Salted honey cake with hazelnut brittle
- Published: 15 Jul 16
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Forget salted caramel – salted honey is what makes a cake! The hazelnut brittle tops off this show-stopping loaf cake perfectly.
And to all you honey-lovers, here are 14 more desserts that are sure to sweeten your day…
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Serves 16 (makes 2 loafs)
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Hands-on time 50 min, oven time 30-55 min, plus cooling
Ingredients
- 150ml clear honey
- 200g light muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp Maldon sea salt flakes
- 300g plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 140ml vegetable oil
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 250ml orange juice
For the hazelnut brittle
- 300g caster sugar
- 100g blanched hazelnuts, chopped
- 1 tsp Maldon sea salt flakes
For the icing
- 150g unsalted butter
- 200g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp clear honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
You’ll also need…
- 2 x 1.2kg (about 25cm x 10cm x 8cm) loaf tins, greased and lined
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Melt the honey, muscovado sugar and sea salt over a low heat (don’t boil). Leave to cool a little.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarb into a bowl. Beat the oil, eggs, zest and juice into the honey mix. Whisk in the flour mix with a balloon whisk until combined. Pour the batter into the loaf tins, then bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Stand in the tin for 5 minutes, then cool fully on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, make the brittle. Melt the caster sugar in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat to make a caramel (don’t stir). At the same time, line a baking sheet with baking paper. Add the hazelnuts to the caramel and swirl the pan to make sure all of the nuts are coated. Pour out in a thin layer onto the baking sheet, then sprinkle with the salt. Cool fully. Break into shards.
- For the icing, soften the butter with an electric mixer in a mixing bowl, then gradually beat in the sugar, then the honey and lemon. Pipe on top of the loaves, then decorate with the brittle.
- Recipe from June 2016 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 474kcals
- Fat
- 19.9g (6.1g saturated)
- Protein
- 5.4g
- Carbohydrates
- 67.8g (53g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.2g
- Salt
- 1.8g
delicious. tips
This recipe makes enough icing and brittle for one loaf, so you can serve one cake and freeze the other. To serve both cakes at the same time, double the quantities for the icing and brittle.
Honey cakes tend to sink a little, but the icing will disguise it. If you prefer, swap the icing and brittle for chocolate ganache sprinkled with a little flaked sea salt.
Bake the loaves to the end of step 2 up to 24 hours in advance, then keep in an airtight tin. Or wrap well and freeze for up to a month. Keep the brittle in a sealed container, somewhere dry, for up to 2 days. Make the icing when ready to serve.
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I was really excited to try this recipe but must say I was a bit disappointed. I divided the recipe in two, as I just wanted to bake one loaf. The cake doesn’t have that satisfying saltiness that I was after, you get it here and there but it’s mostly quite a bland sponge with not much texture.