This dessert was one of the very first recipes I posted on my blog. It has since become a holiday favorite for many families! I have updated this post and republished it with new pictures and more detailed recipe instructions. Enjoy!
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Summer is coming to an end, which means goodbye sunshine, hello holidays! From September through the end of the year, we celebrate some amazing food-filled Jewish holidays.
The first is Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year signifying the end of the Hebrew calendar cycle. It is the first of what we call the High Holidays (or High Holy Days), a ten-day period that ends with Yom Kippur—the holiest day of the Jewish year. Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri, which is the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. On the Roman calendar, Rosh Hashanah usually occurs during the month of September.
The Rosh Hashanah holiday is a time for reflection. We recognize and admit the things we’ve done wrong over the past year. Let’s face it, nobody’s perfect. Rosh Hashanah allows us to recognize our shortcomings, providing an opportunity to better ourselves through prayer. We are also actively encouraged to repent by seeking forgiveness from the people we have wronged during the previous year. It is not uncommon for Jews to apologize to people they have mistreated so they can start the new year fresh, with a “clean slate.” We are reminded not to repeat these mistakes in the coming year; in this way, Rosh Hashanah is an opportunity to improve the way we approach the world. It’s a holiday that helps us to become better people. And that’s a beautiful thing. 🙂
The shofar, a special instrument made from the horn of a kosher animal, is blown on Rosh Hashanah
Jews from different parts of the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah in a variety of ways. Holiday traditions vary according to family background and local customs.
A special prayer service is held at synagogue emphasizing both repentance and remembrance. During this service, gratitude is expressed to God for the creation of the world and humanity. The shofar, a special instrument made from the horn of a kosher animal (usually a ram), is blown. Tzedakah, or charitable giving, is also part of the holiday. Good deeds are done in the hopes that God will seal our names in the “Book of Life,” which brings the promise of a happy year to come.
And then, of course, there’s the food. What would a Jewish holiday be without a celebratory meal of epic proportions? (Unless of course it’s Yom Kippur, a fasting holiday.)
The Rosh Hashanah meal—or meals, depending on the way you celebrate—are particularly fun, because they feature symbolic foods that signify our hope for a “sweet new year.” We enjoy “new fruit,” a fruit that has recently come into season but we have not yet had the opportunity to enjoy this year (often a pomegranate). The head of a fish is sometimes served, symbolizing the literal translation of Rosh Hashanah, which means “Head of the Year” in Hebrew (on our table it’s strictly symbolic, we don’t eat it). Challah is baked fresh, sweetened with raisins or fruit and braided into a round shape. Apples and challah are dipped in honey, again symbolizing sweetness. In fact, honey is a major ingredient in many traditional Rosh Hashanah dishes, including the famous (or should I say infamous!) Rosh Hashanah honey cake.
Honey, apples and challah are traditional Rosh Hashanah foods.
I had trouble getting excited about this whole honey cake tradition. At my first few Rosh Hashanah celebrations, the honey cake was my least favorite part of the meal. It’s usually a dry, overly-spiced, overly-sweet cake that sits virtually untouched on the Rosh Hashanah buffet—more like an afterthought than a truly inspiring dessert.
I tried many traditional honey cake recipes over the years, but each one seemed more disappointing than the last. I experimented with my own recipe ideas, but it always turned out kind of…well, honestly, kind of blah tasting.
A few years ago, as we were dipping our apples into honey, it occurred to me that maybe I’d been approaching this whole honey cake thing from the wrong perspective. Yes, a honey cake is traditional—but apples are also a traditional Rosh Hashanah food. Why not combine the two flavors into one dessert cake?
Around that same time I bought my first Bundt cake pan, so I decided to play around with it and see what I could come up with. After a few failed attempts, I discovered the right combination of ingredients and baked an irresistible Honey Apple Cake. Shredding apples into the batter lends moisture and creates a lovely texture.
This recipe is now our Rosh Hashanah tradition. My family enjoys it so much that I often serve it for other cold weather holidays like Sukkot, Thanksgiving and Purim. I’m so excited to share it with you!
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Honey Apple Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups canola oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups all purpose baking flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- Dash ground cloves
- 4 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and shredded)
Icing
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 to 2 tablespoons water or non-dairy creamer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are frothy. Whisk in the honey, white sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla. In a separate medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and spices. Incorporate the flour mixture into the liquid, stir to blend. Fold in the shredded apples and their juice.
- Spray your Bundt pan with cooking spray, making sure to evenly coat the entire inner surface. Pour your batter into the pan. Bundt pan depths vary, so make sure the batter fills the pan ¾ full or less. Do not fill beyond ¾ or your cake might overflow during baking. Use a spatula to gently push the batter to the outside of the pan, pushing slightly up the walls. This will help to get rid of any air pockets that might interfere with the pretty details of the pan. Smooth the batter on the top so it is flat and even all the way around the pan.
- Bake cake in preheated oven for 75-90 minutes (if you're using a black or dark-colored bundt pan, yours may bake faster - start checking around 50 minutes). When the edges darken and pull fully away from the sides of the pan, and the cake browns all the way across the surface, insert a toothpick deep into the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. It’s a very moist cake, so it’s easy to undercook it– err on the side of caution and let it bake a little longer if you’re unsure (but don't bake it too long or it will dry out!).
- Let the cake cool for exactly 10 minutes, then invert it onto a flat plate. Tap the Bundt pan gently to release the cake. If your cake sticks, use a plastic knife to carefully loosen the cake around the center tube and sides. Allow cake to cool completely (very important to let it cool before frosting).
- Now it’s time to decorate your cake. Decorate this cake the same day you serve it; the cake is moist so it tends to “soak up” the powdered sugar, plus the icing looks prettier fresh. To keep things neat, I like to do this part on a wire cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper underneath to catch extra sugar/ drips. You can simply do it on a plate if you prefer. First, put 3 tbsp of powdered sugar into a handheld mesh strainer or sifter. Sprinkle sugar onto the top of the cake by tapping the strainer or sifting to release an even shower of sugar around the surface of the cake.
- Next, make your drizzle icing. Sift 1 cup of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add ¼ tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tbsp water or non-dairy creamer to the bowl (when I first posted this recipe years ago I used non-dairy creamer, but I actually prefer using water now). Stir sugar and liquid with a whisk or fork to blend. The trick with this icing is to add liquid very slowly - you only want to add until it just comes together. Add additional liquid by half teaspoonfuls, mixing constantly, until the mixture has the texture of very thick honey. You want the icing to be quite thick. When you can pull a spatula through the icing, and it takes a few seconds for the gap in the icing to close again, the texture is right.
- Place a sealing bag (reusable or disposable) inside a tall water glass, open end facing upward and wrapped around the edge of the glass, so there is an open space for easy filling. Pour the icing into the bag.
- Close the bag, leaving a small bit open to vent. Guide the icing towards one of the lower corners of the bag. Cut the very tip of that corner off the bag.
- Drizzle the icing in a zig-zag pattern around the cake by squeezing the bag gently to release the glaze.
- Allow icing to dry completely before serving—this usually takes about 30-60 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
NOTES
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Hi Tori,
The kids have asked for honey cake, and I would love to try this recipe, but can I do it without the apples? (Seems like so much work to shred the apples!) But if you think it makes all the difference, I’d love to know your thoughts.
Hi Michelle, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. I wouldn’t suggest making this recipe without the apples. They add a lovely flavor and added moisture to the cake. We haven’t tried it without them, so I’m not sure how the results would be.
Hi I’m thirteen and about to make that cake but we are out of canola oil!! Would sun flour work just as well??
Yes!
Amazing! Best thing I’ve ever baked. I made this for Rosh Hashanah today, and everyone raved about it. Thank you!
I think I am going to try this.
I don’t have a bundt pan, but i do have a deep cake circle cake pan.
L’shana tova
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I just made it for our family dinner tomorrow night and we’ll see how it goes. I did find that it took less time to bake than indicated in the recipe. For my oven it took around an hour or so. Shana Tova!
I made the cake last night. It looks and smells great. I realized later that I had forgotten to include the salt. Can I just sprinkle the 3/4 tsp. salt over the baked cake? Or should I just forget about the salt? I won’t cut into the cake until later tonight.
Don’t sprinkle it with salt! Just forget the salt, it will still taste good. The salt adds depth to the baked batter, but sprinkling it on top won’t have the same effect.
Have you tried this with Chocolate chips? Would it not go with the taste of the cake?
Chocolate chips would make it too sweet, I think. Also it doesn’t really go with the apple flavor. I wouldn’t add them.
Hi would like to attempt baking this cake for my Jewish friends. Do you whisk the eggs with the electric mixer or by hand?
Either way– I usually just whisk them by hand until frothy.
Thank you. Shana tova from singapore
The cake came out beautiful. The icing is too thin and sinks into the cake. I tried reicing it but that really didn’t work. Ruined the look of the cake!
Nancy, this is why I say in the recipe instructions: “You want the icing to be quite thick, but still pourable. When you can drizzle the icing in stripes across the surface, and it takes a few seconds for those drizzles to dissolve back into the icing, the texture is right.” If the icing is thinner than this, it won’t be opaque.
I am only having a small group tomorrow for lunch before tashlich. Do you think if I make two loaf pans instead of a bundt it will still work. I know it won’t look at pretty, but I think it will taste the same. I figured this way, I could freeze the other half and save it for next week? Shanah Tovah to all and happy cooking.
What a wonderful cake!
First time baking a bundt cake, followed the recipe exactly and it looks marvelous.
Had a little extra cake batter and was so anxious to try the finished product that I spooned it onto a hot griddle and made some impromptu pancakes.
(Also makes great pancakes)
Thanks!
Ha, that’s a first Jeffrey (re: pancakes)! So glad you like it!
Be careful if you are cooking with a gas oven. I am so happy I checked on the cake because it only needed half of the baking time and most definitely would have been burnt if I put it in for 75 min
I made the cake and when I removed it after ten minutes from the pan it broke I was really upset.
Sorry to hear that Seagal. Did you spray the pan with nonstick cooking oil as directed? Note that you should never try to force a Bundt cake out of the pan or it will break. As noted in the recipe, if your cake sticks, use a plastic knife to carefully loosen the cake around the center tube and sides.
I just made the cake…excited to taste it! I’m wondering the best way to store it to serve on Thursday night. Seems too long to leave out but not long enough to be worth the effort of freezing!
I should clarify for anyone looking at this question in future years that I made the cake on a Tuesday!
Store in a covered cake dish. If you iced it already, the icing will absorb some of the moisture from the cake and won’t look as nice… I recommend waiting to ice it until a couple of hours before serving.
I’m in the process of making this for my boyfriend…he’s Jewish, I’m not. I assumed he’d eat this tomorrow (Wednesday 9/20/17) after Temple. From your comment, I’m thinking I assumed incorrectly because he’d eat it Thursday night…is that correct?
Kyle, Andrea is referring to the second Seder. Many families do two Seders for Rosh Hashanah, one the first night and another the second night. I’m sure your boyfriend will appreciate this tomorrow night, as it is the first night of the holiday. Enjoy!
Hi Tori
Love your recipes!
I don’t have a Bundt pan, could I make this cake in an ordinary round cake tin?
Shana tova 🙂
Ronit
Hi Ronit– yes, but it might be enough batter for two cake tins. I always use a bundt pan so not sure how many normal 9″ cake tins it would fill, but I’m thinking it might make two.
I have non-dairy whipping cream… Will that work instead of the non-dairy cramer?
Depends on the style of whipping cream, is it liquid? If yes it will work. If it is already whipped it will not. You can also use water with equally great results!
Can you use butter instead of oil?
Shanah Tovah!
Hi Leah– no, I do not recommend that. Butter will make the cake drier and more crumbly. Stick with oil 🙂
The recipe looks GREAT! Do you recommend shredding the apples with a large hand grater or would a quick spin in my food processor result in a better consistency?
I usually shred them using the shredder attachment on my food processor, which is the equivalent of a large hand grater. 🙂
Did you use cake flour or regular all purpose flour?
Hi Morgan, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. For this recipe we used all purpose flour.
This recipe sounds wonderful. Do you know if any changes should be made for baking it at higher altitude. I am above 5000 feet above sea level.
Hi Regina, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with adapting recipes for high altitudes. I know there are guides online that may be helpful, worth a try! Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Regina, I live in the mile-high city, and I just reduce leavening by 25%. This recipe would use 3/4 teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda, instead of 1 teaspoon each. I have had great success using this formula for cakes. I also prefer to measure flour by weight, since our air is drier, but since this recipe says “cups,” be sure to stir your flour well before measuring.