One Bowl! Simple Honey Cake Recipe

This simple Honey Cake Recipe is tender and moist perfection due to our main ingredient, honey! This one bowl cake is quick to make and quick to bake making it the ideal recipe to bake with kids. If you love a honey flavor this recipe is for you and I’m willing to bet you already have the ingredients on hand!

Honeycomb shaped honey cake on white marble cake plate next to wood honeycomb.

Those of you who have been reading along lately can probably tell that I’m loving honey flavors in my recipes right now! Honey adds such a special touch of flavor to most any dish, whether that be sweet or salty. I’m on a roll with this Homemade Honey Lemonade, Peach Crostini with Honey Whipped Goat Cheese, and all kinds of baking, including my favorite Healthy Granola Recipe and Lemon Honey Berry Tart!

I especially love how versatile this cake is. Not only is it perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day, but it makes the perfect hostess, housewarming, get well, or thank you gift! If you love loaf cakes, breads, or muffins, you are sure to love this easy recipe.

Honeycomb shaped honey cake on white marble cake plate.

Frequently Asked Questions For This Honey Cake Recipe

What does honey do to cake?

Honey is a humectant, meaning that it retains moisture. Baking with honey helps keep your cakes moist and tender! It also provides a fuller flavor than granulated sugar.

What kind of honey should I bake with?

Any kind you have on hand will do, but if you’re shopping and want the best honey for baking go with a bolder honey, like wildflower. For this recipe, I worked with Aunt Sue’s® Raw & Unfiltered Wildflower Honey. Since wildflower honey has a bolder taste than clover honey, it is the perfect choice when honey is listed as an ingredient in a recipe.

What is the difference between wildflower honey and clover honey?

As you can probably guess, wildflower honey is collected from bees whose nectar source is wildflowers. It is typically darker in color than clover honey and has a stronger, bolder flavor. What we think of as regular honey is the most common variety, clover honey. This honey is collected from bees whose nectar source is clover. Clover honey has a light, mild taste with zero bitterness.

How should I store honey cake?

Honey cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. This cake also freezes really well for up to 3 months. Be sure to wrap the fully cooled cake tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. To thaw the cake, unwrap it and stand it on a wire rack at room temperature for about 4-5 hours.

Honeycomb shaped honey cake on white marble cake plate next to honey bottle and wood honeycomb.

What You Need For This Honey Cake Recipe

This honey cake is made with simple pantry staples that I’m willing to bet you already have on hand!

Flour – All purpose flour is the foundation for this loaf cake.
Baking Powder – To get volume and the perfect texture!
Salt – Just a tad.
Butter – Unsalted is just right for this recipe.
Aunt Sue’s Raw & Unfiltered Wildflower Honey – The perfect ingredient to add a bold, sweet flavor to our loaf cake, but any honey you have on hand will do!
Sugar – Granulated sugar for additional sweetness.
Eggs – Our binding agent.
Vanilla Extract – The perfect way to enhance all of our cake’s flavors.
Milk – Milk helps to create a soft loaf with great moisture.
Lemon Juice & Zest – Fresh is always best!

How To Make This Honey Cake Recipe

To make this honey cake, simply:

Prep.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 1 large cake pan or 2 one pound loaf pans and set aside.
In a stand mixer.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and hand mixer) beat butter, sugar and honey on medium speed. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in vanilla extract. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the baking powder, salt, and half of the flour. Mix until just combined. Add in milk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix until just combined. Add remaining flour and mix until fully incorporated.
Bake.
Fill prepared pan(s) with batter. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake. Cool 20 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a cooling rack.
Serve.
Drizzle with honey or sprinkle with powdered sugar (or both!) before serving.

Tips To Making The Best Honey Cake

Don’t over-mix your batter.
Make it special – I love buying cake pans with designs like the honeycomb pan as pictured. It really makes it that much more special and great for gifting!
Don’t over-bake your cake.
Use baking spray that has flour.
Let your cake cool on a wire rack – This keeps the bottom of the cake from too much moisture.

Honeycomb shaped honey cake on white plate.

Variations

Make loaves – You can divide this honey cake recipe into 2 one pound loaf pans or cut the recipe in half for only one loaf pan. You may need to adjust your bake time, just be sure to check the center with a toothpick or butter knife coming out clean before removing from the oven.
Make muffins – This recipe would also make perfect muffins! Just be sure to fill each cup 2/3 of the way full and cut your bake time to 10-12 minutes.

More Honey Recipes You’ll Love!