This moist decadent gluten free honey cake recipe is going to become your new favorite. I am so excited to share this recipe with you. This cake is perfect for Rosh Hashanah, Tu B’Shevat, or ANYTIME! If you want an incredible cake that doesn’t taste gluten free, this is a must-make cake recipe!
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: This homemade honey cake recipe has been popular for years. It uses simple ingredients and comes together quickly. It makes two loaves, one large bundt cake, or one loaf and several mini bundt cakes. It freezes nicely, so you can make one loaf now and one for later.
What an amazingly good cake. I’ve missed honey cake since my diagnosis 5 years ago, but for some reason I never gave any thought to making it myself. Your recipe showed up in my feed, and I decided to give it a try this weekend. I’m so glad I did! My oldest son has declared it to be the best thing ever 😊
Diana, Blog comment
Get ready for Rosh Hashanah with this delicious, moist gluten free honey cake recipe. Honey is a large part of the Rosh Hashanah celebration. If you don’t celebrate this holiday, don’t let that stop you from trying this sweet new cake recipe! It is by far one of the best gluten free cake recipes.
For this recipe inspiration, I adapted a recipe from one of the masters of Jewish baking, Smitten Kitchen. (She adapted this recipe from another baker, but I like how she changed it up.) I used her majestic honey cake recipe and tweaked some quantities and changed a couple of ingredients to make it the best gluten free honey cake ever!
If you love cake as much as we do, this delicious gluten free peach loaf cake is another delicious cake recipe to try! I bake a lot here at Fearless Dining, so be sure to check out all of my yummy Gluten Free Cake Recipes!
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1. Other blends should work, but be mindful of the moisture level of your cake batter. Take special note that this cake batter will be wetter than my other cake recipes. If it seems too wet compared to my photos below, add more flour. If it seems too thick, add more orange juice. Every flour blend performs a little differently. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
- Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free to avoid any metallic aftertaste.
- Binder – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon. Binders are what help to hold gluten free baked goods together. Read Why Binders Matter in Gluten Free Baking to learn more.
- Coffee – Use regular or decaffeinated coffee.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter. You can use salted butter, but do not add any additional salt if you do.
- Eggs – I tested large eggs when making this cake recipe.
- Oil – Any unflavored light oil will work. I do not recommend olive oil due to the flavor.
- Honey – You do not have to use expensive local honey to make this recipe. Any pure, inexpensive honey is fine.
Note: The original recipe called for whiskey, which I omitted because there is controversy about how much alcohol burns off during baking.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Honey Cake (Step-By-Step)
👀 Sandi Says: I do not recommend using a stand mixer to make this recipe. Stand mixers tend to overmix the batter, making the cake dense.
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk. Honey can be thick and difficult to mix into other ingredients. I recommend melting the butter and then pouring the honey into that bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients together and pour them into the larger bowl.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Try not to overmix your batter so your cake is lighter and fluffier.
Step 4: I want to talk about the batter because this batter is going to be a lot runnier than my usual gluten free cake batter. The runny consistency is very similar to my gluten free Japanese banana bread recipe.
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📢 Sandi says: Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the batter’s moisture. If your cake batter is extremely runny compared to my photo above, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquid.
Step 5: Pour the batter into a mini bundt cake pan sprayed with non-stick gluten-free baking spray. Fill it a little over halfway full.
Step 6: Bake the mini cakes at 350º F for 25 minutes, until done.
Step 7: If you are baking in loaf pans, pour the batter into greased bread loaf pans. Fill each loaf pan 3/4 full.
Step 8: To get a nice, tall domed top on the cake, bake at 400°F for 8 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F for 40 minutes. The actual bake time will vary depending on the size and depth of your loaf pans.
The best way to test for doneness is to insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is finished baking. If you see crumbs or batter, bake the cake longer.
This cake will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer. You can easily freeze this honey cake. Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap. Place it into a large freezer bag and seal the bag.
Top this honey cake with:
You can enjoy these honey cakes as is or with a topping. I recommend dusting the top of the cake with powdered sugar or drizzling icing over the top.
You may also love this New York deli-style Gluten Free Crumb Cake recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions:
One of the biggest reasons a gluten free cake sinks is if you open the oven door while it is baking. Opening the oven door lowers the baking temperature of the oven rapidly, which deflates the cake.
Yes, you can make this cake dairy-free. I used Earth Balance to test the dairy-free version.
If you are an avid cake baker, check out this Gluten Free Cake Troubleshooting Guide. If you are new to cake baking, here is a good write-up of my favorite Kitchen Tools For Baking Cakes.
More Gluten Free Cake Recipes:
- This Gluten Free Lemon Layer Cake makes a great birthday cake!
- If you are a chocoholic, you need to try this Gluten Free Chocolate Cake!
- Many bakeries use my Gluten Free Vanilla Cake recipe; it is
- Homemade Gluten Free French Apple Cakes
You can also check out all of my homemade gluten free cake recipes because I have so many delicious recipes for you!
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
The Fluffiest Gluten Free Honey Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder aluminum-free
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup cane sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup honey * see note
- ½ cup light oil * see note
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted * see note
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup coffee * see note
- ⅓ cup orange juice
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. If you want your cake to have a dome top, preheat the oven to 400º F.
- In a large bowl, add 3 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 cup cane sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and whisk to blend.
- In a separate bowl, add 1 cup honey, 1/2 cup light oil, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, 3 large eggs, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1 cup coffee, and 1/3 cup orange juice. Mix well. Because the honey can be difficult to blend, I recommend melting the butter and honey in a dish. Mix the honey and melted butter, then add it to the rest of the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until it is just barely mixed. Over mixing the cake batter will make the cake turn out denser.
- Grease two loaf pans, a large bundt pan, or mini bundt cake pans. I use spray coconut oil.
- Fill the loaf pans about 3/4 full. Mini bundt bake pans should be filled half full.
- If you are making a dome top, cook the loaves for 8 minutes at 400º F then turn the heat down to 350º F. If making a bundt cake, bake at 350º F only.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes. Bake time is going to vary widely depending on what you bake your cake in.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to bake longer.
Nutrition
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for light oil.
- I used regular coffee; you can also use decaf. Another good option is black tea. Smitten Kitchen also said you can use water if you prefer.
- Use this cake recipe to make a loaf cake, sheet cake, or bundt cake.
- These cakes will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
How much light oil additionally if not using butter?
The substituted oil would be the same quantity as the butter.
OMG fabulous! I am not a baker and this Honey Cake is moist, velvety, rich in flavor. (Dome didn’t happen) Absolutely the most delicious GF cake ever! And, I substituted 1:1 Sugar for Whole Earth Erythritol & MonkFruit, and brown sugar for Wholesome Organic Coconut sugar. Used GF King Arthur measure for measure flour.
I am so glad you loved this cake. I haven’t tried subbing the sugar, so thank you for the tips!
Found my answer to coffee, I. Missed it when transposing recipe. I am substituting with and brown sugars for coconut and monkfruit.
I am glad you found it. Thank you!
Yes, this is a great cake. However you give credit to Smitten Kitchen for this Majestic Honey Cake, who you say made changes to it from ‘another baker’. I think it’s only fair to give credit where it’s due. Smitten Kitchen only decreased the baking powder from 1 tbsp. To 1 tsp. In this great recipe from Marcy Goldman, a very well known Canadian baker and cookbook author. THis recipe can be found in her book, Jewish Holiday Baking, along with many other great recipes. But you adapted it nicely to be gluten free.
Thank you so much for filling in some blanks on the history of this cake. I hadn’t heard of Marcy, so I appreciate the information.
This looks like a fabulous gf honey cake! But I’d like to make only one loaf, which will be simple except for the 3 eggs. Can I use 2 eggs or is it critical to get closer to 1.5 eggs?
Hi Millie, I haven’t split up the recipe so I am unsure how that would turn out. You can easily make both loaves and freeze one.
What is considered light oil? Which would be best for this recipe?
Hi Sam, I often use canola or avocado oil.
I am confused by the use of butter for a gf honey cake you label kosher, how is that possible and what sub may I use since you already use oil in addition to the butter.
Hi Maxine, I did a search to verify. I haven’t stated this recipe as kosher. If you do want to make it kosher, then you would want to use a plant-based butter. I hope this helps.
Thank you for your prompt reply and yes,you didn’t label it as kosher. Will use margarine, is that ok?
Hi Maxine, Margarine should be fine to use. Enjoy :-).
The cake was delicious. I didn’t have coffee. So I substituted with plain water.
The flavor combination was just great.
My non gluten free friends couldn’t tell the difference. A job well done with this cake.
This is my go to for Thanksgiving brunch and Christmas dinner.
I am so glad you loved this recipe. It is one of my family’s very favorites.
The most unique flavor cake we’ve had in a very long time!! I used Better Batter Original Blend gf flour and used your recipe exactly as written!! It couldn’t have been easier!! We had guests and they had no idea it was gluten free!!! They loved the outer layer of the cake and how it caramelized in the heavy Bundt pan! We do too!!! Thanks again for another terrific recipe!!!
I am so glad you tried my recipe and that everyone enjoyed it. I will have to try it in a bundt cake pan next time.
I made this with leftover pineapple juice from my canned pineapple instead of orange juice because I didn’t have any and it turned out delicious.
I love the idea of using pineapple juice. Thank you!
Re oil and butter – do you mean half a cup of each, or either / or?
The recipe uses both the oil and butter.