Honey Cake with Fleur de Sel
There are so many recipes for honey cake out there, but one Friday morning I decided to tinker with my own. I love honey and coffee and butter together, but most of the cakes I found were made with oil and piles of sugar and piles of spices. I found I still needed some sugar with the honey, but I mostly just wanted to highlight those three ingredients. The warm honey topping was inspired by this cake, and I saw the honey-salt combination in many places; it seemed perfect. The texture of this cake reminds me of this bread, which is one of my favorites, but one I like best with nuts. Next time around, I would add 1 1/2 cups of almonds, or pecans, or walnuts here. Also, cacao nibs? I feel I've been overusing them, but I would probably throw those in. And, I didn't brush the sides with the warm honey initially only the top and highly regretted it. That sticky-salty topping is the very best part of this cake. So go for it. You can sprinkle some sanding sugar on top along with the salt, if you want to balance the saltiness a bit. It makes everything more sparkly, too, which is never a bad thing.
There are so many recipes for honey cake out there, but one Friday morning I decided to tinker with my own. I love honey and coffee and butter together, but most of the cakes I found were made with oil and piles of sugar and piles of spices. I found I still needed some sugar with the honey, but I mostly just wanted to highlight those three ingredients. The warm honey topping was inspired by this cake, and I saw the honey-salt combination in many places; it seemed perfect. The texture of this cake reminds me of this bread, which is one of my favorites, but one I like best with nuts. Next time around, I would add 1 1/2 cups of almonds, or pecans, or walnuts here. Also, cacao nibs? I feel I've been overusing them, but I would probably throw those in. And, I didn't brush the sides with the warm honey initially only the top and highly regretted it. That sticky-salty topping is the very best part of this cake. So go for it. You can sprinkle some sanding sugar on top along with the salt, if you want to balance the saltiness a bit. It makes everything more sparkly, too, which is never a bad thing.
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 cup [2 sticks] butter room temperature
- 1 cup [good] honey
- 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee cold
- 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts [optional see note above]
- warm honey topping
- 2 tablespoons coffee [optional]
- heat the honey and coffee if using in a small sauc
- Carbohydrate 311.094692397733 g
- Cholesterol 1544.50270833002 mg
- Fat 387.377240597923 g
- Fiber 8.57461744647517 g
- Protein 54.9436356445969 g
- Saturated Fat 239.620410544911 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (1270g)
- Sodium 44722.1980049522 mg
- Sugar 302.520074951257 g
- Trans Fat 29.1422551219647 g
- Calories 4879 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl, set aside.
- In a standing mixer, beat butter for a minute or two, then add the honey and sugar. Beat for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition [batter may appear a little curdled here - no worries. It will even out when you add the flour]. Add half the flour mixture, and mix until combined. Add the coffee, and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until combined. Add the sour cream [and nuts, if using] and beat the batter for a minute, until smooth.
- Pour/scoop the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top.
- Bake cake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the tube pan for 30 minutes, the gently invert the cake onto a rimmed baking sheet; remove the tube pan,place a wire rack on top of the cake, and invert the cake again.
- While the cake is still warm, pour the warm honey mixture over the top [recipe follows], and use a pastry brush to brush some on the sides.
- Sprinkle with fleur de sel.
Flour, butter, and honey appear straightforward on the page, yet this specific formulation relies on an extended creaming phase of three to five minutes to incorporate enough air to lift a dense crumb without relying on excessive chemical leaveners. Utilizing room-temperature butter ensures the emulsion holds when the eggs enter the bowl one by one, preventing the fats from breaking and producing a uniform interior structure once baked in a ten-inch tube pan. Though the ingredient manifest omits temporal context, understanding that cold brewed coffee cuts through the dense residual sugars provides the crucial balancing mechanism needed to keep the profile from becoming cloying. When selecting the primary sweetener, raw varietals like buckwheat or wildflower bring assertive earthy notes that behave differently in baking compared to heavily processed, neutral amber varieties.
Pouring a warm honey and coffee mixture over the pastry while it remains on a rimmed baking sheet thirty minutes after inversion saturates the outer crust effectively. Brushing the liquid down the vertical walls guarantees that the sticky-salty finish clings evenly rather than pooling exclusively on the crown. Finishing the exterior with coarse fleur de sel provides the necessary mineral bite against the concentrated sugars, creating a stark textural contrast that shatters pleasantly on the palate. Granulated sanding sugar can also join the salt crystals across the top if extra sparkle and a firmer crunch are desired.
Pairing this robust pastry requires beverages that match its density without competing with the floral aromatics of the heated glaze. Unsweetened black tea with a touch of astringency or a dark roast drip coffee counters the heavy butterfat content quite nicely. Avoid overly sweet accompaniments, since the slice already delivers a substantial sugar load derived from both the batter and the post-bake saturation step. Acidic fruit compotes, particularly those made from tart plums or rhubarb, offer a sharp counterpoint that cleanses the palate between rich bites.
Fresh liquid honey behaves differently than crystallized or aged honey by distributing moisture uniformly throughout the batter without requiring extra heat adjustments. Storing the finished dessert under a domed cake stand at room temperature preserves the tender crumb for up to three days while maintaining the crisp exterior integrity of the salt crystals. Keeping the pastry wrapped tightly prevents the crust from weeping into the crumb structure over time. Environmental humidity plays a role here, as excess moisture in the air will quickly dissolve the delicate fleur de sel finish if left unprotected.
