Inspired by the idea of sharing a little bit of Grandma Bea with you, I pulled out her recipe box and started thumbing through the cards.

Grandma's recipe box

The cards are worn, stained and nearly all hand-written. It was like combing through an album of my childhood, delicious flavor by delicious flavor.

I stopped when I got to the recipe for Nanna G’s honey cake. Nanna G was Grandma’s mother-in-law, my Great Grandmother.  She was a no nonsense kind of lady that ran a really tight ship and according to my mother, knew her way around the kitchen. Honey cake was one of her staples.

Feeling a little intimidated by the lack of detailed instruction on the recipe card,  I thought I would give it a try.

honey cake recipe card

This is ALL the card says:

Grease pan – line with parchment and grease again

Beat together

• 1 ¼ cups of honey
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups hot coffee
• 2 cups brown sugar

beat in:

• 5 eggs
• juice of ½ a lemon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon clove

add

• 5 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• bake at 325 for 60 to 75 minutes.

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer from start to finish adding each ingredient in the order listed. The batter came out smooth and very fluid.

batter

And into the oven at 325 for 75 minutes exactly!

Just out of the oven

By the time it finished baking our apartment smelled a little like Thanksgiving with a sweet clove aroma.   It’s a dense cake that’s very moist, sweet and spicy all together.

a slice of honey

I tasted a piece plain right out of the oven and then a piece topped with some salty butter. Delicious!

This recipe made a huge cake. It could have easily been made into 2 or 3 small loaf pans instead of one large cake or 2 nine-inch rounds.  With its spicy fall flavors its a perfect dessert to bring to Thanksgiving or a holiday party.

Just don’t forget to line your pan with parchment paper and butter again before you pour in your batter to avoid a sticky situation…

cake crash!