Looking for a great honey cake recipe? You’ve come to the right spot! This honey cake with apples and walnuts is simple to make and loaded with flavor!
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Every year I make honey cakes.
Every year I always think it can be improved upon. BUT NOT THIS YEAR!
Maybe that’s a sign that this year, will be a good year.
The Jewish Honey Cake is more than a dessert; it’s a piece of history lovingly passed down through generations.
As Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, approaches, this cake takes center stage, symbolizing a sweet and prosperous year ahead.
The combination of honey, apples, and warm spices pays homage to the flavors that define this holiday.
Unlike the Russian honey cake with all of its layers, this simple loaf cake isn’t just for special occasions.
And if you want a version with chocolate, this chocolate honey cake is rich and divine.
And this one with toasted pecans and whiskey also knocks it out of the park!
Table of Contents
Why I Love this Honey Cake Recipe
The Jewish Honey Cake is more than the sum of its ingredients; it’s a connection to the past, a celebration of the present, and a hope for the future.
Take a moment to appreciate the stories it holds and the joy it brings to your table.
This is not just a cake; it’s a reminder that some recipes are made of memories, and every bite is a taste of tradition.
Substitutions and Ingredients for this Honey Cake Recipe
Though there are many versions of this simple honey cake recipe, I love that this one contains not a cup of coffee, but almost a cup of tea.
I love the flavor that the tea gives and I think it makes this cake just a bit more delicate.
And if you don’t want bourbon, feel free to use more tea, apple juice or orange juice.
I’m sure pumpkin spice would taste great if you don’t want to track down cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
Honey lovers can make many versions of the cake by switching up the flavor of the honey.
Wildflower honey or clover honey is quite common, but imagine using orange honey and incorporating some orange zest into the cake.
Or macadamia honey along with macadamia nuts instead of walnuts.
You get the idea, right?
Want to jazz up the top of the honey cake recipe?
I often see it sprinkled with sliced, almonds and that’s OK, too.
The final product is a very moist cake that makes a sweet treat for the new year.
With its golden brown color, this is the best honey cake recipe I know of.
Honey cake is moist and homey.
Perfect for Fall. Great toasted and slathered with butter; just be careful it doesn’t fall apart.
How To Make this Honey Cake Recipe
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, consisting of all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, ground cinnamon and cloves.
In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together.
Canola or sunflower oil combined with honey, sugar, and dark brown sugar, 3 large eggs at room temperature, vanilla extract, Earl Grey tea and bourbon not only provide flavor, but also provide everything needed to make a very moist honey cake.
With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
To the batter, add a grated Granny Smith apple—an homage to the harvest season and a nod to the tradition of dipping apples in honey for a sweet new year.
The toasted walnuts, with their earthy crunch, provide a great contrast to the tender crumb of the cake.
The cake batter needs to sit for an hour before baking so that the flour mixture hydrates well.
Grease two full size loaf pans with non-stick spray and do not fill more than halfway.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
Bake about 45 minutes until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fairly clean.
Cool on a wire rack.
The end result should be the perfect honey cake recipe.
And if you want the perfect fall cake, not just a cake for Rosh Hashana, this one, complete with Fall spices, should more than suffice.
Lots of honey flavor in this cake and if you want, feel free to drizzle a little more honey over the top.
This delicious honey cake recipe keeps well covered with plastic wrap and it also freezes well.
Personally I never liked honey cake as a child, but I think it is because my mother used a boxed mix.
Had she made this,I think she may have had better results!
(Below is the original post from Unfortunately, I just received news that this same person just had another stroke. She pulled throught this last one and I am hopeful, this will happen again.)
However, it could have started with better news. I just heard from a dear friend of mine (who is really family) that she had a stroke.
She doesn’t live in this country, so I am feeling totally helpless about what to do.
It is painful just sitting here, wishing I could be there to help.
She sounds good on the phone, but I know she will have a lot of recovery to do.
I could become philosophical, but I will spare you. Let’s all appreciate what we have and be grateful.
Life can change at the drop of a hat.
For better or for worse though, life does have a way of moving on.
Sometimes it may seem that it is standing still, but that’s when the joke is on us.
I’m grateful that I’ve reached this season and I hope you are too. And I said I’d spare you!
As a child, honey cake was never my favorite.
In fact, the only way I remember honey cake was from a Manischewitz boxed mix and baked in a foil pan.
I didn’t like it. My mom always made teiglach.
Now that was my favorite. I used to make it when the kids were young, but they didn’t like that.
So what is teiglach you may ask?
Teiglach are baked cookie dough pieces that after baking, are then cooked in a mixture of honey and ginger.
My mom always made hers like strudel. She’d roll the dough out thin and then sprinkle raisin and nuts on top.
Then it would be rolled up jelly roll style, sliced, pinched together and then baked.
After that it would be cooked in a honey and ginger syrup.
Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
I really must make these again, but the problem is that I know I will be the one eating them all.
But back to this honey cake recipe.
FAQ’s
What is a honey cake?
Honey cake is really a spice cake made with honey.
It isn’t a rich cake. I bake mine in a loaf pan, but it could also be baked in a rectangular pan.
It is not meant to be frosted.
Honey cake is made with vegetable oil instead of butter.
If one does keep kosher, it means you can eat this with either a dairy or a meat meal.
It is made to be served with coffee or tea and coffee or tea can be used interchangeably in the recipe.
You could add raisins or chocolate chips. This year I added apples.
What does honey do to cake?
Honey keeps a cake moist and adds flavor. If properly stored a honey cake can last a long time and the spices add flavor as the ckae “ages”.
So, apples and honey, that may sound funny, but they will make the new year, sweet and sunny. OK.
That was a kid’s song we used to sing, and I guess I still do. Every frickin’ year!
This really is the best honey cake recipe I’ve made.
It is full of flavor and improves with age.
It makes a great snack and makes 2-3 loaf cakes, so one can always be waiting in the freezer.
This is so much better than the honey cake of my youth.
But it sure doesn’t beat teiglach!
L’Shana Tova to all my friends and family. Happy New Year and may this year be for a blessing.
Other Apple Desserts
Jewish Apple Cake with Walnuts
Recipe Card
PrintHoney Cake with Apples and Toasted Walnuts
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Total Time: 70 Minutes
- Yield: 2 Loaves and 1 Small Laf 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Jewish
Description
This honey cake with Earl Grey tea and apples is just a delicious and moist honey cake.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
3 1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
4 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground allspice
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c canola or sunflower oil
1 1/2 c honey (your favorite flavor)
1 c sugar
1/2 c dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 t vanilla
3/4 c strongly brewed Earl Grey tea, cooled or cooled coffee
1/4 c bourbon, orange or apple juice
1 Granny Smith apple grated
1 c toasted walnuts, chopped (I place nuts in a pie tin and then bake them for about 10-15 minutes at 350, until you smell them. That means they are getting close to toasted, so watch carefully!)
Instructions
Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Whisk oil, honey, sugars, eggs, vanilla, tea and bourbon together. Slowly stir into dry ingredients. Mix well.
Stir in grated apple and nuts. Let batter sit about 1 hour before filling pans.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease your loaf pans well. Fill greased loaf pans about 1/2 way. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. A toothpick inserted into center of cake should come out fairly clean and cake should be pulling away from sides. Let cool on rack. Run knife around edges and turn out onto serving plate. Drizzle with more honey and serve with apple wedges. Have a sweet year!
Anna and Liz Recipes
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
This looks and sounds delish! Hope you had a great holiday Abbe!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
We have a road trip planned tomorrow and I might just have to make this cake to snack on. :)
Abbe Odenwalder
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
I love road trips, Pamela! Especially with good road food. Have fun!
Beth
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
Your honey cake sounds delicious - a perfect fall dessert!
Abbe Odenwalder
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
It is Beth and a fun new cake for a lot of people. It would be great with a bourbon glaze, also!
Claudia Brick
Tuesday 15th of September 2015
Ooh I have never made honey cake but it sounds amazing! So perfect for autumn with the apples and walnuts - I love how grated apple is added into the batter too <3
Abbe Odenwalder
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
The apple keeps it really moist. And the spices make it delish! Thanks Claudia for stopping by!
Cheri Savory Spoon
Monday 14th of September 2015
Beautiful cake Abbe, looks very moist. So sorry about your friend.....
Abbe Odenwalder
Wednesday 16th of September 2015
Thanks Cheri. I appreciate your thoughts.