How to make Quick & Easy Honey Cakes (with Citrus Zest)

February 6, 2021. Beautiful sunny winter day. Quick & Easy Honey Cakes (with Citrus Zest).

These sticky delicious honey cakes are yummy and bake up in a flash. I wanted to put together something that wasn’t fussy and uses pantry ingredients. So, these cakes are just the thing to make when you want something sweet and quick.

The key to making this delicious treat is using the best honey available. Adding freshly grated lemon or orange rind really gives this a nice pop. I used ground nutmeg and cinnamon for a hint of warmth.

There are really 2 major steps to this. First, putting the batter together and an initial bake. Second, a soaking with more honey and a final bake. These steps ensure the honey really sticks and soaks into the mini cakes, which develop a beautiful sheen and taste fabulous!

Without further ado, let’s get baking.

Ingredients for Quick & Easy Honey Cakes

These items are used for this recipe.

Dry Ingredients
2 cups (240g) All purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or nutmeg or a mix of both
1 lemon or orange zest from 1 fruit
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup (113g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup (184g) milk, room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (340g) honey, divided
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

This recipe requires a regular 12 holes muffin pan, cooking spray to prevent the cakes from sticking, 2 mixing bowls (one for the dry ingredients and the other for the wet), an optional pastry blender to mix the butter into the flour mixture (or just use your fingers and fork) and finally a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet/pan for the second round of baking.

Making the Batter for Quick & Easy Honey Cakes

Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients. Then, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Next, spray the muffin pan thoroughly with cooking spray and set aside. Prepared the lined baking tray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk in the citrus (lemon or orange) zest and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg or both) until well combined. Then, add cubed butter and with your fingers or pastry blender rub butter into the flour mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs (or like coarse sand). Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, 3/4 cup honey, citrus juice and vanilla. Gradually add the dry and wet mixture together and combine thoroughly.

Baking the First Round

When the batter is ready, carefully fill the prepared muffin tin until 3/4 filled. Gently tap the filled pan to settle the batter. Then, pop the filled pan into a preheated oven for about 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden.

Brushing on Honey and Baking the Second Round

When the tops are lightly golden, remove the muffin pan from the oven, and place on a trivet. It will be hot so please be careful when popping out the almost cooked cakes and placing them on the prepared lined baking tray. Using a brush, generously coat the entire cake with the remaining honey. The heat from the cakes will help the honey soak into the cakes. Let them stand for 5 to 8 minutes. When ready, place the honey soaked cakes back into the oven and bake for another 15 to 18 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Your honey cakes are ready!

Notes

1. Best served warm. Taste delicious with a pat of butter and goes well with tea or coffee.
2. Uneaten cakes can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 days. 
3. To prevent the honey cakes from sticking to the muffin tray during the first bake, it’s important to coat each well/muffin hole thoroughly with the cooking spray. 
4. If you prefer butter, you can use some melted butter to generously coat the muffin tray.
5. The spices add a hint of warmth to the cakes. You can also try using small amounts of cardamom, or your favorite spice to suit.

When I was making this, I was curious about other recipes that use honey to bake. And of course, lo and behold there are a wonderful array to choose from that would delight any baker’s heart. Here’s one collection that I thought was pretty interesting. I hope to check off a few from the list some day, especially the Greek Baklava! =>https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/honey-desserts/

Quick & Easy Honey Cakes (with Citrus Zest)

Jessica Lai Perez

A quick and easy treat that bakes up in under an hour. These honey cakes are sweetened with honey containing hints of citrus and spice. Delicious on its own, or fabulous with a pat of butter!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 38 minutes mins

Resting Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 56 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cakes

Equipment

• 12 hole muffin pan
• Cooking spray
• 2 mixing bowls
• Pastry blender (optional)
• Parchment or silicone lined baking pan/tray/cookie sheet

Ingredients

  

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups (240g) All purpose flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or nutmeg or a mix of both
• 1 lemon or orange zest from 1 fruit
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (113g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 3/4 cup (184g) milk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (340g) honey, divided
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Start by gathering all the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray the muffin pan thoroughly with cooking spray. Prepared lined baking tray. Set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk in the citrus (lemon or orange) zest and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg or both) until well combined.
• Add cubed butter and with your fingers or pastry blender rub butter into the flour mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs (or like coarse sand). Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, 3/4 cup honey, citrus juice and vanilla.
• Gradually add the dry and wet mixture together and combine thoroughly.
• Carefully fill the prepared muffin until 3/4 filled. Gently tap the filled pan to settle the batter.
• Pop into preheated oven for about 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden.
• Remove from oven, and carefully remove the almost cooked cakes and place while still hot on prepared lined baking tray. Using a brush, generously coat the entire small cakes with the remaining honey. The heat from the warm cakes will help the honey soak into the cakes. Let it stand for 5 to 8 minutes.
• Place back into the oven and bake for another 15 to 18 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Best served warm. Tastes delicious with a pat of butter and goes well with tea or coffee.
2. Uneaten cakes can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 days. 
3. To prevent the honey cakes from sticking to the muffin tray during the first bake, it’s important to coat each well/muffin hole thoroughly with the cooking spray. 
4. If you prefer butter, you can use some melted butter to generously coat the muffin tray.
5. The spices adds a hint of warmth to the cakes. You can also try using small amounts of cardamom, or your favorite spice to suit.

 

 

fabfoodflavors.com/quick-easy-honey-cakes-with-citrus-zest/

Keyword Baked Twice, Dessert, Honey, Honey Cakes, snack

Recipe inspired by Gobble The Cook and The Ginger Whisk.

More Flavorful Ideas:

Have you every tried a Khachapuri? See how I made them here => How to make Adjaruli Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread)

Have a hankering for a quick crunchy pickle? Try these amazing spicy Korean style cucumber for a change =>How to make Spicy Korean Marinated Cucumber (Oi Muchim)!

These amazing small bread spiral muffins are a compact meal-in-one loaded with bold Spanish inspired flavors! Check them out here => How to Make Spanish Inspired Ham & Cheese Spiral Bread Muffin

Ever wonder how to make tortillas from scratch? This is a pantry staple that is so easy (and delicious) to make, you’ll wonder why you haven’t tried making it at home before! => Back to Basics: How to Make Delicious Soft Flour Tortillas