If you haven’t already planned a New Years Eve dessert menu, make sure to put this poppy seed honey cake on it. The cake batter is made of cooked honey and poppy seeds. The cream is made of cooked sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, sugar, and heavy whipping cream. And in between all of that rich goodness there’s a generous amount of dried plums. If you set out to make this cake for an event, make it about 2 days in advance. The cake tastes so much better after it sits for a day or two. This way, the flavors have time to blend together, and the poppy seeds aren’t as dry.
How to make this poppy seed honey cake
1. Cut the prunes into small pieces using kitchen shears and set aside.
2. Line 2 round 10 inch baking pans with parchment paper and spray them with nonstick spray.
3. In a saucepan heat the honey and baking soda over medium low heat and keep stirring until it becomes a dark caramel color (about 7 mins). Don’t step away from the saucepan, it can burn very quickly.
4. Add 2 stick of butter and stir over low heat until the butter fully melts. Then remove from heat and let it cool.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer. Mix until the eggs become slightly foamy.
6. In another bowl, combine the flour and poppy seeds together.
7. Pour the beaten egg mixture into the honey and baking soda mixture.
8. Then add the flour and poppy seeds to the batter.
9. Evenly split the batter between the 2 baking pans. Bake at 340 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean when pierced through the middle. Once the cake is baked transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
10. Meanwhile, beat 1 stick of butter with the cooked sweetened condensed milk. Add the sour cream and mix just to combine.
11. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the heavy cream and 2 tbsp sugar using the whisk attachment. Beat until the heavy cream becomes light and fluffy.
12. Fold the whipped heavy cream into the sweetened condensed milk.
13. Slice each cake in half using a serrated knife. This will be the 4 layers of the cake.
14. Generously spread the cream onto the first cake layer. Then add the prunes.
15. Spread a thin layer of the cream onto the inner part of the next cake layer before placing it on top of the cake. This way the prunes are sandwiched between cream from top and bottom.
16. Continue layering the cake with cream and prunes until the 4th cake layer is placed on top. From here, just frost the cake with rest of cream.
17. I decorated the top of cake with chocolate ganache and sliced almonds on the sides.
- For the cake:
- 5 tbs honey
- 2 tsp soda
- 2 sticks of butter 1 cup total
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup poppy seeds
- For the cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 can cooked sweetened condense milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 stick butter 1/2 cup
- 2 cups dried plums
-
Cut the prunes into small pieces using kitchen shears and set aside.
-
Line 2 round 10 inch baking pans with parchment paper and spray them with nonstick spray.
-
In a saucepan heat the honey and baking soda over medium low heat and keep stirring until it becomes a dark caramel color (about 7 mins). Don't step away from the saucepan, it can burn very quickly.
-
Add 2 stick of butter and stir over low heat until the butter fully melts. Then remove from heat and let it cool.
-
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer. Mix until the eggs become slightly foamy.
-
In another bowl, combine the flour and poppy seeds together.
-
Pour the beaten egg mixture into the honey and baking soda mixture.
-
Then add the flour and poppy seeds to the batter.
-
Evenly split the batter between the 2 baking pans. Bake at 340 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when pierced though the middle. Once the cake is baked transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
-
Meanwhile, beat 1 stick of butter with the cooked sweetened condensed milk. Add the sour cream and mix just to combine.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the heavy cream and 2 tbsp sugar using the whisk attachment. Beat until the heavy cream becomes light and fluffy.
-
Fold the whipped heavy cream into the sweetened condensed milk.
-
Slice each cake in half using a serrated knife. This will be the 4 layers of the cake.
-
Generously spread the cream onto the first cake layer. Then add the prunes.
-
Spread a thin layer of the cream onto the inner part of the next cake layer before placing it on top of the cake. This way the prunes are sandwiched between cream from top and bottom.
-
Continue layering the cake with cream and prunes until the 4th cake layer is placed on top. From here, just frost the cake with with rest of cream.
-
I decorated the top of cake with chocolate ganache and sliced almonds on the sides.
Tanya says
April 12, 2018 at 2:21 pmHello, does the honey mixture have to cool completely before adding the egg mixture into it? Or is warm fine?
simplyhomecooked says
April 13, 2018 at 10:39 amHi Tanya, it’s ok if the honey mixture is still a little warm when added to the eggs.
Svetlana says
March 30, 2018 at 9:17 pmI’ve made this cake maybe 5 times now and everytime the flavors are all there and it is such a crowd pleaser, but the centers of it always fall when I bake it. I cook it for almost 30 minutes instead of the 15 because the first couple of times it was still raw. I do however use a 9inch pan instead of a 10inch… but I want to figure out why it always falls in the center. I always make sure I beat my eggs and sugar long enough amd do everything according to the instructions and measurements. I just want it to not fall for once… or ever again. Help.
simplyhomecooked says
April 6, 2018 at 2:28 amHey Svetlana, I’m so sorry to hear that keeps happening to your cake. That sounds really frustrating! There are very few reasons why cakes sometimes sink. The most common reason is over-beating the batter. Another (not so common) reason could be having too many wet ingredients. By that I mean… if you live in a humid area, you’re flour could be absorbing moisture from the air, which may be causing the batter to have too much moisture. Again, this is very rare though. I really hope that answers your question. I would love to know if any of those tips helped.
Anastasiya says
May 6, 2017 at 11:40 pmBeautiful cake, putting it on my to-make list! One way to make the poppy seeds less dry is to soak them in boiling water before using them in the recipe. I measure out the seeds and put them in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water. I let the seeds soak until I am ready to use them in the recipe. I drain off the excess water and they are ready to use. I do this any time a recipe calls for poppy seeds. Also works great for raisins that have dried out a bit!
simplyhomecooked says
May 7, 2017 at 9:27 amThank you Anastasia, what a great tip!
Rachel says
January 25, 2017 at 12:19 pmI have one more question – was the oven temperature supposed to be 350 degrees? The directions said 340, which I did, but it took longer to bake the cake layers than 15 minutes.
Otherwise, the cake turned out well. I made it for a Russian student – he turns 18 today! 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
January 25, 2017 at 1:44 pmHi Rachel, the reason why I have the temperature set to 340 degrees is because the batter has honey in it. If the oven temperature is too high, the honey in the batter tends to take on a very burnt like color. Glad that cake turned out well for you 🙂
Rachel says
January 24, 2017 at 5:16 pmDo you need to refrigerate this cake once it is all assembled?
simplyhomecooked says
January 25, 2017 at 1:06 amHi Rachel, yes keep the cake refrigerated after it’s assembled.
lana says
November 4, 2016 at 7:31 pmis there a reason why the middle of the cakes fell? after baking them for 15 minutes, they were still raw in the middle… so i baked them for additional 15 minutes, but they look sad…
simplyhomecooked says
November 7, 2016 at 11:09 pmHi Lana, the only thing I could think of is maybe you didn’t put enough flour?
lana says
November 3, 2016 at 7:06 pmhi i wanted to know do i need to put the cake in the fridge for little because my cream is very runny and the cake does not stand straight?
simplyhomecooked says
November 4, 2016 at 3:17 amHi Lana, if the cream is runny put it in the fridge for a few hours. Is the cake not be straight because of the way it was cut?
Kelly says
September 3, 2016 at 2:42 amBy cooked condense milk, do you mean what we South Americans call dulce de leche? Cooked condense milk is not availabe in my area, and if you cook it yourself, how do you go about it? Thank you. It look incredible! Would like to make it for New Year.
simplyhomecooked says
September 4, 2016 at 1:37 amHi Kelly, yes it’s the same thing as dulce de leche. You can make it yourself by filling glass jars with the sweetened condensed milk. Close them tightly, place them in a slow cooker and submerge them fully with hot water. Cook on high for 4 hours. Wait for them to cool before opening.
Maria says
January 14, 2016 at 8:57 amHi, I would like to thank you for your hard work. Is is possible to give the measurements in grams as well? Thanks a lot.
simplyhomecooked says
January 14, 2016 at 8:24 pmHi Maria, I tried my best to convert the recipe into grams. Here it is:
Ingredients for the cake:
42.5 grams honey
17.5 grams baking soda
113.4 grams butter
200 grams sugar
3 eggs
250 grams flour
70.36 grams poppy seeds
Ingredients for the cream:
500 ml heavy cream
25 grams sugar
395 grams cooked sweetened condense milk
230 grams sour cream
56.7 grams butter
272 grams dried plums
Valya @ http://valyastasteofhome.com says
January 5, 2016 at 8:14 pmYum, very delicious cake! Perfect for any gathering. 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
January 5, 2016 at 10:12 pmThank you Valya! 🙂
Anna says
January 4, 2016 at 9:33 amMy mom made this yesterday for our family’s New Years party and it was REALLY good! I especially want to note that it was fluffy and moist, because I personally don’t like dense cakes. Thanks!
simplyhomecooked says
January 5, 2016 at 2:51 amAnna I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! Thank you for the kind feedback 🙂
Natasha says
December 29, 2015 at 12:02 amYou’re so talented Dina! You do such a beautiful job decorating cakes!!
simplyhomecooked says
December 29, 2015 at 4:58 pmNatasha you’re so sweet, thank you!
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
December 28, 2015 at 11:00 pmThis cake certainly looks royal to me! It’d be perfect for new year’s 🙂 Love the use of plums in here 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
December 29, 2015 at 4:57 pmThank you June!