Honey Cakes, Buns, and More to Sweeten Your Plate
Honey sweetens your baking while adding its own signature taste. Here's how to use it in baked goods from honey cake and bread pudding to bars.
Honey bread pudding
Let's begin with a rich dessert that also has a rich history. Bread pudding recipes date back to at least the 1800s, and they're as delicious now as they were then. This Honey Berry Bread Pudding recipe uses Pure Vanilla Extract to create a creamy custard that mixes with flaky croissant, bread and berries.
Our Billy Bee Honey is the star of this dessert, giving the custard an unmistakable natural sweetness. The pudding bakes on a dish dusted with a layer of brown sugar to create a rich caramel coating. Serve it in squares after baking. You can refrigerate any leftovers, but if you leave the dish out, we doubt that'll be a problem.
Honey Cake
If cakes are more your thing, we have you covered. This Spiced Honey Cake with Labneh Frosting uses another dairy product. Labneh is a soft cheese made from strained yogurt that is popular in the Middle East, and it's easy to make at home if it isn't in your local store. It makes the frosting for this sweet honey-infused cupcake, which also includes a host of rich spices including cloves, cumin and peppercorns. Our Warming Spice Blend recipe has the specific mix of flavours that gives depth to both the honey cake and the frosting.
For a cake in an actual cup, check out this Apple Spice Mug Cake recipe. It uses Billy Bee Liquid Honey and our Pumpkin Pie Spice, along with apple sauce, to create a sweet dessert that's ready in just seven minutes.
Liquid honey also lends sweet notes to a buttery, fruity recipe that rounds off our collection of sweet treats. People often drizzle honey on a scone, but these Irish Soda Bread Scones with Honey and Nutmeg put it on the inside. The nutmeg gives it an extra layer of spice that cry out for a little clotted cream and jam.
Honey bars
Here's another kind of square: a chewy Honey Apple Crumb Bar that is perfect either as a mid-afternoon treat or as a dessert in a child's lunchbox. These bars, which can be ready in an hour, blend liquid honey with cinnamon, nutmeg and apples for a sweet seasonal fall spice that you can enjoy all year round.
Honey goes into this bite-sized treat, but it also goes on top as an optional drizzle that provides extra visual appeal. These bars last for up to three days at room temperature, but only if you hide them well.
You can be as imaginative as you like with honey bars. This sweet nectar is an ingredient that people use worldwide, creating rich opportunities for different spices and textures in your baking. Inspired by Indian lassi yogurt drinks, our Mango Lassi Bar recipe uses fragrant cardamom along with earthy-sweet turmeric and the gentle heat of ginger to create a sweet honey treat that doesn't even need baking.
There are a few extra ingredients in this bar, including coconut cream or milk, yogurt and cream cheese, but it's worth the extra effort. Rolling it in pistachios rounds off the smooth dairy texture with a welcome crunch. Our recipe makes 36 servings. Trust us, you'll need them all.
Whether you're baking or just mixing and chilling, sweet honey treats are perfect for a family dessert or just as a treat to go with an afternoon tea on the couch. When you're dipping into honey cake in a mug or choosing a honey square, remember to thank the bees.
