Honey Lemon Cake

This incredibly moist and tender cake marries honey and lemon in perfect harmony. Neither flavor overpowers the other, but each is distinct in every bite. It's the ideal cake to enjoy alongside a cup of tea, hot or iced.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup Meyer Lemon Honey, or your favorite honey
- grated rind (zest) of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
Glaze
- 1/4 cup Meyer lemon honey, or your favorite honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a honeycomb pan or 9" round cake pan.
- To make the batter: Weigh the flours, or measure them by gently spooning them into a measuring cup and sweeping off the excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or two and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Beat in the honey, zest, and extracts.
- Stir in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk or yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan; if you're baking in the honeycomb pan, we recommend tapping the pan firmly on the counter to help eliminate any air bubbles at the bottom.
- Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, until it’s a deep golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack.
- To make the glaze: Combine the honey, butter, and lemon juice in a microwave-safe bowl or in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Heat until the butter is melted and stir until smooth.
- Brush the glaze onto the warm cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting.
- Store leftover cake, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.
Recommended For You
Reviews
I did not have the honeycomb pan and used a 9' cake pan - I had some overflow during baking. It ended up being about 850 grams in the pan, so if you are making rounds, 800 grams would probably work.
The descriptor on this recipe, 'perfect harmony', is spot on. I did make some small changes but only because I was short on a few things. No lemon zest so I added 1/8 tsp lemon oil to the batter. I used 4 oz buttermilk, 3 oz sour cream and 1 oz of non-fat yogurt to get me to 8 oz. I added 2 drops of lemon oil in the glaze as my local honey bees don't have lemon trees to gather nectar. No super cute bee pan so I baked this in my biscotti pan and cut with a hexagon biscuit cutter. This is a really good cake.
This recipe wasn't bad, but it just wasn't quite what I expected. I was looking for something where the honey flavor was very pronounced yet not too sweet. I kind of wanted the lemon flavor to be somewhat more in the background. When I made this, neither the lemon flavor or the honey flavor was all that strong. The cake is definitely moist, but I felt it was lacking in the flavor Department. I followed this recipe through the letter except that I did not have Meyer lemon honey and used the clover honey I had on hand. I also had lemon oil, so I used half a teaspoon of that. Still, all the flavors were rather understated.We're sorry to hear this Honey Lemon Cake missed the flavor mark for you, Jon. Using the Meyer Lemon Honey certainly helps deliver a flavor punch if that's what you're looking for, so it might be an ingredient worth investing in. Also we think our recipe simply called, "Honey Cake," might be more of what you're looking for. It calls for a full cup of honey, which really brings home the flavor of floral, delicious honey. Kye@KAF
I baked this honey lemon cake as described and it was delicious! What can I use as a substitute for the almond flour?Good question, Victoria. We checked with our recipe developers about this. They said that while the almond flour certainly adds moistness and helps create a pleasantly dense cake, you can probably use 2 cups of Cake Flour and omit the almond flour without sacrificing the integrity of the cake too much. Happy baking! Kye@KAF
agree with all the reviews that this is a total winner. no need for fancy fru fru pan, a bundt pan gives nice detail. but i admire that my green mountain friends are always looking for a way to get me to buy more stuff. quite honestly, i'd be more tempted if shipping fees weren't so high. i can't tell you how many times i've ordered and then cancelled when i saw the shipping fees.
Wonderful recipe, flavorful, well received. Used regular honey. The pan gives it an over the top presentation.
I followed the directions exactly but made the cake in a round silicone pan, as I unfortunately don't own the super cute bee cake pan. The recipe is flawless and the cake delicious! The buttermilk and lemon make it zingy and flavorful, and the almond flour and honey make it dense and sweet. A slice is perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning or for an afternoon snack.
This cake worked beautifully with Measure for Measure gluten free flour. I used the beehive pan, so it looked awesome as well. I used buttermilk rather than yogurt, as the very helpful staff at KA told me I might need a little more liquid with the M for M. I kept everything else according to the recipe. The crowd I served it to loved it, and my friend said it's definitely a keeper!
My husband loves this cake so much that he volunteers it every chance he gets just so he can have another piece. (I'm down 25 lbs with 15 more to my goal, so I'm not keeping cake at the house right now.) I did get to sample one piece at a birthday party (hubby offered my baking services) and must say that this cake is delicious. It's light and the flavor sublime. The lemon gives it such pizzazz. I love the beehive cake pan. It offers up 19 individual cakelets. How convenient and pretty.