Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

This orange and honey cake is full of sweet, citrusy flavours with that delightful combination of floral honey and zesty orange. The two flavours bounce off each other so well, adding a new dimension to a traditional honey cake!

I’ve made my orange and honey cake into a loaf cake – this makes it perfect to slice and serve up to guests with a cup of tea.

It’s topped with candied orange slices, which you can easily make yourself at home. Altogether, it’s a simple homemade cake that looks and tastes impressive.

Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations

Honey – the better quality your honey, the better your cake will be. The cheapest honeys are often not actually 100% honey, but have added syrup – check the ingredients to make sure you have real honey.
Caster sugar – your honey is sweet, but we add sugar too because it helps the cake to rise and keeps it light and fluffy.
Butter – unsalted is best here. You’ll want it really quite soft in order to mix the honey and sugar into it.
Eggs – use medium or large eggs.
Oranges – orange juice and zest is used in the cake, then slices are added to the top and more orange juice is used in the syrup.
Self raising flour – if you don’t have self raising, switch for plain flour and two level teaspoons of baking powder.

Orange and Honey Cake Recipe

orange and honey loaf cake with glossy candied orange topping – sweet and fragrant homemade cake recipe.

A delicious, moist yet light and fluffy homemade orange and honey cake, topped with candied orange slices.

Harriet Young Start Cooking in Cook Mode

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Serving Size slices

Equipment

Ingredients

140 grams butter softened
150 grams honey
150 grams caster sugar
3 eggs
2 oranges
245 grams self raising flour
100 millilitres water

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or a loaf tin liner.
Put 100g of the honey and 100g of the caster sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and beat until well combined.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each one.
Add the juice of 1/2 an orange and the zest of 1 orange to the bowl. Stir, then add the flour. Fold until it is all mixed in.
Spoon the batter into the loaf tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven.
Meanwhile, make the candied orange slices. Thinly slice half an orange, then cut those slices in half again. Put the water, juice of half an orange, 50 grams of honey and 50 grams of caster sugar into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, add the orange slices then cook on a low heat for 30-40 minutes, until soft.
When you have removed the cake from the oven, place the orange slices on top to cover the whole cake. Pierce the cake in a few places with a skewer and drizzle over the syrup from the saucepan. Leave to cool fully before eating.

Video

Notes

This cake will keep for 4-5 days well wrapped in a cool, dry place. You can also freeze it – when fully cool, wrap with clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before eating.