Fill your kitchen with the aromas of honey and cinnamon while baking Honey Apple Cake. This moist and tender loaf is ideal for celebrating Rosh Hashanah, gifting, and care packages too.
What you'll love about this recipe
This loaf tastes like honey dipped apples. The recipe was originally adapted from a recipe for applesauce bread.
I substituted honey for some of the granulated sugar. The result is a moist, sweet cake that makes a delicious snack or dessert. It's the best honey cake I've ever eaten.
Though it's quick and easy to throw together, this recipe is great for making ahead. The flavors continue to improve after aging the loaves for a day or two. They also freeze well for up to a month.
The recipe makes two large loaves or six mini loaves. Eat some and freeze the others, or give them away and sweeten someone’s day!
Recipe ingredients
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and honey. Beat in the eggs, then mix in the applesauce.
- Gradually add the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda and beat just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter evenly into pans lightly coated with vegetable oil spray.
- Bake loaf pans for 35-45 minutes and mini pans for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Tips
- Resist the urge to eat the loaves straight from the oven. They gets sweeter and more flavorful 1-2 days after baking.
- If using disposable foil mini loaf pans, place them on a cookie sheet for more even baking and easy removal from the oven.
- Loaves baked in disposable pans can be left inside the pan for mailing. The pan provides some protection during shipping. Be sure to wrap in plastic wrap for freshness.
- This recipe can be used in large and small loaf pans, muffin tins, and in bundt pans. The baking time will vary with the size of the baked goods.
- Don't attempt to remove the loaf from the pan until it has cooled. It will fall apart.
Storage tips
- Store the cakes at room temperature for 5-7 days. Individually wrap each loaf in plastic wrap then place in an airtight container or freezer weight ziplock bag.
- For longer storage times, honey cake freezes well. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer weight ziplock bag for up to one month.
- The loaves are best mailed during cool weather months due to the high moisture content which could promote mold in heat.
Frequently asked questions
It is a honey sweetened cake traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah to usher in a happy new year. It is commonly baked in a loaf or tube pan.
Honey adds moisture to cakes giving them a light, soft crumb. It also adds flavor and enhances the flavors of other ingredients.
This traditional Jewish dessert is a symbol of our hope for a sweet new year.
More baking with honey recipes
If you love baking with honey, next time try one of these honey sweetened treats.
Apples and Honey Cookies are soft and chewy apple butter cookies topped with honey flavored icing.
One of the most popular cookies in Australia are Honey Jumbles. The sweet flavors in this cookie make them a perfect Jewish New Year treat.
This Honey Gingerbread recipe was developed especially for successful use with cookie stamps. Stamp with holiday symbols or pretty designs and enjoy!
Honey Sesame Cookies remind me of honey halvah in cookie form. If you love sesame, this whole grain cookie is for you.
Honey Roasted Peanut Cookies are crunchy and flavorful. Peanuts taste better , in my opinion, when they are honey roasted. Better peanuts mean better cookies.
My experience with this recipe
On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, it’s traditional to eat honey cake and dip apples in honey, symbolizing hope for a sweet new year.
Baking this Rosh Hashanah honey cake is a tradition I began when my children were little. I make many loaves every year and share them with local family and friends.
Though I'd been making and gifting Honey Applesauce Cake for years, I'd never stopped to think about what a great care package treat it is until I shipped some to my son when he was in college. This loaf travels well and tastes even better after a few days.
For those of you who celebrate Rosh Hashanah, I wish you l’shana tova, a happy New Year. I wish everyone a year of health, happiness, and peace.
Ready to bake? Join the free membership group to get new recipes and a newsletter delivered to your inbox! You can also stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’d love to stay in touch!
Honey Cake
Equipment
- 9" x 5" loaf pans
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup honey
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 ˚F. Lightly coat baking pans with non stick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, at medium-high speed, cream together butter, white sugar, and honey.
- Add eggs. Beat until combined.
- Mix in applesauce.
- Gradually add flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.
- Pour batter evenly into pans (approximately 1 cup per mini pan or three cups per loaf pan). Mini loaf pans can be placed in the oven on a cookie sheet for more even baking and easy removal.
- Bake loaf pans for 35-45 minutes and mini pans for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- If removing the honey cakes from the pans, cool for 10 minutes in the pans before moving them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once completely cool, the cooled cake should be wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it deliciously moist. Store at room temperature (or in the refrigerator) for 5-7 days.
Notes
- Though this sweet treat is traditionally made in Jewish culture during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, it's just as delicious on a random Saturday morning with a cup of tea!
- This recipe makes 2 bread pan loaves (9-inch x 5-inch loaf pans) or 6 (3-inch x 5-inch) mini loaves or one bundt pan.
- This moist cake recipe can also be used in large and small loaf pans, as applesauce muffins, and as bundt cakes. The cooking times will vary with the size of the baked goods.
- The loaves stay fresh for up to a week and are sturdy enough to travel well. They are best mailed during cool weather months due to the high moisture content of the cake.
- Resist the urge to eat this delicious honey cake straight from the oven. It gets sweeter and more flavorful 1-2 days after baking.
- Place disposable foil mini loaf pans on top of a baking sheet for more even baking and easy removal from the oven.
- Loaves baked in disposable pans can be left inside the pan for mailing. The pan provides some protection during shipping. Be sure to wrap in plastic wrap for freshness.
- Don't attempt to remove the loaf from the pan until it has cooled. It will fall apart.
- There is no specific kind of honey that must be used in this tender cake. Varieties to try include orange blossom honey, wildflower honey, or clover honey.
Nutrition
First Published: September 25, 2014. Last Updated: July 31, 2021. Updated for additional information and improved photographs.
Dianne
Simply delicious!
Tmima
Hi Wendy,
This recipe sounds delish. I would love to make this today for Rosh Hashanah and was just wondering if I can substitute oil instead of butter and how much oil?
Wendy Sondov
Shana tova! I haven't made this recipe with oil, but I have made it successfully with margarine, if that helps. Generally, you replace butter with 3/4 the amount of oil. In this recipe the 1/2 cup of butter (8 tablespoons) would be replaced by 6 tablespoon of oil.
Barbara
I baked 4 small loaves to give away for Rosh Hashanah. Easy recipe and delicious results.
Wendy Sondov
I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed the honey cake! They make great Rosh Hashanah gifts. I've been gifting them and mailing them for years! 🙂 L'Shana Tovah!
Stacy Grossman
I was wondering if this could be made with applesauce instead of an egg?
Wendy Sondov
I have never tried adding additional applesauce instead of one or both of the eggs. I doubt it would work and definitely won't be the same. The eggs provide rise as well as hold everything together.
Terri G
Wow! Just tried this. What a delicious treat! I made it just as written & it came out fabulous! Great flavor & texture. Love the honey undertones! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hezi
Loved your Mandel breads for Passover!!!
In your apple sauce honey cake, can I bake it in a Bundt pan instead of 2 bread pans ?
Thanks
Hezi
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Hezi! I'm so glad you enjoyed the mandel bread. We went through 3 batches this year! Yes, you can use this cake in a bundt pan. I haven't done it personally(I always make the traditional loaves for Rosh Hashanah), but many readers have commented, especially on Pinterest, to share their success with bundt pans and even muffin pans!
Yasmin
Hello Wendy,
Thank you for this wonderful, and oh, so very delicious recipe! I have made it the pass two Christmases as presents for my Team at work…they absolutely love it! I do add a wee bit more cinnamon & use coconut sugar, and add raisins. It is still delicious! My husband’s Team loves it too! Thank you again!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Yasmin. I am so glad that you have been able to share this loaf with great success!! Your adaptations sound delicious. Lucky team member that have you baking for them!
Ashli
These are amazing. Slightly dense, very moist and very very hard to resist. I made these as a "healthy" alternative to cupcakes for my daughter's birthday celebration at school. They were so popular she asked for them again next year. They are indeed better day after (if they last that long), especially heated with a bit of butter. Love!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Ashli. What a delicious birthday treat! I'm so glad they were such a hit with both you AND the birthday girl. 🙂 Thank you for writing a comment (and leaving a 5 star rating) to let me know!
Kerri
I’m going to try this weekend can i use gluten free flour?
Wendy Sondov
Yes, Kerri, you can use gluten free flour. I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1. The gf cake isn't exactly the same in texture (it's a little more dense and chewy), but it is very tasty. I'm making the cake with gf flour tomorrow for my daughter.
Dan
Do you think substituting pumpkin puree for the applesauce is acceptable?
Wendy Sondov
Hi Dan. That is an interesting suggestion. I've never tried turning this applesauce bread into pumpkin bread, but in theory it sounds like it might work. I would add some spices (pie spice types). If you try it, I would love to hear how it turns out!
Marie I Miller
When I take my cakes out of the pans they are so sticky that some of the top comes off. Is there a way to avoid this?
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Marie. I've never had that happen with this recipe and I've baked it for decades. This loaf is moist, but it should never be sticky. My first thought is that the cake wasn't baked long enough. Did you test with a toothpick to see if it came out clean? Every oven bakes a little differently and you can't go just by the timing in the recipe. That is why the recipe recommends you do the toothpick test. I would also check the oven temperature with an oven thermometer to make sure the oven is heating to the right temperature. I hope this helps.
Marie I Miller
Thanks, I did the toothpick test and it came out OK. The cake is really good so I'm going to bake it again and next time I'll bake it a little longer.
Lisa Forchette
Aloha🌺Wendy, loved your applesauce honey cake I added chopped walnuts to mine… I’m so fortunate to have a honey farm close by, it’s the honey that makes it🐝...... i’ve made other honey cakes using up to 1 cup of honey and I have to say yours beat them all. Mahalo Lisa
Wendy Sondov
Aloha,Lisa! I love that you were able to use local honey to make your cake! This summer we had a huge, old tree fall with a giant bee hive inside. I was so lucky to find an amazing bee keeping couple who worked so hard to rehome the bees. Though I'm not an insect fan, the process was fascinating and gave me a true appreciation for bees and honey. The couple gifted me a jar of their honey and I was able to use that in my honey cake. I totally agree that the honey makes this cake! Thank you for your kind words. Mahalo Wendy
Carol
I am loving that this had a seemingly happy ending. We need those bees to survive on this planet, and we also need people that can also take over when things like this happen.
Nichole Green
Hi Wendy,
I'm wondering if I could substitute half of the applesauce for a homemade prune sauce or prune baby food?
My 3 year old Grandson has a hard time with constipation and this recipe sounds very good. Nothing the doctors have recommended have made any substantial improvement, so I'm looking for different recipes to try.
Thanks for your response in advance!
Nichole
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Nicole. I haven't tried using a different fruit sauce in this recipe, but I don't see why it wouldn't work with a prune sauce/puree. The cake as written definitely has an apple sauce flavor, so if you are trying to hide the prune flavor, this recipe probably will not work for your purpose. Good luck!
Monica
I cook both of these cakes today and follow directions to leave in from 35 to 45 minutes. this was definitely not enough time as the center of both cakes fell and was very gooey and soft in the middle so it's undercook. I don't think I will be making this cake again. I returned one of them back to the oven for an additional 25 minutes at 350 degrees. To my amazement, the cake actually rised back up to level!
Wendy Sondov
Hi Monica. I'm sorry to hear that your cake didn't work out as planned. It is important to note that every oven is different, and baking pans differ in material and thickness. Baking times will always vary. The recipe tells you to check for doneness with a toothpick (or cake tester) before removing from the oven. In your case, the toothpick would have come out with uncooked batter on it, indicating that you needed to cook it longer.
Monica
Hi Wendy, I cut the cake this morning and to my amazement it is actually very delicious. I did however as I stated earlier had to return it to the oven for an additional 25 minutes for the cake to rise up but it is delicious so I am changing my opinion as far as making it again. I will try to make it again and I will definitely leave in oven for at least an hour for two 9×5 loaf pan cakes. Thank you for your recipe.
Emily
Followed recipe as written and used two regular loaf pans. The cake is delicious. However they needed to cook a lot longer than indicated. We stopped at 50 min for fear of drying them out but they were super gooey (not done) in the middle. This will not deter us from eating them! Next time would just leave them in a bit longer. Wonderful flavor!!
Wendy Sondov
I am glad you enjoyed the cake and the flavor. Please note that the recipe tells you to insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf to test for doneness. Timing varies greatly based on the exact size of the loaf pans ("regular" can mean different sizes), what the pan is made of, and the thickness of the pan. Also, ovens heat differently and are often not calibrated to the temperature you set them at. Always use recipe timing just as a general guide. 🙂