This simple Eggless Bakery Style Honey Cake requires minimum effort but yields amazing results! A simple, delicious sponge cake that is perfect with a morning coffee, afternoon tea or for any happy occasion.
Pairs beautifully with a cup of Karak Chai.
The Indian Honey Cake is essentially an eggless sponge cake that is soaked in a honey sugar syrup and topped with a fruit jam and coconut.
This cake has been baking in South Indian Bakeries known as Iyengar bakeries for a half a century. This delicious cake is therefore known as Eggless Honey Cake Iyengar Bakery Style or Indian Bakery Style Honey Cake.
It reminds me a lot of my school days! In school dinners, we often had a jam sponge doused in hot custard! Nothing got us more excited than seeing Butterscotch Tart though - word would travel down the queue!
Honey Cake Ingredients
Sponge:
All purpose flour
Sweetened condensed milk
Sunflower oil or other flavourless oil
Orange juice - my preference is good quality smooth orange juice
Baking powder
Baking soda
Lemon juice - fresh or bottled both work well
Vanilla extract or vanilla essence
Honey Syrup
Water
Sugar - I prefer using white sugar rather than brown sugar to prevent the colour of the syrup changing too much.
Honey
Optional:
Add a few drops of rose water
Topping / Jam glaze
Strawberry Jam - I used homemade strawberry jam but store-bought jams work perfectly. optionally use other fruit jam such as mango jam, pineapple jam or rose jam
Desiccated coconut or coconut flakes
Serving Suggestion
Top delicious honey cake slices with fresh strawberries or any other fruit and serve at room temperature.
Storage
You can store honey cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days. This cake is not suitable for freezing due to the jam layer and honey syrup.
Other Eggless Cake Recipes
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can't wait to see you all there!
Eggless Honey Cake (Indian Bakery Style)
Ingredients
Eggless sponge
- 315 gram Plain flour
- 397 gram Condensed milk
- 235 millilitres Sunflower oil
- 280 millilitres Orange juice
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Syrup
- 240 millilitres Water
- 60 gram Sugar
- 150 millilitres Honey
Topping
- 150 gram Strawberry Jam
- 3-4 tablespoon Desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to gas mark 4 or 350F.
- Grease or spray 2 lb loaf tin then dust with little flour and remove extra flour.
- Place the plain flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a big bowl and whisk properly.
- In another bowl whisk in oil, orange juice, condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
- Incorporate wet mixture into dry ingredients.
- Spread the mixture into greased and floured loaf tin.
- Bake the cake until a toothpick comes out clean and top should be a little brown.
- It should take about 50-55 minutes.
- Remove it from the oven and allow to completely cool.
- When the cake is cool, remove it from the loaf tin and arrange it on the board.
- Now prepare the syrup by boiling together water and sugar. Boil this syrup for 5 minutes then turn the heat off.
- Whisk in honey when the syrup is just warm.
- Using a fork or a toothpick to poke the cake.
- Use a spoon to pour on the syrup. You may not need all of the syrup.
- Now melt the jam in M/W for 30-35 seconds and spread evenly on the cake.
- Sprinkle desiccated coconut and leave the cake aside for a while or until jam settles once again.
Video
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Share on Facebook Pin This RecipeNote – This recipe has been updated from our recipe archives with new images and content, but the recipe remains the same. First published in September 2017.
cookwithrenu says
This is such an irresistible treat. Would love to dig in this now.
Ashima says
This cake looks gorgeous -- like little bars of gold! 🙂 I love the addition of strawberry jam and coconut. I haven't baked in a while and you photos are totally inviting me to try this out!
PS:I love your backdrop and those dainty tea-cups!
code2cook says
first of all overall cake looking beautiful. I have seen honey cake with simple honey syrup on top. Adding lemon juice and starwberry definitely take it to another level.
Anonymous says
Wow what a wonderful bake.. beautiful cake.
Catherine says
What a gorgeous cake! I love the deep golden color and the jam topping is perfect.
Sandi says
This is a gorgeous moist looking honey cake. I love it!
Elaine says
This cake looks so delightful! I sometimes prefer this type of cake to the really sweet frosted ones. Beautiful photos! I can't wait to make this!!
Tina Dawson says
Thank you so much for this recipe - I used to LOVE the honey cakes from the local bakery back home in Chennai and I was thinking about it a lot this week!
Unknown says
Great looking cake and I love the idea of using condensed milk!
Sue/the view from great island says
This sounds so lovely, and so much more elegant than the big frosted birthday cakes we make in the States!
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
You are such a nice brother to make a cake for him! And I am sure your mother will miss you for more reasons than this cake. ha ha. Though the cake is pretty yum!
Anonymous says
Happy birthday to your little brother! I agree, end of summer is always bittersweet!
jane @ littlesugarsnaps says
Sometimes simple bakes are under-rated and this definitely looks like a wonderful cake despite its simplicity. I love your addition of coconut on the top - it really makes the cake pretty.