Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) butter, unsalted & room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 oz buttermilk
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
2 medium sized apples, chopped into roughly 1/2” cubes (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp are best)
- 1/2 cup honey
-
1/4 cup Zab’s Hot Honey
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon hot honey
Cake
Fruit Topping
Hot Honey Whipped Cream
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by prepping your 8” cake pan*.
Grease the bottom and all sides of your cake pan (I love pan spray for this) and cut a 10” circle of parchment paper to line inside the pan*. Give the pan another spray all around and begin the fruit topping.
For the fruit topping: Start by gently heating both honeys in a saucepan. You are looking to just make it a little looser so that you can easily pour it into your prepared cake pan and assure it covers the bottom.
Once the honey is in, go ahead and add all your apples right on top
For the cake: Measure out all of your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, etc.) into a bowl and whisk to combine.
In your mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in your egg 1 x 1, scrapping after each addition. Add in your vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Starting with your flour, add in a 1/3, then half of the buttermilk, then flour, rest of buttermilk, and then final amount of flour, ensuring everything is combined between each addition.
Give your bowl a really good scrape with your spatula and add batter to your cake pan with the apples and honey.
Spread until covered and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and cake is firm if poked with your finger!
- While your cake is baking, set up a sheet tray with parchment paper and have ready for when you pull the cake out of the oven. Once cake is baked, place sheet tray over the the cake and turn over immediately. Carefully pull the cake pan off the cake and allow cake to cool before handling.
- While your cake is cooling, make your hot honey whipped cream. In a bowl with a whisk or in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add all your ingredients and whip just until firm.
- Serve with toasted chopped pecans, flakey sea salt, and a fat dollop of your whipped cream!
NOTES
*You will want to use a 3” inch high side 8” cake pan for this as it does rise quite a lot. You can also do this in a 9” pan and bake it for about 10 minutes less.
- *Your larger round of parchment paper might seem funny in the pan, but if you do just a couple of folds on the edge while it’s in the pan, you’ll be able to get a nice, semi-flat lip around the bottom edge of the pan.