Greek Honey Cake

Today’s recipe is my version of a traditional Greek Honey Cake.

These honey cakes are a tradition in Greece and have been made for centuries. These cakes date back to the Ancient Greeks, who made little honey cakes from flour, honey and oil, sometimes baked with fresh flowers inside them, as gifts to their gods. They considered honey to be an important food as well as a healing medicine. Greek mythology also views honey as an aphrodisiac causing the lovers heart to fill with sweetness.

What a perfect cake to celebrate another year of life many more years of good living, which is also a Greek tradition/philosophy! 

Don’t be fooled the cake itself is only slightly sweet with a nice hint of lemon flavor, but with the honey sauce this cake has just the right amount of sweetness, and reminds me of a pancake with syrup.

Greek Honey Cake
by Heather of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Serves 6-8
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
Honey Syrup:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lemon, juiced and zested
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 inch cake pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine the milk, vanilla, yogurt and lemon juice and zest.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then slice. Pour honey syrup over the cake, right before serving.

For the Honey Syrup: In a saucepan, combine honey, brown sugar and water. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, lemon juice and zest, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.