Citrus And Honey Cake Recipes

LEMON HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Cakes: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line with parchment, then coat parchment with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together honey, milk, and oil.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, and zest on high speed until thickened, about 3 minutes. With mixer on medium speed, slowly add honey mixture and beat to combine, 1 minute. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
• Divide batter between prepared pans and bake until tops spring back and edges start to pull away from sides of pan, about 25 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack 25 minutes; invert onto rack, top-sides up, and let cool completely.
• Curd: Combine eggs, yolks, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over high and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and starting to bubble around edges, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in cream cheese, one piece at a time.
• Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible (you should have about 2 cups); discard solids. Cover curd with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Assembly: Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place a cake bottom on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread 2 tablespoons honey over top. Spread 1/2 cup curd over top, stopping slightly short of edges, then place a cake top on curd, cut-side up. Spread with 2 tablespoons honey and another 1/2 cup curd.
• Repeat with second cake bottom, 2 more tablespoons honey, and 1/2 cup curd. Spread cut side of final cake layer with 2 tablespoons honey, then place on top of assembled cake, top-side up. Spread top with remaining 1/2 cup curd, swirling as desired. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours before serving, topped with honeycomb or a drizzle of honey.

SUNSHINE CITRUS CAKE

Steps:

• Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler with 1-2 inches of water. (Or use the DIY double boiler method listed in the notes.) Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to low heat to keep the water at a simmer. Place egg yolks, egg, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler. Using a silicone whisk (avoid metal because it leaves an aftertaste), whisk until completely blended and then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick and is the consistency of hollandaise sauce or a really thick soup, about 10 minutes or when an instant read thermometer reaches 160°F (71°C). If curd isn't thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk. Remove pan from heat. Cut the butter into 6 separate pieces and then whisk into the curd until butter has melted and combined. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. This prevents a skin from forming on top. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Place in refrigerator to speed up cooling. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed. Refrigerate the curd for up to about 10 days or for longer storage, you can freeze the cooled curd for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying. Makes 1 heaping cup.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 6×2 inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the small cakes seamlessly release from the pans.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the citrus zest. Beat on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Add half of the flour mixture (just eyeball it), half of the milk, and half of the citrus juice. Beat on low speed until mostly combined, and then add the remaining flour mixture, milk, and citrus juice. Beat on low speed until combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick with some small lumps. You will have between 3.5 - 4 cups of batter.
• Divide and pour batter evenly into cake pans. If batter appears to have bubbles, give the pans a light tap on the counter to pop them. Bake cakes for 18-21 minutes or until baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done.
• Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans and set them on a wire rack to cool completely. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
• In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract, and then beat on medium speed until combined and completely smooth (absolutely no lumps), at least 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to smooth out. Switch to a whisk attachment (if you haven't already been using it). Turn the mixer to low speed and with the mixer running, carefully pour in the cream in a slow and steady stream. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until thick and stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Do not walk away during this time and do not be concerned if your frosting takes longer to whip. You're looking for a thick, airy consistency with stiff peaks. If your frosting appears soupy now or at any point you are working with it, it needs more whipping to introduce more air. If your frosting appears chunky or curdled, it's over-whipped. To fix, stir 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream into the frosting by hand to smooth out again. You will have about 3.5 cups of frosting.
• Spoon 1 cup of frosting (about 240ml) into a separate bowl. Stir in 3 heaping Tablespoons of cooled lemon curd. This will be your filling for the cake. Enjoy remaining lemon curd drizzled on the cake slices or as a topping on other baked goods.
• First, make sure you have enough room for the cake inside your refrigerator because it must chill at the end of this step and briefly in the next step as well. If the cake layers aren't flat on top, carefully and slowly level them off using a large serrated knife. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with 1/2 of the lemon curd frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with remaining lemon curd frosting (if you have extras, just use it on the exterior of the cake). Top with the third cake layer. Spread a very thin layer of regular whipped frosting on top and all around the sides of the cake to create a crumb coat. A bench scraper and small icing spatula are handy for this. Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Add remaining frosting on chilled crumb-coated cake using a small icing spatula or a larger flat icing spatula. Use a bench scraper, if desired, to smooth out the sides. Refrigerate the decorated cake uncovered for at least 30 minutes to help set the frosting. After that, if you used a cake turntable, you can carefully transfer the cake to a cake stand or serving plate using a couple flat spatulas.
• After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, the decorated cake is fine to slice and serve or sit out at room temperature for a few hours. Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

GREEK CITRUS HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift dry ingredients together. In medium bowl, beat olive oil, gradually adding honey. Alternately fold in dry ingredients and juices, using about a fourth each time. Pour into oiled and floured 9-inch round cake pan. Bake about 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool completely on rack before removing from pan. Dust with sugar. Serve with fresh fruit if desired.

GREEK HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and orange rind. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the walnuts.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut into diamond shapes. Pour honey syrup over the cake.
• For the Honey Syrup: In a saucepan, combine honey, 1 cup sugar and water. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.

HIDDEN APPLES AND HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Stand each apple upright (with what would have been the stem-side up) on a cutting board. Working with 1 apple at a time, slice the apples vertically 1/4 inch thick, squeezing together the slices to keep the shape of the whole apple as intact as possible. Immediately place it into the prepared loaf pan, keeping the shape of the whole apple intact with the slices parallel to the long sides of the pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 apples.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla and 1/2 cup honey in another medium bowl until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter over the apples in the loaf pan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all the batter is used. Gently tap the pan 3 times on the counter to evenly distribute the batter throughout the apples.
• Bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool completely, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving platter.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar with 1 teaspoon water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1 tablespoon honey in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake. Serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

CITRUS AND HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• For the frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until combined. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the honey and mix until smooth.
• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and lightly flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix together the buttermilk, honey and vanilla in a second medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and white sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the orange zest and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the dry and wet ingredients, alternating, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• Place one cake onto a serving plate or cake stand and top with about 1 cup of honey cream cheese frosting. Repeat with the second cake, 1 cup more frosting and then the last cake. Crumb coat and frost the cake with the remaining frosting. Refrigerate until the frosting is set, about 20 minutes.
• For the chocolate ganache drip: Place the disks into a heat-resistant bowl (glass or metal). Warm the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it just starts to boil. (I always look for small bubbles forming around the edge and a soft boil starting in the middle.) When you see that it's just starting to boil, pour it into your bowl of disks and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk the ganache until it's uniform in consistency and there are no bits of the disks left on your whisk. Cool the ganache at room temperature for about 30 minutes (or until the ganache itself is room temperature).
• To decorate: Melt the pale yellow melting chocolate disks over a double boiler. Lightly grease a small sheet of bubble wrap with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the melted chocolate over the greased bubble wrap with an offset spatula to spread into an even and thin layer. Place into the refrigerator just to set, about 15 minutes.
• Gently pull the bubble wrap to remove the chocolate, then break it into large shards. Put the ganache in a squeeze bottle and drip it down the edge of the cake. Squeeze a small amount on top of the cake and spread to cover (or leave the top uncovered). Decorate the cake with orange slices that've been brushed with honey, along with shards of "chocolate honey comb" and yellow and orange candy balls.

CITRUS HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment.
• Cover the oranges with water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer for 1 hour. Add the lemon and continue simmering another 45 minutes. Drain and discard the water. Set the citrus aside to cool.
• Add the sugar, honey and 3 of the eggs to a large bowl and beat with a handheld mixer on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups of the almond flour, the remaining 2 eggs, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves and salt; mix together on medium speed just until combined. Add the remaining almond flour and again mix on low speed just until combined.
• Quarter the cooled lemon and oranges and add to a food processor. Process until smooth. Fold the citrus puree into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until deep golden brown and the cake springs back to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes.
• Invert the pan onto a cake plate or serving platter; open the springform pan and carefully remove the ring. Remove the parchment and place a doily or stencil on top and dust with confectioners' sugar to create a design just before serving. Garnish with edible flowers and serve.