A light and fluffy sponge cake made with delicious floral Local Hive Cali Valley Honey™ and filled with a honey cream filling and sour cherry jam. If you’re looking for a lighter cake for the holidays or just an afternoon pick-me-up, this Honey & Jam Sponge Cake is the ticket!
What is a Sponge Cake?
Typically, sponge cakes differ from traditional cakes in that they contain no fat, a fair amount of eggs (especially whipped egg whites), and no rising agents (as in no baking soda or powder). Unlike traditional cakes, sponge cakes have a unique airy and fluffy texture very much like a sponge.
This recipe is based on a Polish honey cake recipe my grandmother makes called miódownik. I tweaked her recipe to make it simpler and the result is a fluffy layer of honey-infused sponge cake.
A Honey-Forward Cake
There are lots of variations on the miódownik, or Polish honey cake (sidenote: almost every Eastern European culture has their own version!). Polish historian and medievalist Maria Dembińska who researched the origins and evolution of Polish cookery in her book Food and Drink in Medieval Poland notes that the term miódownik dates back to the 1300s when it started referring to any “flat cake” to which honey was added “in large amounts” (117). What constitutes a miódownik today is open to interpretation as any cursory search on Google will reveal images of both layered flat cakes or gingerbread loaf-style cakes. My grandma’s version crosses into the piernik, or gingerbread category, but the cake I’ve come up with here borrows more from the miódownik tradition. Now about the honey…
Honey is by far the most important ingredient in this cake (it calls for over a quarter cup of honey!), which is why it’s so important to have high-quality honey. I always use honey from harvesters I trust and I was lucky enought to be gifted a couple of batches of Local Hive™’s Cali Valley Honey. I’ve known about Local Hive for a while now and I can’t say enough about the sweet yet floral flavor of the Cali Valley honey (made from the pollen in flowers from Redlands, California!). Be sure to check out this limited edition Harvest Reserve honey as well as more than 20 other 100% US raw & unfiltered varietals on Local Hive’s website!
This Honey & Jam Sponge Cake keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge (wrap in plastic wrap or in a covered container) and tastes even better the day after you make it!
Looking for more desserts that use honey? Try these:
Honey and Jam Cake
Equipment
- 1 8 inch round cake pan *if making multiple layers, need to double recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp for buttering pan
- 4 eggs 2 whole+ 2 eggs separated into yolks and whites
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup Local Hive™ Cali Valley honey
- 1 cup sifted flour
Jam and Cream Filling
- ½ cup sour cherry jam (any tart fruit will do including black currant, etc.)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch cake pan and place a round of parchment paper in the bottom.
- Separate the two eggs and place the whites in a separate medium bowl. Place the leftover yolks along with the other two whole eggs into a large bowl. Mix the whole eggs + 2 yolks with the sugar on high for 7-10 minutes until paler in color with a thicker consistency.
- Fold in the Egg Whites. Switching to a whisk or whisk attachment if you’re using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites in the medium bowl until soft peaks form (3-4 minutes). Using a spatula, fold in the egg whites to the egg/sugar mixture until you have a smooth batter.
- Sift the flour into the cake batter bowl and fold it in using a spatula.
- Bake the cake for 22-25 minutes. To check the cake is baked, insert a toothpick or knife into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Flip cake onto a cooling rack and let stand until room temperature.
Filling
- While the cake is baking, mix the lemon juice and the jam together in a small saucepan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add in the sifted powedered sugar and Local Hive Cali Valley honey. Set aside.
Assembly
- If only using a single layer, you can gently shave off the top of the cake to make it completely flat (save those scraps for the topping decoration! See note). Spread a thin layer of jam and top it off with a layer of the whip cream filling. If doubling the recipe, spread a thin layer of jam on top of one layer followed by a layer of cream filling. Stack the second layer on top and repeat. Spread a thin layer of jam onto the cake and then spread with the whipped cream.
- Note: For the optional topping made from the cake top scraps, place the scraps on a baking sheet and bake in the oven on 350° for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before giving them a rough crumble using your hands to the top of the cake (see photo).
- If serving the next day, wrap the cake in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. It’s actually best the next day! Remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving.