Christmas Honey Cake
Honningkage, or honey cake, is a cake that originated in the south of Denmark in the 18th century. It is largely associated with Christmas, containing all the spices and flavors of the holiday season. It tastes sort of like a light, fluffy gingerbread! The sponge itself has a unique texture, both airy and a bit chewy, with a light honey flavor. We decorated it with candied lemon slices, candied ginger, and chopped pecans, but you can use whatever you would like! The cake would also be absolutely delicious with a layer of apricot or orange jam underneath the buttercream.
Tips & Tricks
This recipe is straightforward and quite simple! Make sure you heat up your honey at a low heat, and let it cool before you add it to your egg mixture. Don’t worry if the cake doesn’t look like a regular sponge – it is supposed to have large air holes and be a little bit denser than a regular sponge. We hope you try it! And please let us know if you do make the cake and have any further questions/concerns! Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below and tag us on Instagram if you post a photo!
Honningkage (Honey Cake)
Ingredients
SPONGE (MAKES 2 SMALL OR 1 LARGE SPONGE)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
- 200 grams (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) honey
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
- 50 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
- Citrus zest
- Pinch of salt
BUTTERCREAM ICING
- 113 grams (8 tbsp) butter, softened
- 100 grams (about 3/4 cup) powdered sugar
- Splash of vanilla extract
TOPPING/DECORATION
- Dark chocolate
- Candied lemon slices (optional)
- Candied ginger (optional)
- Chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter two shallower round cake tins (or one larger one instead) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Heat the honey in a saucepan over a low heat. You don't want it to boil or burn, but you want to heat it up so that it becomes less thick and is easier to mix into the batter. Set aside and let cool so that it is no longer hot.
- Now, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy and tripled in volume, either in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or by hand with a whisk. Whisk in the honey, buttermilk, and oil.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, citrus zest, and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk the ingredients together.
- Sift in the dry ingredients and fold the mixture into the wet ingredients, so as not to deflate the eggs. You can also mix it in on low speed using a stand mixer! Once no dry spots remain, divide the batter evenly between the cake tins.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean. If you make one larger cake, you may have to bake it for longer! Let your cakes cool before decorating.
- If you made two separate cakes, trim the domed tops so that they are stackable (this is optional – you can leave them the way they are if you want!). If you made one larger cake, use a sharp knife to carefully trim off the domed top, then split the cake into two sponges through the middle.
- To make the buttercream, beat together the softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Ice your cake however you wish – we use all the buttercream for the middle of the cake. You can double the buttercream recipe if you want to ice the outside of the cake as well!
- Melt the chocolate and pipe or spoon onto the top of the cake. Decorate with candied lemon slices, candied ginger, chopped pecans, or whatever you want. Enjoy!
