This simple honey cake recipe makes a soft, buttery cake sweetened with honey and topped with sliced almonds. After baking, a warm honey-lemon syrup is poured slowly over the cake, giving every slice a moist, syrup-soaked crumb.
Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. If you enjoy simple cakes like this, try my Italian Almond Cake, Easy Lemon Cake, Flourless Almond Cake, or serve it alongside Fresh Fruit Salad.
What Is This Honey Cake?
This honey cake is a single-layer butter cake sweetened with honey, topped with sliced almonds, and soaked after baking with a honey, water, and lemon syrup.
It is different from layered Russian honey cake or Medovik. There are no stacked cake layers or cream filling in this recipe.
Table of contents
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (150 g)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened (225 g))
- ⅔ cup honey (225 g)
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons full-fat milk (slightly warmed (45 ml))
- 1 pinch orange zest (optional)
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds (35 g)
For the honey-lemon syrup:
- ⅔ cup honey (225 g)
- ¼ cup water (60 ml)
- ¾ teaspoon lemon juice
The cake and syrup each use 225 g honey, so measure them separately. This is an all-purpose-flour butter cake with sliced almonds on top, not an almond-flour cake.
Let’s Make Honey Cake
Prepare the Pan and Dry Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 320°F (160°C) for fan ovens.
Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper on the base and sides. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cream the Butter and Honey
Add the softened butter and honey to a large mixing bowl.
Beat with an electric hand mixer for about 3 minutes until lighter, creamy, and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
Add the Eggs and Flour
Add one egg and mix it in with a wooden spoon until mostly incorporated. The mixture may look curdled at first, but keep mixing until it comes together.
Add one-quarter of the flour mixture and stir just until the flour disappears. Repeat with the remaining eggs and flour, alternating between them.
Finish the Batter
Stir in the warm milk and orange zest until the batter is thick, soft, and mostly smooth.
Do not overmix once the flour has been added.
Add Almonds and Bake
Scrape the batter into the lined cake pan and smooth the top.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly over the surface. Bake for about 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Make the Honey Syrup
While the cake cools in the pan, add the honey and water to a small saucepan.
Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and simmer for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Poke and Soak the Cake
Leave the baked cake in the pan for 30 minutes.
Use a skewer to poke about 30 holes across the surface, working around the almonds. Pour the warm syrup over the cake in four additions, waiting for each pour to absorb before adding more. A cake soak adds moisture and flavor directly into the crumb, so giving each addition time to sink in helps the syrup absorb evenly instead of pooling on top. See King Arthur Baking’s guide to cake soaks for more helpful tips.
Let the cake sit for 15 minutes so the syrup can soak into the crumb.
Serve Warm
Serve the Honey Cake warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, toasted almonds, and extra honey. For a lighter dessert table, serve it alongside this Fresh Fruit Salad. Its honey citrus dressing and colorful fruit go beautifully with the warm almond-topped cake.
How to Get the Honey Syrup to Soak In Evenly
Keep the cake in the pan while soaking so the syrup stays around the crumb rather than running onto a plate. After the 30-minute cooling rest, poke about 30 holes and pour the warm syrup in four additions. Wait for each pour to absorb before adding the next, then give the soaked cake its final 15-minute rest.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Starting with melted butter. Use softened butter and beat it with the honey for about 3 minutes, until creamy and lighter.
- Adding cold eggs all at once. Use room-temperature eggs and alternate each one with a quarter of the flour mixture, as directed.
- Mixing too much after the flour. Stop when the batter is combined, then stir in the warmed milk and optional zest.
- Pouring the syrup in a rush. The holes and four gradual pours help it reach the inside of the cake rather than pooling on top.
What to Serve With Honey Cake
Serve warm with a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Fresh berries or sliced peaches add a little freshness beside the honey-soaked crumb. Coffee or mint tea works well with a plain slice.
FAQs
Yes, but use a honey with a flavor you enjoy because it is the main flavor in this cake.
This is normal. Keep mixing gently, then add the flour mixture as directed and the batter will come together.
No. The batter uses all-purpose flour and baking powder. Sliced almonds go on top before baking. Almond flour is not a direct replacement for the flour in this recipe.
Yes. Bake it one day ahead, refrigerate it, then warm slices before serving.
The cake needs enough holes and the syrup should be poured gradually. Give each layer of syrup time to sink in.
Warm is best. Serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for a soft, syrupy dessert.
Yes. Honey cake can be made one day ahead. Store it covered in the refrigerator, then warm slices before serving so the syrupy crumb becomes soft again.
It is better not to reduce the honey too much because it adds both sweetness and moisture. Reducing it can make the cake drier and less flavorful.
The cake may be dense if the butter and honey were not creamed long enough, the batter was overmixed after adding flour, or the eggs were too cold.
More Cake and Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
Simple Honey Cake with Almonds
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
- Beat the butter and honey for 3 minutes until creamy and lighter in texture.
- Add one egg and stir with a wooden spoon until mostly combined. Add one-quarter of the flour mixture. Repeat until all eggs and flour are used.
- Stir in the warm milk and orange zest until the batter is thick and smooth.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
- While the cake rests, simmer the honey and water for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and simmer for 2 more minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.
- Poke about 30 holes in the cake using a skewer.
- Pour the warm honey syrup over the cake in four additions, allowing each amount to soak in before adding more.
- Rest for 15 minutes, then serve warm with ice cream, cream, almonds, or extra honey.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- The photo must show 4 eggs because the recipe uses 4 eggs.
- Use honey with a flavor you enjoy because it is the main flavor.
- Butter should be soft but not oily or melted.
- The batter can look slightly curdled while adding eggs; this is normal.
- Do not pour all the syrup at once.
- Keep the cake in the pan while soaking it with syrup.
- Warm leftover slices before serving.
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Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
