This Bee Honey Lemon Cake is the perfect pairing of honey and lemon, baked in an adorable beehive shaped cake pan, an all season sweet treat.
Honey
Having grown up around Middle Eastern food, nearly all things sweet, were sweetened with honey.
In desserts such as Baklava or a Grape Harvest Celebration Cake, honey brings not only sweetness but texture as well.
However, honey is not reserved for desserts alone, as you will find in my Salmon Croquettes with Chili peppers marinated in honey then used as a drizzle, or Grilled Peach Crostini.
Honey As Medicine
Did you know that honey produces hydrogen peroxide naturally?
It occurs, in the honey, by an enzyme called glucose oxides, which is added to the plant nectar by bees.
Making honey a natural antibacterial, both topically and internally. It’s why, back in the day, doctors always carried a jar of honey in their home visiting bag.
What’s that got to do with cakes?
Nothing really, except that I most prefer to cook with ingredients that have interesting properties, like yogurt, which offers healing elements to our intestines, than over processed ingredients, like sugar.
Honey Flavors
Honey has a very unique flavor of its own, each type depending on what flowers the bees were extracting from.
The plants a bee is attracted to, is what determines what the honey will ultimately taste like.
Once I bought a honey that had an unpleasant taste. Looking at the jar to see what flower it was gathering nectar from; it was eucalyptus!
Might have been great for a sore throat or cough but not desirable for dessert. Always read the label to see where the bee was hanging out.
Bees And Honey Cakes
The moment frost subsides and new life starts popping up from the ground, after a long winter’s sleep, we start thinking about bees. I have come to enjoy feeding birds, in my yard, just so I can watch their comings and goings, but it’s the bees I find fascinating to watch when flowers begin to bloom.
The bee, hovering in my cover photo of this honey cake, was a shot I felt lucky to capture while living in Brazil. Flowers blooming nearly all year, the bees have so many plant choices, producing varied flavors, but I found it odd that few desserts were made with honey in Brazil.
Oh sure, honey is used in some cooking in Brazil but because they are known for their sugar cane, most desserts are made from sugar and not honey. So, when I saw this little bee hoving about my balcony, it inspired me to make my first honey cakes.
Why Honey Works In Baking
There is something timeless about baking with honey. Long before refined sugar found its way into our kitchens, honey was the sweetener of choice, fragrant, golden, and deeply connected to the seasons.
As I have shared often with you, honey was the preferred sweetener in the Mediterranean cooking I grew up with, and so was lemon the preferred acidity added to many of our dishes.
Paired with lemon, honey creates a cake that tastes clean and comforting at once, familiar yet quietly special. Another quiet place honey and lemon marry together, is in Baklava.
Nearly every culture that makes a baklava recipe, simmers sugar, water and lemons into a simple syrup and then once cooled, adds equal parts honey to this extravagant dessert.
More Honey Desserts To Love
Whether you have always known to use honey in the desserts your family makes, or simply grew up using honey in your tea, now is always the perfect time to explore more of what you already know is delicious.
- Quick Pistachio and Honey Phyllo Pastries – Flaky phyllo pastries filled with pistachios, warm spices, creamy goat cheese, and a drizzle of honey. An easy shortcut to classic Mediterranean desserts.
- Mini Baklava Tarts made from store-bought phyllo tart shells, filled with nuts and drizzled with rosewater scented honey.
- Grilled Peach Pecan Crostini with Honey, a homemade pecan crostini bread lays the foundation for grilled peaches and a balsamic honey drizzle.
- Leftover Phyllo Baklava Pies, a rich cake-like nut filling soaked in honey.
Why Lemon Works In Honey Cakes?
I have always found that lemon is a flavor that marries well with sweets, which is why I always use it mixed with honey to pour over my baklava. It seems to enhance, or brighten, the flavors in just about any recipe it is added to.
This honey cake recipe allows the flavor of the honey to stand out, and I attribute that to the lemon. Lemon rinds are loaded with oil, naturally. The lemon oil adds just the right amount of balance to make this cake extra moist.
I’ve also found that orange rinds would do the same, except the flavor of the orange is more dominant and would detract from the flavor of the honey.
So… lemon it is!
Beehive-Shaped Individual Cakes
This Bee Honey Lemon Cake is the perfect pairing of honey and lemon, baked in an adorable beehive-shaped cake pan, an all-season sweet treat that feels equally at home on a spring brunch table as it does beside a cup of afternoon tea.
Honey lends a soft floral sweetness and a tender crumb, while fresh lemon brightens each bite, keeping the cake light and fragrant rather than dense. Baked as individual cakes, their charming beehive shape makes them as delightful to serve as they are to eat, a small celebration of simple ingredients and thoughtful baking.
How This Recipe Came To Bee
When it comes to whimsical kitchen gadgets, I am always eager to try something new; it is where I spend much of my playtime.
That said, I came across this adorable beehive mini cake pan and thought ‘there’s no way all those intricate details won’t cause the cake to stick to them’.
As it turned out, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to create a honey cake, with lemons (the color of the pan), to see if it worked. It did and I just love it! It’s funny how the oddest things will inspire a recipe in my brain.
Honey Cakes, Winnie The Pooh And Christopher Robin
Seeing Christopher Robin with my daughter, now very much grown, was a gentle reminder of just how deeply I have always loved Winnie the Pooh. First as a child myself, and later through the eyes of my own children, Pooh’s world of small pleasures, quiet friendships, and honey-filled moments has never really left me.
The film lingered on those familiar images of honey oozing and dripping from jars and spoons, glistening and golden, and I found myself smiling at how powerfully food memories can stir both appetite and emotion. By the time the credits rolled, I was already imagining the warm scent of honey and lemon filling my kitchen, and it felt only natural to come home and bake these little honey cakes once again.
Bee Honey Lemon Cakes
These Bee Honey Lemon Cakes are the kind of small sweet that asks you to slow down. Best enjoyed still slightly warm, with a cup of tea or coffee nearby, they carry the gentle perfume of honey and citrus and the quiet satisfaction of something made by hand.
Whether baked for family, shared with friends, or saved for a moment of calm in the afternoon, they feel less like a dessert and more like a simple kindness, one that lingers long after the last crumb is gone.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour – All-purpose flour provides the structure for these small cakes, giving them enough strength to hold their beehive shape while still producing a soft and tender cake.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Using both leaveners creates a balanced rise. Baking powder lifts the cakes evenly, while baking soda reacts with the acidity of the lemon juice and honey, helping the crumb stay light rather than dense.
- Salt – A small but essential ingredient, salt sharpens the lemon, enhances the honey’s floral notes, and keeps the sweetness from becoming flat.
- Butter – Butter adds richness and flavor, creating a moist crumb and that familiar, comforting cake texture. Its fat also helps carry the citrus aroma throughout the batter.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar works alongside the honey, contributing structure and helping the cakes brown gently while keeping the sweetness clean and balanced.
- Honey – The heart of this recipe. Honey brings natural sweetness, moisture, and a subtle floral depth that refined sugar alone can’t provide. It keeps these cakes tender for days and pairs beautifully with lemon.
- Eggs – Eggs bind the ingredients together, add structure, and give the cakes their soft, delicate interior.
- Milk – Milk loosens the batter just enough for a smooth pour and helps create a fine, even crumb in these individual cakes.
- Lemon Juice & Zest – Fresh lemon juice brightens the batter, while the zest adds concentrated citrus aroma. Together, they balance the honey’s warmth with freshness and lift, making the cake taste light and lively rather than heavy.
Equipment Needed
- Beehive Muffin Tins – These are my favorites for this recipe and the reason these little cakes feel so special. The beehive shape gives each cake charm and character, and the tins are easy to clean and release beautifully when well buttered. If you don’t have beehive tins, standard muffin tins will work just fine.
- Mixing Bowl – A medium mixing bowl is all you need to bring the batter together, no stand mixer required.
- Whisk – A simple whisk keeps the batter smooth and light, helping to evenly distribute the honey, lemon, and eggs without overmixing.
- Measuring Tools – Accurate measuring cups and spoons ensure the right balance between sweetness, acidity, and structure.
- Citrus Press – This makes juicing and straining fresh lemons fast and effortless, keeping seeds out of the batter and maximizing juice with minimal effort.
- Oven – A preheated oven ensures the cakes bake evenly and rise properly, preserving their delicate crumb and shape.
Bee Honey Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 8 tbsp Unsalted Butter softened
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/3 cup Honey extra for glaze
- 4 Eggs
- 3/4 cup Milk
- 4 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Lemon zest extra for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour baking tins.
- In a large bowl, whisk the softened butter, sugar and honey together until well blended. Add one egg at a time and whisk until light and creamy. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and zest. Whisk.
- In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and whisk, making sure they are well blended Whisk the dry ingredients into the batter mixture. Slowly add milk and blend well.
- Transfer to the prepared baking pans and bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
- Glaze
- Whisk the remaining lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of honey until well blended.
- Remove cakes from their pan and drizzle glaze over the cakes. Add a little lemon zest across the tops, if you would like a touch more color and zing!
Video
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.