World’s Best Honey Cake

World’s Best Honey Cake

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!

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90 thoughts on “World’s Best Honey Cake

  1. 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!

    1. 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.

  2. 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!

  3. 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?

    1. 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!

  4. 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!

    1. 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.

  5. 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!

  6. 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!

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  9. 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?

    1. 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!

    2. 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.

    1. 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.

  10. 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.

    1. 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!

  11. 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

  12. 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!! ❤️

      1. 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!

  13. 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.

    1. 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!

  14. 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

    1. 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!

  15. 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?

    1. 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.

  16. 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!

  17. 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!

  18. 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.

    1. 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.

  19. 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!

  20. 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!

  21. 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!

  22. 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)

  23. 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”.

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