The Cake Slice Bakers March 2012 - Honey Bee Cake

The time has once again flown by and it is time for the March edition of the Cake Slice Bakers.  Votes were counted and the winning recipe this month was the Honey Bee Cake.  This is our 5th cake from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson, and I have to say that this is my favorite so far.





I decided that I wanted to use a local honey for this recipe.  After visiting the Kapi'olani Farmers' Market last week, and trying a few different samples, I decided upon an Ewa Kiawe honey from Nalo Meli Hawaiian Honey, which specializes in unique local raw honeys that are fresh from the hive.






It was amazing how quickly this cake came together.  I know the recipe calls for sifting the dry ingredients but to be honest I put them all in a large bowl and gave them a good whisk and that was that. Before I knew it the cake was in the oven and I was getting the honey glaze ready.  After 45 minutes the cake was out of the oven and ready to be drenched in the honey mixture and a sprinkling of toasted almonds.

My family raved about this cake - both the texture and flavor - so I know it will not last long.  I think that the only change I would make would be to double the amount of the honey glaze.  After pouring half of the glaze over the cake I didn't feel like it had covered enough of the cake, but I knew I needed the remaining amount to pour over the top of the almonds.  I ended up using a little more glaze on the cake, pouring what was left over the nuts, and then drizzling a little pure honey over the top for good measure.

It is always interesting to see different interpretations and opinions of the same cake so please click here to see the cakes of my fellow Cake Slice Bakers.  Also, the Cake Slice Bakers now have a Facebook page now so make sure you check it out soon.

Honey Bee Cake

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Ingredients

Cake

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup honey
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• ¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

Glaze

• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup of sliced almonds, toasted 

Preparation

1. Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 350℉. 
2. Prepare a 9″x3″ non-stick springform pan (grease the pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment).
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk to combine. 
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla on low speed until blended; increase the speed to high and cream until very light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes, stopping the mixer frequently to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle paddle.
5. Blend in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time.
6. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. After each addition, mix until just barely blended and stop to scrape the bowl. Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated and complete the mixing by hand with a spatula to make sure that you don't over-beat the batter.
7. Spread the thick batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Tap the pan firmly on the counter to release any air bubbles.
8. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. The cake will be a deep golden color and be firm on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle will have moist crumbs attached. The cake may crack on the surface as it bakes, but this provides a way for the cake to soak up the honey glaze.
9. While the cake is baking, make the glaze in a small saucepan by combining the honey, sugar, and butter over medium heat until combined.  Bring the mixture to just barely to a simmer.  Turn off the heat but leave the saucepan on the burner to keep warm. 
10. Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes all over the top of the cake with a wooden skewer. Pour half of the glaze on the cake, evenly sprinkle the cake with the almonds, then pour the rest of glaze over the almonds. 
11. Place the cake back in the center of the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
12. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour.  To remove the cake from the springform pan, remove the side before gently flipping the cake over onto a plate to remove the parchment paper. Then place serving plate over the cake and flip it back over again.
13. Serve just barely warm.
14. Thanks to the honey, this cake will keep for 5 days when wrapped and stored at room temperature.

Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson