Sometimes you just feel like a slice of cake. A slice of cake that is humble, down to earth and full of fragrant spice and honey flavours. Not a fancy cake, which has been dressed up to an inch of its life and looks like it will be in the running for best dressed at the Melbourne Cup. A plain Jane cake that will satisfy the urge for something homemade, with your afternoon cup of tea or that after dinner sweet craving. This honey cake fulfils that “I just feel like a slice of cake” moment.
What I love about this honey cake is that you can dress it up if you want to, but I like it most of all plain, which means I can slather a slice with butter. In fact I think this cake is even better a couple of days after baking when you do slather it copiously with butter.
I often make this cake in a loaf tin, which means that after a few days you can even give it a light toasting to make it go that extra mile. That is of course if you haven’t eaten it all by then.
- 150g butter
- 250ml honey
- 100g brown sugar
- 300g self raising flour
- 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1.5 teaspoons ginger
- 2 eggs
- Preheat over to 180°C (360 °F). Line and grease a 20cm round cake tin.
- In a medium saucepan place butter, honey and brown sugar. Over a low heat stir the ingredients until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl sift flour and spices. Add the cooled butter mixture and eggs. Using electric beaters, beat until the mixture is combined and smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for around 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked. Test with a skewer to ensure that the cake has cooked through. The skewer will be sticky, but there should be no batter attached to it when cake is tested.
- Cool in tin for 10 minutes and then remove cake from tin and cook on a wire rack.
Nothing else needs to be done to the cake, but if you feel making it a little more fancy, dust with icing sugar, but it really isn’t necessary. Yes, I did dust this particular cake with icing sugar, but only so it would look prettier in the photographs. If you do feel the need for icing, a drizzle of lemon icing would go rather well with this cake. I prefer to keep it non iced and indulge in some butter slathering and toasting when the time comes.
Do you have a favourite plain Jane cake? (Apologies for any Janes I may upset by using that saying).
Sara xxx
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This looks like my kind of cake, simple and delicious.
The Surprised Gourmet recently posted..Cold Cucumber Soup
Thank you, there are times when you just feel like a slice of simple.
This looks so similar to the Dutch breakfast cake I’ve been eating. And the fact I have all the ingredients in my pantry could be a very dangerous thing!
Helen | Grab Your Fork recently posted..Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys – Good Food Month 2015
Sounds like it could be dangerous, and it does taste similar to Dutch breakfast cake.
Ha ha! I feel like the term “Plain Jane” should be “Plain Lynn” = because I hardly know any other Lynns but I know a ton of Janes!
Lynn @ The Actor’s Diet recently posted..What’s New Pussycat
Hehehe. I am positive there is nothing plain about your Janes or yourself Lynn!
I adore honey cake. Dangerously adore. That thing wouldn’t last a day in this house. Honestly!
john | heneedsfood recently posted..Thai BBQ pork
It didn’t last too long in ours either 😉
Love the recipe – you said it can be made in a loaf tin – what size and how long would the cook time be? I’ll be giving this a try tomorrow. Thanks
Hi Tricia, you could use a loaf tin around the size of 10cm x 20cm. My loaf tin is 10.5cm x 21.5cm. I envisage cooking time to be roughly the same, but just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out.
Thanks Sara- will give it a go. I too love a simple cake – simple doesn’t equate to boring in my mind. Sometimes you just don’t need fuss
Why are the measurements so weird?!
Hi Vanessa, which measurements and in what way weird?