Fact: I love honey. Another fact: I love whiskey. Although I don’t usually add liquor to my baked goods, I make a big exception for this Honey Whiskey Cake. This recipe is adapted from the Queen B…no, not who may be thinking of, rather the Barefoot Contessa, aka Ina Garten. Now, Ina hardly needs an introduction, but she throws beautifully intimate dinner parties for friends, has impeccable style, and creates fool-proof, delicious, inspired recipes.
So, I turned to Ina when my search began for the perfect Honey Cake for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. Honey Cake has a reputation for being a little blah, neither here nor there. You eat it because it’s tradition, and the honey symbolizes the sweetness of the year to come, but it’s never that exciting. Until now. This Honey Whiskey Cake is full of warm spices, notes of citrus, fragrant honey, and mellow whiskey. It has a really tender crumb, and the flavors actually get better the day after it’s baked. On the off-chance you have leftovers, make that steaming cup of coffee the next morning, slice off a little piece, and thank me later. This is a must-bake for ALL of the holiday seasons.
I love to make this cake in a fancy bundt pan for the wow-factor!
PRO TIP: The trick to successfully removing the cake from the pan without sticking is to brush the pan with oil, then dust it with flour before pouring in the cake batter. After the cake is baked, let it cool completely, then turn it upside onto a serving plate.
What’s on your holiday menu?? Let me know in the comments below! I love to see what you’re making, so remember to tag your pics with #lionsbread
Happy New Year! – L
*Recipe loosely adapted from Ina Garten’s, in Cooking for Jeffrey.
Honey Whiskey Cake
This Honey Whiskey Cake is full of warm spices, notes of citrus, fragrant honey, + mellow whisky | An absolute must-bake for ALL of the holiday seasons!
Ingredients
- 1/2 c avocado oil
- 1/2 c honey
- 3/4 c dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp grated orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/3 c hot coffee
- 1/4 c whiskey
- Apple Cider Glaze:
- 1 c confectioner's sugar
- 1.5 T fresh apple cider
- pinch of kosher salt
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350*F.
- Step 2 Spray a large bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Then dust the pan liberally with flour. Don’t skip the flour, it is essential to the cake releasing from the pan!
- Step 3 In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the oil, honey, brown sugar, eggs, and orange zest. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Step 4 In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves together. Be sure to remove any clumps.
- Step 5 In a glass measuring cup, combine the hot coffee and the whiskey. With the mixer on low, alternately add the the dry and wet ingredients to the oil/honey mixture, in 3 additions. Be sure to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, so all of the ingredients are well combined. The batter will be very liquid, its ok!
- Step 6 Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and firmly wrap the pan on the countertop to remove any air bubbles.
- Step 7 Bake for 45-50 minutes, until very golden brown, and a skewer comes out clean.
- Step 8 Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate or cake platter.
- Step 9 Meanwhile, make the glaze, combine the confectioner’s sugar, apple cider, and salt in a measuring cup, whisk to combine. Pour the glaze over the top of cake, as you wish. Enjoy!