This incredibly tender Fluffy Honey Layer Cake is perfect for any occasion. The creamy sour cream frosting pairs so well with the honey cake and the fresh fruit and almonds make it classically beautiful.
Words don't do this cake justice, so I'm going to keep it short. This honey cake is perfect any time of year and is relatively simple to prepare. The honey gives the cake a sweet and caramelized flavor, which is so magical and pairs so well with the tangy cream cheese and sour cream frosting.
Decorating with fruit is a great choice always. Fruit is beautiful, and no matter how you arrange it, you know it will make a gorgeous presentation. It also adds so much fresh and juicy flavor to the cake.
This cake has been a family favorite for decades. I hope you will enjoy it too.
Preparing the Honey Cake Layers
The honey cake layers are very similar to a sponge cake, so it's important to start out with room temperature ingredients, so that you get as much volume as possible. This will help the cake layers to become very fluffy and rise as they bake.
Sift the dry ingredients into the beaten eggs, sugar and honey mixture and then fold it in gently using a rubber spatula so that you retain as much of the volume of the cake as possible. Mix just until all the flour is incorporated, making sure to get all the flour from the bottom of the bowl too.
Tips To Keep the Cake Layers Flat and Even
To prevent the cake layers from caving in the center as they bake and then cool, DON'T grease the sides of the cake pans with butter or oil. This will help the cake to get a good "grip" on the edges of the cake pan as they bake and will result in a flat and even surface of each cake layer. However, make sure to place a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom of each cake pan to help you get the cake out of the pan after it's finished baking.
Cool the cake in the cake pan for 5-7 minutes, before using a very thin knife to go around the edges of the cake and then gently remove the cake layers out of the cake pan.
Cool the cake layers completely before slicing each of the cake layers in half horizontally.
What Cake Pans Should Be Used For This Cake
I recommend using 10 inch round cake pans. They will bake through faster which will keep the cake layers much more tender. However, 9 inch cake pans will also work, you will need to bake them longer though, since they will be taller and require more time to bake through.
Preparing the Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Frosting
This is my favorite frosting to use for this cake. It isn't as thick as a typical butter cream of cream cheese frosting, because it has sour cream, sweetened condensed milk and whipped heavy cream part of the ingredients. I think it makes a really delicious frosting. Since it's thinner, it is able to soak into the cake layers more, resulting in the most tender cake.
Make sure to start with softened cream cheese, which will mix up much better. The sour cream and heavy cream should be cold though.
When the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk are smooth, add the sour cream and vanilla, mix until combined.
Heavy cream vs Cool Whip
I use heavy cream and powdered sugar for this frosting. You can also use the same amount of already prepared whipped topping, such as Cool Whip. The Cool Whip has stabilizers in it, so it will give the frosting a much thicker consistency. I prefer to use heavy cream, but the choice is up to you.
Fold in the whipped cream gently into the frosting.
If you want a thicker frosting
As I already mentioned, it is my opinion that this particular frosting works the best for this cake. However, if you prefer a frosting to be thicker and richer, use only cream cheese, (add an additional package of cream cheese, powdered sugar to taste and 8 oz of Cool Whip. This will give you a really thick frosting.
Tips To Frosting the Cake
You should use ALL of the frosting for this cake, so be generous when spreading it on the cake layers, leaving only enough frosting to go around the edges and the top of the cake. If you don't use all of the frosting, your cake will be more dry.
To keep the cake from sliding around, I use the sides of a springform pan and place it around the cake after I have frosted it and place it into the refrigerator for a few hours to chill and set as the frosting is soaking into the cake layers.
Then, I use a really thin knife to go around the edges of the cake and carefully remove the springform pan, and then use the remixing frosting to frost the sides of the cake.
Use the palms of your hands to add toasted almonds around the edges of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with fresh fruit.
How Far In Advance Can You Prepare This Cake?
I like assembling and frosting the cake the day before I serve it, so that it chills in the refrigerator overnight. Add the fresh fruit right before serving, up to a few hours in advice only. The fruit will wilt if you place it on the cake too far in advance.
Fluffy Honey Layer Cake With Fruit and Almonds
The fluffy layers of this honey cake are frosted with a creamy sour cream frosting. This is such a tender and delicious cake, perfect for any occasion. Decorated with almonds and fruit, it's also classically beautiful.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake (9-10 inches) 1x
- Category: Sweets
Ingredients
Cake:
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons honey
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
Frosting:
- 2 (8 oz. packages) cream cheese, softened
- ½ can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar, or to taste
Optional garnishes to decorate the cake:
- toasted almonds
- 1-2 mangos or peaches, peeled and sliced
- 1 box strawberries, halved or sliced
- 2 kiwi, peeled and sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cut out parchment paper to fit into the bottom of 2 round cake pans. You can use either 9 or 10 inch pans. Do NOT use butter or oil to brush the sides of the cake pans.
- Using a hand mixer or a standing mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and gradually add in the sugar. Mix until the eggs are pale and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.
- Add the honey.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and the baking soda. Sift the dry ingredients over the batter and gently fold it in using a rubber spatula until all the flour is incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two can pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes for the 10 inch cakes and the 9 inch cakes will take longer to bake through in the center.
- Take out the cake layers from the oven, cool for 5 minutes. Use a thin knife to go around the edges of the cake and gently take the cakes out of the cake pan. Place on a cooling rack and cool completely. You can bake the cake layers up to 3 days in advance, but if you don't use them within the first few hours, cover them with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap to keep from drying out and to keep the cake layers fresh.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting.
- With a hand mixer or using a standing mixer and a paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and condensed milk, until they are smooth. Use only half a can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla. In another bowl and using a whisk attachment, whip up the chilled heavy cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until the frosting is smooth.
- Place some aluminum foil around the edges of the plate where you'll be assembling the cake. This will keep the sides of the plate clean while you're working with drippy frosting, crumbs and almonds.
- Cut each cake layer in half horizontally.
- Generously spread each cake layer with frosting. Don't smoosh the cake too much while you're doing it.
- Spread more frosting on the sides and top of the cake. You may need to chill the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours until the frosting has soaked into the cake and to make frosting it much easier. I usually assemble and frost the cake the day before I am planning to serve it.
- Using the palms of your hands, coat the sides of the cake with toasted almonds. Decorate the top of the cake with fruit. If you're going to be serving the cake the next day, leave the fruit off the cake and decorate it before serving.
The recipe for this Fluffy Honey Layer Cake was originally published on August 23, 2013. I have updated the pictures and clarified the instructions to give you the best results.
hi olga,
Please suggest egg replacements for the recipe.
Regards
Deepaa
I haven't tested this recipe with egg substitutes. In my experience, eggs are a really important ingredient for this recipe, so I wouldn't recommend substituting it with something else. They provide the soft and fluffy texture to the cake layers and give them lift.
Delicious cake, have been making it for 6 years now and always get rave reviews:) thanks for the recipe. Better than the basic beskvit recipes out there.
I'm so happy that you enjoy this cake recipe, Valentina. Thank you for taking the time to write.
Made this cake for my Russian sister-in law and it was a big hit. We usually have the Russian honey cake for special occasions made by my MIL which is also fabulous but this was so much easier to make. We loved the frosting, not too sweet and very soft and creamy. I wish you could upload photos here. This recipe is a keeper.
That's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed this cake, Jen.I would have loved to see the photos of your cake.
Привет Ольга, из Австралии! I've been learning Russian for two years and learning about the wonderful Russian and Slavic culture, so naturally I am looking to make Russian dishes 🙂 May I ask the Russian name of this cake, preferably in Cyrillic? Is it a variation of Medovik? I'm looking forward to making it soon!
Hi Laura.
I don't know what the Russian name is, we always called it Easy Medovik.
Can I bake it in one 9’ pan, then divide on 4 layers? I just don’t have two 9 inch pans. If yes what temperature and how long do I need to bake?
Thank you in advance.
No, I don't recommend it. If you bake it all in one pan, cake will have a hard time baking through in the center without becoming dry on the outside.
This cake looks amazing - I am going to make it for my parent's golden wedding anniversary.
Is it plain flour or self raising?
What a wonderful occasion for your family to celebrate. Happy Anniversary to your parents. I think it's wonderful that you are making them a cake, Katy.
The flour I use in all my recipes unless otherwise noted is unbleached all purpose flour.
The cake was a huge success! Easy to make, delicious, light and very moist. The hardest part was transporting it 60 miles to my parent's! I put the frosting and nuts on the night before and refrigerated, but left the fruit till I arrived. It wasn't too bad!
Can't work out how to post a photo, but it looked amazing. Lots of compliments - thank you!
I made this cake for Christmas and it was so good. It was surprisingly easy to make and everyone commented on how tasty it was. The best part was all the flavours that reminded me of my childhood. I am not into baking but this encouraged me to try more recipes from your website.
I am so glad you enjoyed it! It's so awesome that you decided to give it a try and were happy with the results.
Hello! I was just wondering if it would be ok to just use 16oz of sour cream and 2 8oz packages of softened cream cheese instead of 24 oz of sour cream and 1 8oz package of softened cream cheese. Would that work and would make it taste more "cheese-cakey"? Thank you!
Yes, that would work too, Vicky:).
Hello! I love your blog. I am making this cake right now and I have a lot of frosty left over. Any ideas as to what I can do with it? Thank you!
Hi Kendall,
I like to use a lot of frosting, because as the cake stands, the frosting will seep into the cake and make it very moist and delicious. If you have a lot of it left over, you can use it as a filling in crepes.
Thanks! I️ will definitely use more next time. This time, we just spooned the extra over each piece as we ate. It was delicious, and my husband said it reminded him of cake he ate growing up!
Olga, I made this cake for a dear co-worker / friend's 88th birthday. I used raspberries instead of the strawberries because they were on sale and a fresh peach. I cannot explain how beautiful the cake came out or how absolutely delicious it was. Thank you so much for saying what words cannot express, with this recipe~~
Hi Olga -
What i can use for cream cheese, just don't have a cream cheese?
Thank you so much
Cream cheese is a pretty important ingredient in the frosting, Nataliya. You can just omit it and use more sour cream, but it will be much more runny and have a different flavor.
Hi Olga, I'm planning to make this for my boyfriend's birthday this weekend. I was going to buy a cake but then I saw how easy this one is, so I figured that I might as well make it and I bet it'll taste 100% better than any store bought one. Plus, I feel like I'm never really satisfied with standard american cakes. With regard to baking soda, I read a few people saying that it's too much and if it needs to be 'activated' by vinegar. I did some research, and the acid in honey should do the same job as vinegar would with the baking soda. I will give it a try your way exactly and I'm sure it'll be delicious! Thanks! Olga
Happy birthday to your boyfriend, Olga.
I've never had any issues with this cake and it's always been one of the cakes that I know I can whip up very quickly with minimum effort and comes out great every time. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do.
Just made this cake! I had it a couple years ago at a friends house. The cream came out almost like liquid for me. 🙁
I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you, Hailey. Did you beat the frosting long enough after adding the heavy cream? Was the heavy cream very cold?
Hi, Olga! I'm going to try that cake this week, the problem is that I can bake it only on Saturday morning, but it must be served around 6 pm evening... Will there be enough time for the cream to soften the cake layers, if I'll be done with assembling it around 10 am??? Should I put it in the refrigerator or leave it on the counter?
Thanks in advance for taking time to answer!!!
Hi Nataly,
I think it should be enough time for the cake to soften. Leave it at room temperature for about an hour and then put it in the refrigerator.
Olga,
I made this cake last 14 months ago for my youngest, and still getting request for it. Thank you so very much for suggesting it.
Here's the next challenge, though: I need to make it for a dairy-free party. Any idea what I can do besides non-dairy ganache topping? Maybe some sort of thickened jam?
Hi Svetka. I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this cake. I really have no idea what you can use for this cake to make it dairy free. What kind of frosting will you be making? I don't have any recipes of dairy free frostings. As for the ganache, most chocolates have dairy in them too. Sorry, I really have no experience with dairy free cooking.