This unique honey cake is just 3 ingredients. It doesn’t need any butter or oil, but it still comes out soft and moist. It’s easy to make and it’s a great cake to serve for dessert or afternoon tea.
I enjoy eating this cake with coffee or tea. The cake texture is not your typical cake texture. It’s more like a sponge cake. I also like how easy it is to make. If you use a stand mixer, the mixer does almost all of the work for you.
Ingredients
- Honey
- Eggs
- Flour
Honey: The honey gives the cake sweetness and flavor. It also keeps the cake moist.
Eggs: The cake relies on the eggs for structure. Unlike most sponge cakes, you do not need to separate the egg whites and yolks for this recipe.
Flour: This cake is made with regular all purpose flour. You do not need to use any baking powder.
How to Make Honey Cake
- Add eggs and honey and mix on high speed for 10 minutes or until mixture is more than triple the volume. If you have a stand mixer, I recommend using it. When you lift the beaters, the mixture that drips off should be able to stay on top without sinking back down.
- The flour is then sifted and folded in. Make sure you sift the flour in. This makes it easier for it to be incorporated into the batter without deflating the egg mixture too much.
- The cake is then ready to be baked.
Cake Texture
This cake is a variation on my 3 Ingredient Cake. The texture of the cake is quite unique. It’s like a sponge cake but not quite. If you’ve had Japanese castella cake, the texture is most similar to that as it uses a very similar technique. However this cake is much easier to make than traditional Japanese castella cake.
More Unique Cakes to Try
- 3 Ingredient Fluffy Yogurt Cake
- 2 Ingredient Honey Cloud Cake
- 4 Ingredient Magic Cake
- 3 Ingredient Pound Cake
3 Ingredient Honey Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs straight from fridge
- 1/3 cup (79 ml) honey
- 1 cup (128 g) all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease the interior of a 7 inch round nonstick springform cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. I didn't line the sides and the cake shouldn't stick if you thoroughly grease the sides.
- Add eggs and honey to mixing bowl. Beat on highest speed for about 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes more than triple in volume. I used a stand mixer. You may need a little longer with a hand mixer. When you lift the beaters, the batter that drips off should be thick enough that it will stay on top and not sink back into the batter. See post for photo for reference.
- Sift in half of the flour. You can use a flour sifter or a fine mesh strainer. Make sure the flour is sifted in. This allows you to easily incorporate the flour into the egg mixture without deflating it. Gently fold the sifted flour into the egg mixture with a spatula. You want to be very gentle in the folding and only fold until you no longer see any flour. Try your best not to deflate the egg mixture. Check the bottom of the bowl a few times to make sure unmixed flour has not sunk down. Then sift in remaining flour and gently fold in.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until surface is a medium brown and tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before serving. Drizzle more honey over surface of cake before cutting and serving. (I usually drizzle just enough so that the surface is covered in a thin layer of honey). I don't recommend leaving out the additional honey. It adds sweetness and moisture to the cake (the cake doesn't contain too much honey because otherwise the batter would be too heavy and the cake wouldn't rise properly).
Notes
- This cake has a unique texture. It's similar to a sponge cake but not quite the same as a traditional sponge cake. The technique used for this cake is inspired by Japanese castella cake and it has a very similar texture as castella cake but is much easier to make than a castella cake.
- I used this 7 inch springform cake pan.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- The recipe uses standard US large size eggs.
- I recommend using eggs straight from the fridge.
- Make sure to bake at 325F. If you bake at a higher temperature, the cake will overcook and brown too fast.
- The key to this cake working is the eggs being whipped until the batter can hold its form. You also need to be careful to not deflate the egg mixture too much when folding in the flour, otherwise your cake will not rise properly.
- The cake itself is only lightly sweetened with the honey. If you try to add more honey to the batter, the egg mixture will not whip up properly. This is why more honey is added at the end. The cake will soak in the honey drizzled over it and it adds more moisture and sweetness to the cake. How much honey you want to add at the end really depends on your sweetness preference. I like to cover the whole surface in a thin layer of honey but you can do a lighter pour that doesn't cover the whole cake.
- I used this 7 inch springform pan.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Estimated nutrition is for the cake without the additional honey drizzled on top.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Is there a way to substitute nut flour (walnut flour), for the wheat flour?
Sorry, we haven’t tried it.
It was so good I could have eaten the whole cake? I added orange zest and a little baking powder, came out fluffy and moist, I like it without extra honey…
Thanks
Love that you added orange zest!
Definitely doesn’t take even 23 minutes to bake, it was burnt, I should’ve watched. I would suggest checking it at 12-15 mins then add time if needed. Sad.
What temperature did you bake it at? It’s always a good idea to check a little early (every oven is different) but it sounds like the temperature was too high.
It workes! The family says a bit dry tho. Perfect level of sweetness and simple.
We’re glad they enjoyed it! If it was dry, it might have baked too long.
Will adding baking soda help the cake rise to compensate for hand beating the batter?
We haven’t tried it that way and can’t say if it will turn out the same.
Holy cow. Dangerously good for being so simple.
We’re glad you liked it!
Can I do a diluted honey drizzle or will that make the cake too wet? Thanks for the recipe!
Do you mean a drizzle on top of the cake? That’s what we do and it gives the cake more sweetness. If you mean adding more honey to the cake batter, we don’t recommend it. Please use the amount in the recipe otherwise the cake will not turn out right.
This was so easy and a great way to use regional honey. This will be a Beltane tradition in our house. I’ll add fresh lilacs and dried rose petals to the glazing. Wonderful recipe
We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Laura, that sounds so beautiful! I wish you could post a picture.
Hi! This looks so delicious, do you think it’s possible to make this in a muffin pan?
Sorry, we haven’t tried that. If you do, the baking time will need to be adjusted. Let us know how it works!
This is yummy!
We’re happy you loved it!
If the eggs weren’t whipped to the right consistency, the cake will not turn out right. We’d like to help, so a couple of questions – did you use an electric mixer to whip the eggs? It should only take about 10 minutes to achieve the right consistency. If you whisk by hand it will take much longer. It also sounds like you didn’t mix the flour in properly if it tasted like scrambled eggs
Just curious to know, either in this recipes or many of the other 2-3 ingredient cakes, can you use maple syrup instead of honey?
We wanted to make a honey cake, so we can’t say if maple syrup will work in this recipe. For other recipes, we recommend checking the posts for substitute suggestions.
So glad you loved it!
Nice recipe for a quick picnic ?
That would be great!
I love this cake! I wanted to play around with using some cocoa powder and a tiny bit of Nutella? Any suggestions? I’ll let you know! Wish me luck ??
Let us know how they work for you!
How many eggs? How much flour? How much honey?
Even ratios would be nice – USELESS
All of the recipe ingredients and amounts are listed in the recipe card at the end of the post – you scrolled past it to leave your comment.
Great
Great work. Thanks
Thank you so much!
Love the 2/3 ingredient cookies and cakes
We do, too – so glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Easy and looks great
We hope you try it soon!
I love this recipe and am definitely going to try it out. I did want to ask do you drizzle the honey after the cake is completely cool or slightly warm? Thanks.
I drizzle it on right before serving because some of the honey does get absorbed into the cake.
I’m in the hospital , so I’m going to make this when I go home .I’ll also make some my elderly neighbors and friends and my Mom
We hope you feel better soon!
I’m looking forward to this easy recipe. I have compression fractures from my neck down to my lower lumbar , but I still love to cook , so I’ll make this and have my husband put it in the oven , thank you
We hope you both love the cake!
Delicious recipe
Thank you!
Really happy to have a snack with a hot drink!
Good for lunch box for kids.
It was a bit softer next morning! Maybe I didn’t cook for long enough! Will make again an try unsweetened with sweetners and quick oats!
Make sure you let the cake fully cool before storing it and keep it tightly wrapped – that might help!
Could you use almond flour.
Sorry, we haven’t made this recipe with almond flour.
I had the same thought, but with walnut flour. The eggs would be the binder. My only thought was the oil in the nut flour might not let it stay fluffy enough. Maybe add one more egg? Did you try the almond flour? Thanks!!
Could this recipe be made with gluten-free flour?
Sorry I have not tested with gluten free flour
I will try the recipes
We hope you enjoy it!