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Honey Crunch Cake

Honey Crunch Cake features a 6", 2-layer honey vanilla bean cake, honey cream cheese frosting, and a homemade honeycomb crunch layer. Celebrate all things honey with this rustic yet elegant cake.
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Keyword 6 inch layer cake, cream cheese frosting, honey cream cheese frosting, honey recipes, honeycomb candy
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 generous servings

Ingredients

HONEY LAYER CAKE INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature

HONEYCOMB CANDY CRUNCH**

  • 1/4 honey
  • 1/2 + 1/8 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 TBSP baking soda
  • pinch of salt

HONEY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

HONEY CAKE PREP INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Spray two, 6-inch cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

HONEY CAKE BAKING INSTRUCTIONS

  • Use a hand-mixer to cream together the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until completely combined.
  • Beat in the vanilla bean paste and the honey until completely combined.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
  • Alternately add the flour mixture and the Greek yogurt to the batter, beating well between each addition, until all ingredients are combined.
  • Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake honey cake layers at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a tooth pickinserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. (While cakes are baking, you can make the honeycomb candy. See below.)
  • Remove the cake pans from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out from the pans and finish cooling on wire racks. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.

HONEYCOMB CANDY CRUNCH PREP INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Measure out the baking soda into a small bowl. Whisk to break up the clumps and set aside.
  • Measure out the vanilla into a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside near stovetop.
  • Get out a silicone spatula and digital thermometer, and set aside near stovetop.

HONEYCOMB CANDY CRUNCH COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a 2-3 QT pot, combine the honey, granulated sugar, and salt. Heat mixture over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly until the mixture turns liquid.
  • Continue to cook honeycomb mixture, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until mixture becomes bubbly, turns a golden caramel color, and reaches 295F on your digital thermometer.
  • Turn off the heat under the pot. Immediately add the vanilla extract and baking soda into the honey mixture. Stir mixture with the spatula until the baking soda is completely dissolved, 1-2 minutes.
  • Immediately pour out the HOT! honeycomb mixture in a single layer into the prepared baking pan.
  • Let honeycomb candy cool completely (20-30 minutes) before breaking it into pieces.
  • Place ΒΌ of the honeycomb candy in a resealable plastic bag, close it, and smash the candy into bite-size pieces. Set aside for when you layer and frost your cake.
  • Use the remaining honeycomb candy to decorate the top of the cake, to your taste. Store remaining pieces in an airtight container or bag so they stay crisp.

HONEY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INSTRUCTIONS

  • Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat all frosting ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Frosting will be thick but a little loose; it will firm up a bit once refrigerated.

HONEY CRUNCH CAKE DECORATING INSTRUCTIONS

  • Cut the top off each cake so you have a flat, even surface.
  • Turn one of the cakes upside-down on a cake stand. Spread about half of the honey cream cheese frosting over the cake, right to the edges.
  • Sprinkle the bite-size pieces of honeycomb candy over the frosting.
  • Keep the other cake layer rightside-up. Spread a thin layer of frosting onto the bottom and sandwich it on top of the honeycomb pieces sprinkled over the cake.
  • Spread the remaining frosting over the top of the Honey Crunch Cake. Decorate with remaining honeycomb pieces and serve.

Notes

**Honeycomb Candy Crunch is an adapted version of this recipe.