time, but I’ve been putting it off. Finding the time to bake a brand new recipe from scratch is difficult.
Plus, it’s a little intimidating! I’m not a big fan of making up baked good recipes.
The first time I made the Honey Cake Recipe, it didn’t turn out great. It wasn’t very sweet and the texture was similar to that of cornbread.
It took me a week to get up my courage again, but finally, I got into the kitchen, tweaked the recipe, and tried again. During this second try, I used Baking Sense’s Vanilla Butter Cake recipe as a base, but added my own wonderful Honey twist to it! The cake turned out beautifully, and I’m so excited to share it with you all today!
Where did Honey Cake Originate?
This recipe for honey cake is not a cultural recipe, however, as someone that is cooking one meal from every country in the world, I was interested in the actual history of Honey Cake!
Russia has a version of Honey Cake, Medovik, that originated in the early 19th century. The Empress Elizabeth, wife of Emperor Alexander 1, absolutely hated honey and couldn’t stand anything made with it.
However, one day a new chef was in the palace and didn’t yet know of her distaste for the ingredient. He made a version of honey cake, and fed it to the empress without telling her what was inside. She LOVED the recipe!
This version of honey cake is not the same as Medovik. Medovik is a layer cake with cream in between the layers. However, the bases of the recipes are the same. Honey and sour cream/yogurt form the base of these beautiful cakes.
What Ingredients are in this Recipe?
Egg yolks
Greek yogurt
Honey
Vanilla
All-purpose flour
Cornstarch
Granulated Sugar
Baking Powder
Salt
Baking Soda
Unsalted Butter
Egg Whites
How do You Make this Honey Cake Recipe from Scratch?
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 glass pan with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, combine ⅓ cup of honey with the egg yolks, the yogurt and the vanilla. Whisk it together until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together ¾ cup sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer until butter is incorporated and the batter looks crumbly. Add the other ⅓ cup honey to the mixture. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes until the batter lightens.
Add the egg yolk mixture ½ at a time, scraping the sides between each half.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high until they form soft peaks. Add in the 2 tbsp of sugar and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Mix the egg whites gently into the batter, folding until you can’t see the whites anymore.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Top with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting. Enjoy!
How Should I Top my Honey Cake?
You can top your honey cake with anything you’d like! You can eat it plain, top it with powdered sugar, or make a honey syrup to pour over the top!
My best suggestion, though, would be to make a Honey Cream Cheese Frosting to go on top. I developed this frosting recipe specifically to go with this Honey Cake Recipe and it will not disappoint! The frosting is delicious…. It’s sweet and tangy and wonderfully thick and creamy.
I would recommend covering your cake in Honey Cream Cheese Frosting and then drizzling a little bit more honey on top of the frosting. Divine!!
How Long Can You Keep this Cake?
Your honey cake will start to harden after about 3-4 days. It’s best when eaten within a few days of making if you want it to taste fresh. However, you can keep it for up to a week.
Additionally, if you make the cake with the Honey Cream Cheese Frosting, be sure to eat it within a week. Also make sure to store the cake in the fridge if you have topped it with the frosting, as the dairy in the recipe can go bad if left on the counter for too long!
If you liked this recipe, make sure to post a photo on Facebook or Instagram so that I can see! And please leave a review on this page to let me know what you think 🙂
Honey Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks at room temperature
- ½ cup greek yogurt at room temperature
- ⅔ cup honey, separated in half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 large egg whites at room temperature
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 glass pan with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, combine ⅓ cup of honey with the egg yolks, the yogurt and the vanilla. Whisk it together until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together ¾ cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer until butter is incorporated and the batter looks crumbly. Add the other ⅓ cup honey to the mixture. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes until the batter lightens.
- Add the egg yolk mixture ½ at a time, scraping the sides between each half.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high until they form soft peaks. Add in the 2 tbsp of sugar and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Mix the egg whites gently into the batter, folding until you can’t see the whites anymore.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Top with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting. Enjoy!
Kelli says
This cake sounds delicious! I am interested in making it for my daughters birthday. Would this cake recipe work in a Bundt cake pan? If so do you know how long it would need to bake? Any tips are appreciated. Thanks
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Kelli, I’m so glad you think the cake sounds yummy! 🙂 I have not tried making the cake in a bundt pan before. It should work, but you may need to bake the cake for longer.
Kate says
Made this cake this week and followed the recipe exactly- it was absolutely sublime! I’ve never made a cake using this method, and was unsure about how it would go. The cake is the softest (yet structurally sound), lightest, fluffiest, most beautifully tasting cake I’ve made for a long time. Cooked like a dream in the quarter sheet pan. The hint of honey is perfection. I made it into a 6 inch 3 layer cake with cream cheese and honeycomb icing and it’s so good! Thank you so much for such a beautiful recipe 🙂
The Foreign Fork says
What a kind comment, Kate! I am so glad that you loved the recipe. It’s definitely a unique take on cake but so yummy, and I’m so happy you agree. Thank you!