A custom for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which typically occurs in September, is spiced, fragrant honey cake. Sadly, most honey cakes end up being dry, brick-like objects that can only be consumed with a hot beverage. Some people refer to honey cake as the Jewish people’s fruitcake, but not this one! This cake is delicious and wonderfully moist. It will accommodate roughly 12 people for a holiday feast, but I guarantee that before morning arrives, your family will eat it all before it’s gone.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 10-inch Bundt cake |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup honey
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee (decaf is fine)
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup whiskey
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in an upper position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 10-inch fluted tube pan (such as Bundt) with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until thoroughly combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk together canola oil, honey, white and brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee, orange juice, and whiskey. With an electric mixer, beat the flour mixture into the honey mixture just until thoroughly incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake on the upper shelf of the preheated oven until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, about 1 hour. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a serving platter.
- Some people drizzle the cake with white icing and slivered almonds.
- If baking in a 9×13-inch baking dish, bake for 40 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 555 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 87 g |
| Cholesterol | 47 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 309 mg |
| Sugars | 58 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I have to say, I made this for Rosh Hashana dinner despite my lifelong dislike of honey cake. True to its name, it was moist and full of flavor. I used bourbon for the whiskey, and while not overpowering, it really gave a distinct and warm flavor to the cake. People were skeptical since honey cake is always such a disappointment, but this one really was wonderful. Thank you Amybobamy!
Great every time I make it!
Absolutely amazing!! I was out of OJ & ground nutmeg, so subbed pineapple juice & allspice. I’ll definitely be making this again, but will be sure to have all the ingredients on hand.
My gma was from Austria , (came to N.Y. in 1905) and made Honey Cake all the time. This recipe is easy and great! It is very moist a little stickey how it should be!I’ve tried to find some recipes and this is by far the best!
I made this cake as written as was pleased with the results. Fantastic use of spices.
Made this as muffins, and had some left over for a shallow loaf. It is very moist and honey-sweet without an overpowering taste of honey. I may have gone a bit easy on the coffee since I don’t like it as a rule, but surprisingly none of the individual flavors come through noticeably. If you want it to taste of the whisky or spice you’ll need to up the amounts. Apart from scaling down the quantity, I’d make it again.
I uused the star of David pan that is pictured, but it is too small for the batter. It ran over! Other than the mess at the bottom of my oven, this cake is delicious!!
We loved this cake! I only wished I had noted the size of the bundt pan listed as mine cooked over and made a mess. Live and learn. I have requests to make it again, so will use the extra batter for cupcakes.
I made this for a Feast of Trumpets celebration and it turned out good. I had no trouble getting it out of the pan like some because I greased and floured the pan and waited until completely cool.
I substituted orange juice for the whiskey.
This cake is awesome! It is super moist and depicts a traditional honey cake! I highly recommend making it! The batter made three big cakes !
It was very easy to make although the list of ingredients looks daunting. Totally moist, fragrant, and delicious. Guests raved. Use a loaf or bundt/tube pan for best release.
This cake was moist, had a nice flavor and my favorite art about it was it looked sticky. It even felt a little sticky, but it never stuck to the pound and the inside of the cake had a nice crumb and wasn’t sticky at all. My husband loved it but I wish there was more spiced flavors. I will make it again and have passed the recipe on to others. L’Shana Tova!
I may use butter instead of vegetable oil or part oil part applesauce but it’s s make ahead cake definitely better next day and it is very moist lots of compliments .
I made this twice because the first time it would not release from my Nordic ware pan. Extremely rare because nothing sticks to Nordic ware. I made it again after throwing the first in the garbage. The second time it would not release again! I.m done with this recipe. Don’t waste your time and money like I did.
I cut back on the sugar. Used 1/2 a cup of each. Otherwise made as written. Came out perfect!
Loved it but so much liquid it overflowed…partly my fault, but maybe use bigger pan size?
I made this reciep for my Synagogue. since I was feeding so many and they asked for small portions, I used a silicone mold in the shape of small blossoms. I cooked them for 25 minutes at 350 and they came out beautiful. I also used honey whiskey instead of regular. it was a hit.
Very bland. Stuck to a pan.
Made this cake many times for holidays or just because and people love it and cant stop eating it. Perfect as a dairy free dessert.
the only change I made was double the spices. I found the original cake to be too “light” in flavor. Double the spices you won’t regret it!