Honey Nut Snack Cake with a honey cinnamon sugar pecan filling and honey glaze on top is an ideal make-and-take dessert when spending time with family and friends (plus it doubles up as cake for breakfast or brunch).


Honey Nut Snack Cake

When I’m ordering food from a menu, there are certain buzz words that catch my attention. Take honey, for example. If I see the word honey on a menu, I’m hooked. A long, long time ago (according to Google – in 2008), a popular coffee house released a honey latte. I really enjoyed it, but shortly afterwards it was taken off the menu. That doesn’t stop me from putting honey in my morning coffee sometimes. I also love ordering honey ice cream with flavors such as honey milk chocolate and honey nutter. Honey is versatile enough to be used in savory recipes too, such as a honey butter glaze for homemade crescent rolls and a honey sriracha sauce for spicy shrimp tacos. Needless to say, I really enjoy honey.

With the holidays in full swing, it’s time to start thinking about getting together with family and friends you may not see too often throughout the year. For me, it’s usually in the evenings, mainly on the weekend. Evenings with friends to me are synonymous with dessert, and it doesn’t always have to be fancy. Take this Honey Nut Snack Cake for example. This simple snack cake is baked, glazed, and served in one pan, making it an ideal make-and-take dessert (or if you’re hosting, you don’t need to fuss with unmolding and frosting it). The cake has a bit of crunch from the honey cinnamon sugar pecan filling then topped with a sweet honey glaze. It also doubles up as a sweet treat for breakfast or brunch.


Honey Nut Snack Cake

A few years ago when I attended a blogging retreat, there was a bee keeper who educated us about honey followed by a honey tasting of the different varieties. Did you know there are over 300 unique types of honey? The type and flavor of honey depends on the nectar source of flowers the bees visited, including the season the honey was produced. We tasted spring and autumn honeys as well as honey sourced from different plants with clover, wildflower, and orange blossom being popular favorites. To be honest, I can’t remember too many details, but I do remember each honey had a distinct taste and color.


Honey Nut Snack Cake

You can use almost any variety of honey you want in this cake recipe. The honey I used is called Black Locust Honey, which according to the bottle is “delicate, sweet, fruity with a hint of vanilla” and is considered a rare treat because the black locust honey crop isn’t produced every year. However, if you’re new to baking with honey, I highly recommend starting with clover honey as that’s the most common type.

Honey Nut Snack Cake

Honey Nut Snack Cake

Yield: 9-12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Honey Nut Snack Cake with a honey cinnamon sugar pecan filling and honey glaze on top is an ideal make-and-take dessert when spending time with family and friends (plus it doubles up as cake for breakfast or brunch).

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

Honey Nut Filling

  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Honey Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the honey until smooth.
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla (batter may look slightly curdled).
  5. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream or yogurt in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour.
  6. For the filling: In a medium bowl, mix together the pecans, honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
  7. Spread half of the batter into the pan. Top with honey nut filling. Cover with the remaining batter. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, honey, milk, and vanilla. Spread over the still-warm cake. Let glaze harden before serving.

Did you make this recipe?

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Source: Adapted from my apple fritter cake

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the National Honey Board. Thank you for supporting me and the companies I work with as sponsored posts help pay for the costs of running Chocolate Moosey, including website hosting and groceries for recipe development.