Honey Cake

Kitchen Notes

I'm going to guess that you scanned the (very) long list of ingredients below and thought something along the lines of, "Sounds good...but probably not going to happen." I know, because that's exactly what I did.

I'm a 5-6 ingredients per recipe kind of girl, so when you give me one with a multitude of ingredients - and on top of it all start asking me to brew coffee and squeeze orange juice - you're basically begging me to ignore your cute little recipe.

But, oh my...am I glad I made the exception for this. It is. Truly. Delicious. Long list of ingredients considered, I don't expect you to jump into your kitchen and get to work. But I think you'll be a happier, Honey-Cake-filled person if you do.

Honey Cake

Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup honey (we used Avocado Honey )
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup rye or whiskey

Directions

1. Several options for baking pans: three loaf pans; two 9-inch square or round cake pans; one 9 or 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan; or one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake. We made ours in a sheet cake pan, and had a little extra to put into a 9-inch square cake pan.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray. For tube or angel food pans, line the bottom with lightly greased parchment paper, cut to fit.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey.
4. Stir batter with a strong wire-whisk or electric mixer, stirring until thick and well-blended.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Place pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (this will ensure that the bottoms of the cakes don't bake faster than the tops and centers).
6. For angel and tube cake pans, bake 60 to 75 minutes; loaf cakes, about 45 to 55 minutes; and for sheet-style cakes, baking time is 40 to 45 minutes. To test whether or not your cake(s) are done, gently touch the cake center- when the cake springs back it's finished baking.
7. Let cake stand fifteen minutes before removing from pan. Enjoy!

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Original Recipe here.