Happy Spring – Honey Lemon Cake

Today is the first day of spring 2014!  Hurray!  In honor of this most important day I thought I needed to share this adorable and delicious cake recipe with you once again.  It fits the bill for a recipe using honey and it says “spring” like nobody’s business.

This cake is without a doubt the cutest cake I’ve ever made.  I’ve taken my sweet time baking in this adorable pan that Miss T gave me at Christmas.  Time was eaten up with my job, traveling and general day-to-day “stuff”.  I admit I was a bit concerned that it wouldn’t release into the cuteness it is.  I’m happy to say it released darn near perfectly.

This oh so cute honeycomb pan made by Nordic Ware is a perfect match for The Orange Bee kitchen!.  I’ve seen the unusual Bundt cake pans they make but had never laid eyes on this one.  It is one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.  Thanks Miss T!

Since I was a bit worried about the cake releasing I decided to follow the recipe that came with the pan.  It is perfection.  Light and airy inside and crisp on the edges.  You should know by now that citrus is one of my favorite flavors so adding lemon rind to the batter and lemon juice to the glaze gave it that little tang I enjoy so much.  Of course the honey added to the glaze gives health benefits like no other sweetener.  Next I’ll try a different recipe just to see what the final results are but for now a little piece of comb with or without a bee on top is a delightful spring snack or dessert.

Enjoy!

Honey Lemon Bee Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp. finely grated lemon rind
1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt

Glaze:
3 tbsp.honey
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Heat oven to 325*.  Grease and flour pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl beat butter and sugar on low-speed until blended.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and beat until well blended.  Add flour mixture; sour cream and lemon rind; blend on low-speed 1 minute, scraping bowl often.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan.

Meanwhile, make glaze.  In a small saucepan combine all glaze ingredients and heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves and glaze is warm.  Invert cake onto cooling rack and brush with honey glaze.