ALMOND HONEYCOMB CAKE

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Almond Honeycomb Cake image

This melt-in-your-mouth cake is soaked with the flavors of wildflower honey, citrus and cardamom before getting a finishing touch of glossy honey glaze -- just like a real honeycomb!

Provided by Food Network Kitchen

Categories     dessert

Time 2h30m

Yield 10 to 12 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 cups almond flour (see Cook's Note)
3 tablespoons whiskey, such as Maker's Mark
1 orange
8 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 1/2 cups wildflower honey

Steps:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Thoroughly butter a 12 1/4-by-11 2/3-inch honeycomb pull-apart dessert pan, making sure to cover all the detailed nooks and crannies. Lightly dust the pan with all-purpose flour (sifting the flour over the top of the pan works best; tap out excess).
  • Beat the butter, salt and 1 3/4 cups of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until well combined (the butter does not need to be fluffy), about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until incorporated (the mixture will first appear loose and broken, but will eventually come together). Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and beat into the butter mixture; reserve the pod for another use.
  • Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the almond flour until combined. Add the all-purpose flour and beat on low until combined. Add the whiskey and beat on low until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Tap the pan firmly on the counter a few times to force batter into the edges of the pan.
  • Bake the cake until golden brown, the edges begin to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center and edges of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate; carefully remove the pan and very lightly brush away any excess flour from the top of the cake.
  • Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to peel wide strips from half of the orange (about 6 strips).
  • Boil the cardamom pods in 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated and the mixture is very fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the honey and the orange peels. Let sit for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a mesh sieve into a small glass measuring cup; discard the solids. The mixture should be very thin and slightly warm; gently re-heat if necessary. Slowly drizzle the mixture over the warm cake, allowing the cake to soak up the honey before adding more. Let the cake cool, about 1 hour.
  • Just before serving, heat the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon water in small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup honey until combined, then remove from the heat and drizzle over the top of cake, allowing the honey to slowly drip over the sides and into each honeycomb.

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