This Honey Cake recipe has a moist, tender crumb and big honey flavor, made in one bowl with oil instead of butter. It’s perfect for Rosh Hashanah.
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Honey cake is a Rosh Hashanah staple because eating sweet foods is one of the ways we mark the start of the Jewish New Year, as a wish for a sweet year ahead. But my childhood memories of Rosh Hashanah are of dry, gummy honey cakes where the honey flavor was usually overpowered by too many spices. As a kid, I preferred a plate of apple slices and a bowl of honey for dunking. Crisp, juicy apples and sweet, syrupy honey together made one perfect bite. That’s the feeling I wanted this honey cake to capture: sweet, honey-forward, unfussy, and, most important, a moist, tender crumb that’s irresistible.
So what makes this Jewish honey cake different from the ones I grew up with? The key is in the ingredients, but also in the technique.
My #1 Secret: Use Oil Instead of Butter
Using a neutral oil, like avocado oil or canola oil, instead of butter does two separate things for your cake, and they both matter.
First, moisture. Oil is 100% fat, while butter is only about 80% fat and the rest is water. That water evaporates in the oven, and it takes some of your cake’s moisture with it. Oil has no water to lose, so it has nothing to give up. Less water lost means more moisture kept in the cake.
Second, tenderness. Butter is made mostly of saturated fat molecules, which are straight and stack together neatly, like bricks. That’s exactly why butter turns solid in the fridge. Oil is made of unsaturated fat molecules that are bent and can’t stack that way, so they stay slippery and fluid even when cold. That fluidity lets the oil coat the flour more thoroughly, which blocks gluten from forming long, chewy strands.
Less gluten means a softer, more tender crumb, and it stays that way even after the cake cools completely, since oil never firms back up the way butter does. So you get a cake that’s both more moist and more tender, for two completely different reasons.
My #2 Secret: Don’t Overmix the Batter
Over-mixing your batter can make a cake gummy and dense because it creates too much gluten and forces out the air bubbles needed to help the cake rise. When flour meets liquid, two proteins in the flour bond together to form gluten. Gluten is an elastic, stretchy network that acts like rubber bands, perfect for chewy bread, but ruinous for a delicate cake.
Since there’s no butter to cream, the batter for this cake can be mixed together in one bowl using a wooden spoon. Even when hand mixing, once you’ve combined the flour and liquids, mix only until the mixture is smooth and then stop. If you do use a hand-held electric mixer or stand mixer, stick to low or medium speed. Not overmixing ensures that your cake maintains a light, delicate, and tender crumb.
Ingredient Notes
Other honey cake recipes use a heavy mix of spices, but this one lets the honey flavor take the lead. Here’s what matters in the ingredient list.
Using a neutral oil keeps the cake moist without competing with the honey flavor. I usually use avocado oil, but canola or another mild option works just as well.
The honey you choose makes a difference, too. Lighter honeys tend to get lost in the bake, while darker wildflower or clover honeys have more robust flavor that stands up better to baking. Pick one with depth, since it’s the star of the cake.
This recipe uses both white sugar and brown sugar along with the honey. The brown sugar adds caramel notes that deepen the flavor and keep the sweetness balanced.
Brewed coffee or strong tea add a touch of bitterness that offsets the sweetness and adds complexity. I prefer coffee, but strong black tea works if that’s what you have. And a splash of orange juice adds a bright citrus note. If you want to pump up the citrus flavor even more, add a teaspoon or two of freshly grated orange zest.
Because I don’t love a spice cake, I skip the ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg that are common in honey cake recipes. Feel free to add one or more of these if you love them.
How to Make It
This cake comes together in one bowl with a wooden spoon, no electric mixer required.
First, grease the baking pan or pans and preheat the oven. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture, including the oil, eggs, honey, both kinds of sugar, coffee or tea, and orange juice. Stir gently until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Transfer the batter to your prepared pans. Drizzle a bit of honey over the top for extra sweetness and a shiny glaze. Bake until the cake feels springy to the touch and a tester comes out clean, then let it cool in the pan before transferring it to a wire rack.
Tips for Making the Best Jewish Honey Cake
- Start with your ingredients, especially the eggs, at room temperature to ensure the cake bakes up light and evenly textured. Room temperature eggs blend more smoothly with the oil, creating a properly emulsified batter instead of a broken one that may turn out dense and greasy.
- This recipe makes a generous amount of cake. If that feels like too much, the recipe card includes scaled-down versions for smaller batches.
- Whatever size pans you use, only fill them about halfway so the cake has room to rise. Smaller pans will bake faster, so keep an eye on them and check early.
- Line pans with greased parchment paper so the cake releases cleanly.
- If you’re baking in several small pans, set them on a sheet pan for easy oven transfer.
- The flavor improves after it rests. The cake is even better the next day, so it’s worth making it ahead.
How to Serve HOney Cake
Honey cake is so versatile that I serve it on most Jewish holidays. It even makes a great holiday breakfast or brunch. And it’s a perfect end to a meal of Brisket or roast chicken, latkes, and Beet Salad with Harissa Dressing.
A dollop of whipped cream, or vegan whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream takes it over the top. Try rich vanilla ice cream or, even better, Pumpkin Cinnamon Ice Cream. For something lighter, sliced fresh figs or pears are lovely on top.
Looking for more Jewish holiday desserts? Try Honey Cookies with orange and cinnamon, also perfect for Rosh Hashanah, Rugelach, or Hamentashen. Chocolate Orange Babka is another Jewish dessert that easily shape shifts into a brunch favorite. Love that honey flavor? Try No Bake Honey Cheesecake.
Extra Moist Honey Cake (Rosh Hashanah)
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 3½ cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) honey, divided
- 1½ cups (300 grams) sugar
- ½ cup (110 grams) brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) brewed coffee or strong tea
- ½ cup (120 ml) orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease the baking pan(s) with nonstick cooking spray, baking spray, or butter. (Use either three 9-by-5-inch loaf pans, one 9-by-13-inch baking pan, or any equivalent-sized pans.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the oil, 3/4 cup of the honey, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, and orange juice. Mix thoroughly, until all ingredients are combined and no lumps remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s), filling each about halfway.
- Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup of honey over the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cake is set all the way through and feels springy to the touch (30 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of your baking dishes). A tester inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Let cool 15 minutes before removing from the baking dish. Slide a knife around the edges to help loosen the cake, if necessary.
Notes
Nutrition
I am planning on making these for Rosh Hashanah and just purchased individual cake pans. A little on the deep side. Can I use them?
Yes, but I’d just caution you to check early and often for doneness. they may take a bit longer to cook if they are very deep, but you obviously don’t want to overcook them!
I’m planning to use a standard Bundt cake. Would the original recipe be the right amount?
There are instructions in the recipe for figuring out different pans. A standard bundt pan is probably about ⅔ of hte original recipe.
Hi, I made this cake last night, the flavor was good except it has a very strong oil taste. I followed the recipe and used canola oil as vegetable oil.
Do you have any ideas what could have gone wrong? I want to make another batch.
Hi Lana, thanks for sharing that. That is frustrating that the oil flavor came across. Oils like canola, vegetable, avocado, etc (all the “neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oils) should be virtually flavorless even on their own, so you shouldn’t taste them at all in a cake. My guess is that your oil is a bit older and starting to go off. If oil is old or exposed to too much light or heat, etc, it can develop an unwanted flavor. I’d try with a brand new bottle of oil and see if that fixes the problem (you can also smell/taste the oil you have–if there is any flavor at all, I’d recommend tossing it. If you are tasting it in a small amount, the flavor will be magnified when you use a larger amount in a recipe.)
Hi! I plan on making this recipe for Sukkot! I’m wondering if the coffee in this recipe should be hot or cold?
Room temperature is best!