Delicious Honey Cake Recipes

It's no secret that we have a slight obsession with anything bee related here at Sophie Allport. With the arrival of our newest Bees collection came an exciting opportunity, that we're buzzing to share with you all... Thanks to the wonderful people at Bees For Business, we've adopted our very own hive. We're now able to actively contribute to the environment and enjoy delicious honey, made right on our doorstep. Whilst awaiting the first batch of our honey we asked the incredibly talented chefs, foodies and star bakers at Seasoned Courses to send over some tried and tested honey cake recipes for you all to try. These delicious honey cake recipes are easy to follow and even easier to devour.

APPLE & HONEY CAKE WITH HONEYCOMB

For the cake:

• 200ml rapeseed oil
• 2 eggs
• 95g golden caster sugar
• 95g wholemeal flour
• 95g self-raising flour
• 100g ground almonds
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 100g runny honey
• 200g Brambly apples, grated

For the cream cheese icing:

• 35g butter, softened
• 110g full-fat soft cheese, chilled
• 300g icing sugar

For the honeycomb:

• 200g granulated sugar
• 170g honey
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

To make the cake and icing:

1. In a bowl mix together the oil and eggs. In a second larger bowl mix together all the dry ingredients: sugar, flours, ground almonds, cinnamon and baking powder.
2. Add the oil, eggs and honey to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
3. Stir in the grated apple and pour into a lined 2lb baking tin. Bake at 160°c (fan)/180°c/Gas Mark 4 for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.
4. While the cake is cooling make the icing. Mix together the butter and soft cheese until combined then beat in the sugar until you have a smooth icing. Once the cake has cooled spread the icing on top of the cake. Top with honeycomb.

To make the honeycomb:

1. Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready as it works fast. You will also need a baking sheet covered with some parchment and a silicone spatula.
2. In a large heavy based saucepan add the sugar, honey and salt and heat. Stir with the silicone spatula to make sure the sugar caramelises evenly. After about 3 minutes it will have turned a golden-brown colour and if you have a sugar thermometer it’ll read 146°c
3. Take the saucepan off the heat, add the bicarbonate of soda and keep stirring until all the bicarbonate of soda has dissolved. The mixture will increase rapidly in volume and foam. Quickly pour the honeycomb mixture into the lined tin. Allow to cool completely. Break into pieces and store the leftover honeycomb in an airtight container.

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE HONEY TART

For the tart base (Makes 4 small 10cm tarts):

• 160g biscuits of your choice (we like to use chocolate fruit & nut cookies)
• 100g butter

For the salted butterscotch layer: 

• 140g set honey
• 140g butter
• 150ml double cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate ganache:

• 150ml cream
• 200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Chocolate glaze (optional, but gives a nice finish): 

• 85g dark chocolate
• 30g butter
• 1 tbsp honey
• Top with honeycomb (optional)

Start with the tart bases. You will need to chill each layer for 30 minutes before adding the next. Put all the biscuits in a Ziploc bag, seal, then pound with a rolling pin until you have crumbs.

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter then stir in the biscuit crumbs. Divide this mixture between the four tart tins and press down with the back of a spoon to make the biscuit layer firm. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you make the butterscotch layer.
2. Add honey, butter and double cream to a small saucepan. Gradually bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until golden. Stir in the salt then pour the butterscotch over the chilled biscuit layer. Return the tarts to the fridge and chill for a further 30 minutes.
3. Place the dark chocolate pieces into a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water. Gently melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate has begun to melt stir in the cream and continue to stir until you have a smooth, glossy ganache. Pour this over the butterscotch tarts and again return the tarts to the fridge for another 30 minutes until the ganache to set.
4. To make the chocolate glaze, just like with the ganache, put the dark chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water. When the chocolate has melted stir in the butter and honey until you have a smooth glaze. Set aside for 5 minutes before pouring the glaze over the tarts. Top with a shard of honeycomb.

We hope that you enjoy these recipes as much as we do. If you do use these honey cake recipes let us know how they went. Or, if you have any other honey cake recipes you think we'll love, send them our way.