Quick & Easy Honey Cakes (with Citrus Zest)
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!
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
- Best served warm. Tastes delicious with a pat of butter and goes well with tea or coffee.
- Uneaten cakes can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 days.
- 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.
- If you prefer butter, you can use some melted butter to generously coat the muffin tray.
- 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.