Cake of the Day: Honey Cake With Orange Buttercream From ‘Scandinavian Baking’

Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. This week we’ll be sharing traditional Scandinavian desserts from Trine Hahnemann and her new cookbook Scandinavian Baking. Check back to Cake of the Day for more gorgeous fall cakes.

This type of honey cake has been part of the Scandinavian tradition for the last 200 years. (Photo: Columbus Leth)

By Trine Hahnemann

Honey Cake With Orange Buttercream
Serves 10

Honey was used for baking before sugar became widely available in northern Europe. This type of honey cake has been part of the Scandinavian tradition for the last 200 years. The most famous are those from Christiansfeld, a small town in Denmark, where they still bake the honey cakes and hearts covered in chocolate that carry the town’s name. For me this is a real winter treat. I love to eat it in the afternoon with a strong cup of tea. If you leave out the buttercream you can eat it as bread: a slice in the morning—toasted with butter—is not bad at all.

For the cake
7 Tbsp butter, plus more for the tin
4 ? oz honey
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup soft brown sugar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ? tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbsp finely grated organic orange zest
7?8 cup crème fra?che

For the buttercream
1 1/8 cups butter, softened
1 ? cups powdered sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 organic oranges

For the frosting (optional)
2 to 3 Tbsp orange juice
1 1/3 cups [160 g] powdered sugar
1 Tbsp finely grated organic orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 12 x 41?2 inch loaf tin and line the base with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and honey in a saucepan and let cool a little. Meanwhile, beat
the eggs and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until light and paler
in color. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and all the spices and fold in
gently, then do the same with the honey mixture. Finally, fold in the zest
and crème fra?che and pour into the prepared tin.

Bake 1 hour. Insert a skewer into the middle of the cake; it should emerge
clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the buttercream: in a small bowl, beat all the ingredients until
smooth. Cover and keep cold until you need it. When the cake is cold, cut it
horizontally into three with a serrated knife. Spread the buttercream on the
bottom and middle layers, then reassemble the cake.

Mix all the ingredients for the frosting (if using) and spread it over the top.
Leave the frosting to set before serving.

Reprinted with permission from Scandinavian Baking: Sweet And Savory Cakes and Bakes, For Bright Days and Cozy Nights by Trine Hahnemann.

Scandinavian Baking. (Photo: Columbus Leth)

For more awesome Cake of the Day recipe inspiration, visit our Pinterest page and get to pinning!

More fall cakes to love:

Rye Bread Layer Cake with Black Currant Jam

Fall Apple and Hazelnut Layer Cake from ‘Scandinavian Baking’

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf from ‘Clean Green Eats’