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:
Laura says
Too bad I decided to make this for Passover tonight! It was WONDERFUL! But the baking soda is leaven. Oh well – in for a penny, in for a pound! Swapped out 1/2 cup almond flour for coconut flour, and the raisins for currants, as some comments suggested. YUM!!!
Laura says
Oh – and 1/2 cup dandy blend for the coffee, and no cloves…
~M says
Baking soda is usually considered kosher for passover since its chemical leavening, not yeast/fermentation. In fact, Gefen makes a kosher for passover baking powder with baking soda and potato starch (in lieu of corn starch). Of course, ask your rabbi.
http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/04/19/baking_soda_on_passover/
elana says
Laura,
Baking soda is generally considered kosher for pesach.
According to Rabbi Lerner: the only foods that can be prohibited as “hametz” are those made from the “five species”, specifically wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt.
Of course, ask your rabbi for more information.
Thanks,
Elana
Venue Cyprus says
My fav holiday dessert is custard with strawberries on it.I am not a big fan of cakes but your cake really compelling me to try one.Thanks for the recipe by the way.
Holly says
I made this cake and it is so good!The only ingredient I substituted was the caffeine with decaffeinated Chai Spiced Tea . I want to thank you so very much Ellana for real tasty gluten free recipes. I an new to this and I love your site! Thank you again!
aziza says
I made this cake today, It is very delicious, Yumiiii. I added pecans and chocolate chip.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Eliana says
I made this. It was amazing. I never enjoyed honey cake but I am loving it now. Thank you so much Elana!
my substitutions:
I used 1/2 c of coconut flour instead of part of the almond flour
I added ginger and vanilla to replace the nutmeg since I had none
I used tea instead of coffee
I think that is it. Delicious! I’m going to my husband’s uncle’s family for part of sukkot and I’ve never visited them before. I’m going to bring them this cake.
Thank you!
charlene hobot says
I am GF and love to “play” with food. I do not celebrate Rosh Hashanah but your cake looked so yummy I had to give it a try! My cake looked yummy and smelled so heavenly, however, it seemed “dry” (my mother’s words) and to me not sweet enough (my mother on the other hand said it was fine). I live in Central Florida and my house is electric (some say gas and electric cook differently). I did not substitute anything. I have been reading over your list of ingredients to keep in the kitchen so I had everything on hand. Any suggestions I so want to make this cake again! I know it has to taste as yummy as it smells!
Thank You,
Char
Esther says
Thank you so much for this recipe!! It’s quick, delicious and easy enough for a novice baker like me! The best recipe i’ve seen! I made the cake last night and it was so easy and tasty I made another today! Thanks!!! Oh, and I used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour (the only one i could find) and it was fine. i did reduce the liquid (coffee to 1/4 cup) and soaked the raisins in apple juice! Thanks for all the tips!
Rella Gauthier says
this looks amazing…what do you use to grease your baking pans????
Thank you ~ Rella
Esther says
i sprayed the pan with Pam and sprinkled the almond flour on it. let the cake cool completely and ran around the edges with a knife. it pretty much comes up without a problem.
Phyllis says
Hi Elena,
You have some fabulous almond recipes! My twin boys have autism and they are on the GAPS diet. I was wondering if I could substitute baking soda and eggs with something else as they are not allowed baking soda and have a sensitivity to eggs.
Thanks, Phyllis
Susan says
I liked this so much that I made it twice, once for the High Holidays and then for my sister’s birthday party. I used honey instead of her sweetner. The first version used all almond flour and it was wonderful. The second cake I used a little almond meal when I ran out of almond flour and it was fine, but I could tell the differnece. The almond flour gave a much better taste and texture.
This recipe convinced me to buy Elana’s cookbook.