This is a luscious cake. It was inspired by a lemon poppy seed cake, but the combination of orange and honey makes this quite different, a unique cake. The flavor of honey and orange permeates the cake and complements the crunch of the poppy seeds.
If you don’t have honey crystals, this is still a special cake using granulated sugar. You can get honey crystals for free with a $25 order. You can get poppy seeds for half price.
Ingredients
- 1/2-pound butter
- 1/3 cup honey crystals [1] (you may substitute granulated sugar)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup poppy seeds [2]
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3/4 cup milk
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an nine-inch round cake pan by buttering the pan and dusting it with flour.
- Cream together the butter, honey crystals, and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the orange zest.
- Whisk the flour and baking powder together in another bowl. Add the poppy seeds.
- Mix the orange juice and milk together. Alternately, stir the flour mixture and the liquid mixture into the creamed mixture stirring no more than is necessary to combine the ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
For the sauce
- 1 cup honey crystals (You may substitute 2/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup honey)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
- most of the peel from one large orange
Directions
- Cut the peel carefully from the orange avoiding the white under layer which is bitter.
- Stir the ingredients together in a saucepan.
- Cook on medium heat until the mixture boils for eight to ten minutes and turns syrupy, stirring often.
- Pour half of the hot mixture over the cake and serve the rest as a table sauce.