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:
Judith Levinrad Norman says
Elana . . . I love your site. Thank you for what is clearly a labor of love. So grateful!
Wondering about the coffee prep and why that particular approach. I’m an espresso drinker and am inclined to just use espresso. Would love to understand the chemistry/rationale behind your approach before making that change.
Many thanks, and L’Shana Tova!
-Jhude
Elana says
Jhude, thanks for your comment! That’s just the method I use for making coffee and it works perfectly for this recipe, but feel free to experiment and I hope you’ll stop back by to let me know if it worked! Shana Tova!
Deb says
Elana have you ever put fruit in/on this cake? I was thinking of using it as a base for plum coffee cake with Italian plum halves pushed into the top. Should I cut back on the liquid a bit?
Elana says
Deb, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Debbie says
Are all the ingredients In your honey cake ok for Passover?
Elana says
Debbie, every recipe on my website and in my books is Kosher for Passover :-)
michael says
we totally enjoy your gluten free honey cake … is the recipe in one of your cookbooks?
Elana says
Michael, this recipe is on my website only. I’m so happy to hear you are totally enjoying my Honey Cake :-)
Pearl Goldberg says
Perfect, wonderful, amazing, just what I was looking for, turned out delicious, everyone loved it. AND it’s really healthy!!! Thank you, thank you so much for printing it……
Elana says
Pearl, thanks for letting me know this cake is perfect!
Ellie says
Hello,
Thank you for this lovely recipe. Looks very promising.
Can I exchange the baking soda with baking powder?
Many thanks,
Ellie
Elana says
Ellie, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Ellie says
Thanks, Elana. I guess I’ll just have to give it a try.
Elana says
Ellie, you’re welcome! I hope you’ll stop back by and let me know how it goes :-)
Batshua says
My mother can’t digest very much gluten but also doesn’t bake much. I was thinking of making this and shipping it to her. How long does this cake keep?
Elana says
Batshua, thanks for your comment! The longest I’ve kept this cake is one day as I usually prepare it the night before a Jewish holiday. For example, if I’m serving it for Shabbos, I’ll make it Thursday afternoon or evening :-)
Chaya says
Can I use instant coffee? Thank you!
Elana says
Chaya, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes :-)
Shoshana says
Did anyone try freezing this? How did it turn out?
Elana says
Shoshana, I haven’t tried that. I usually bake it a day or two prior to serving it and it’s still delicious!
chaya says
do you think i can make this in a loaf pan?
Elana says
Chaya, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it turns out!