Honey cake is one of the oldest ideas in baking — honey was sweetening cakes long before sugar was affordable — and this old-fashioned honey and walnut version tastes like that history: warm with cinnamon and nutmeg, moist from the honey, and full of toasted walnut crunch.
This is the kind of cake that makes a kitchen smell like an old-fashioned bakery. Nothing fancy: good butter, real honey, the classic creaming method, and a little patience while the oven does its work.
The finishing touch is a warm honey glaze brushed over the still-warm cake, which soaks in and leaves a shiny, sticky top. Perfect with tea, coffee, or a quiet afternoon.
Honey and Walnut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 2½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- For the honey glaze:
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round or square cake pan.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.
- In another bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs one by one, then mix in the honey.
- Add the dry mix and the milk alternately to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry mix. Mix until just combined.
- Fold in the walnuts, pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- While the cake bakes, make the glaze: melt the butter over low heat, stir in the honey and vanilla, and set aside.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack.
- Brush the warm cake with the glaze, top with extra walnuts if you like, and let it soak in. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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