This Gluten-Free Honey Cake recipe is easy to throw together. Made with a base of almond flour, eggs, and honey, your guests that follow a gluten-free diet can eat it, and others at your table will be so busy enjoying this rich, moist cake that they won’t care what’s in it!
Honey cake is a Jewish holiday dessert recipe, traditionally served at Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year. This cake, also referred to as lekach, is a symbol of the sweetness we hope for in the year to come. Coffee is traditionally used to flavor honey cake, and I use it in my recipe. I also use cinnamon, and a hint of cloves to spice up this Jewish holiday dessert.
My Gluten-Free Honey Cake tastes just like the lekach my Bubby made, when I used to visit her on Long Island. She was an amazing cook and an incredible business woman and is my favorite family role model. My Bubby’s lekach had chopped nuts in it. You may want to add half a cup of walnuts or pecans to this recipe if you like nuts. I left the nuts out as my boys prefer their desserts without chopped nuts.
Gluten-Free Honey Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup boiling water
- 2 tablespoons organic decaf ground coffee (not instant)
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Pour ½ cup boiling water through a filter containing 2 tablespoons organic decaf coffee; discard grounds and cool liquid
- In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves
- In a separate bowl, combine agave, oil, eggs, and coffee
- Mix wet ingredients into dry, then stir in raisins
- Transfer batter to a greased and floured 9 inch springform pan
- Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes
- Remove from oven and cool for 1 hour
- Serve
This gluten-free, pareve lekach is a fantastic dessert all year round. We don’t limit it to the Jewish holidays. My younger son likes Gluten-Free Honey Cake so much that I’ve been packing it for dessert in his school lunch.
Here are some of my paleo Jewish holiday recipes:
athy says
Elana – I love this recipe, will try it very soon!!
YAY! :)
Sue – Bob’s red mill almond flour will pass if you have no choice but to use a kosher sub. But using his almond flour, this cake would likely need to be baked for 45-50 minutes instead or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. I’ve used his nut flours in a pinch and they pass well enough. Not as perfect as Elana’s recommended honeyville brand blanched almond flour, but the texture is still very good, just needs longer bake time and slightly less water/liquid 1/4th-1/3 cup less is usually what I do.
~M says
PS – This is the perfect way to celebrate my passing the bar and my upcoming wedding (11 days!). Thanks again!
GP says
beautiful… L’Shana Tovu
gp
Kate says
Thank you Elana for this wonderful honey cake recipe! I am not Jewish, but I was asked by my boyfriend’s mother to make this dessert for the holiday dinner. Her only request was to make the cake healthy and her husband’s only request was for it to be really sweet for the New Year (talk about pressure…). Your recipe was not only healthy, but sweet, moist and delicious :)
Your website is such an inspiration to me. I do not have Celiac disease, but my Aunt does and I try to avoid wheat when I can. Baking is my passion and I thought it was impossible without wheat. Thank you again!
PS
I just moved from Boulder to New York City and I really miss the mountains :) Good luck and Happy New Year!
Rich Ann says
Thank you for this recipe! My daughter and I made it yesterday to take to a housewarming party in the afternoon. What a fragrant ride we had with the warm cake in the car! Everyone loved it. FYI – we substituted molasses for the coffee. I’m sorry to hear about the change in schools, but as others said, you need to do what you feel is right for your kids so to new beginnings. I hope your boys thrive at their new place. Many blessings to you and yours this fall season.
elana says
~M – Shana Tova!
Aviva -That sounds incredible, soaking the raisins in apple juice, YUM! Happy New Year.
Sue – I’m not sure of any other kosher brands of almond flour; I bet this would be a great question for the forums.
Karen – Great question, I have modified the recipe to answer it; thanks for catching this omission for me!
Karen says
looks great, one small beginning baker/novice question…..
When you say “Pour ½ cup boiling water over 2 tablespoons organic decaf coffee, cool”
Are we pouring water over freshly ground decaf beans or over decaf instant coffee?
Thanks
Sue says
THANK YOU for posting this!! I’ve been looking all over for a GF honey cake recipe :-). I was going to try making my mother’s recipe and just substituting a GF flour blend for the flour.
The only problem I have now is the almond flour. I keep a Kosher home, and the only almond flour I’ve found so far (I’ve only been GF since July…) that has a hechsher is Bob’s Red Mill, and you don’t recommend that brand. Do you know of any other brands that are Kosher certified (by any agency…) and where I might buy them online??
Thanks.
sellbywire says
Hi Sue! I keep kosher too and I get my almond flour and many other products at digestive wellness. I actually go to their warehouse when I’m in the area but they have a website too digestivewellness.com. What good is that it’s one of Elana’s favorite brands. (says that on her ingredients page)
Hope this is helpful to you and good luck!
Eliana says
Hey,
I e-mailed honeyville hearing that they had kosher almond flour. They talked to me on the phone, found the kosher certification, and e-mailed me a copy of their certificcation, so that is what I use now. (I think it was a california hechsher) I’m replying a little late, but I hope this can help someone out there!
Aviva says
In the past I have substituted kamut for wheat flour, but this is so much better.
I soaked sultanas in freshly squeezed apple juice before adding them, a nice touch.
Toda rabah, L’Shana Tova!!
Aviva
~M says
YUM! Your lekach looks so moist. Thanks so much, Elana! Again, Shana Tova!