Story and photos by Nyakong Yang, Yang Confections
Since we’re celebrating honey this month, we’ve recruited a set of sweet siblings to help us with our harvest issue Masterclass. Nyakong (20) and Kuerengke (14) Yang run a home-based bakery that started as a fun family project and became a growing concern. Their honey butter cake combines sweet and savoury to bring a world of flavour and a tantalizing aroma to your kitchen this fall.
Honey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (625 ml)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder (12.5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp salt (2.5 ml)
- 1/2 cup honey (125 ml)
- 1 cup buttermilk (250 ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla (5 ml)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (250 ml)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (500 ml)
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (2.5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (2.5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp ginger (2.5 ml)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175 C (350 F.
- Line 3, 6” x 3” round cake pans baking pans with parchment paper.
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix the honey, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Set this aside.
- To your stand-mixer bowl, add in the unsalted butter and granulated sugar. Mix until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients into the stand mixer by alternating and mixing/stirring in between. Mix in ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Once everything is combined, stop mixing. It is very important not to over mix the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly into cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted to the centre comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the freezer or a cooling rack.
Vanilla Icing
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature, but holds structure), 500 ml
- 1-3 cups confectioner's sugar (to your taste), 250-750 ml
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, 5 ml
- 1 tbsp whipping or heavy cream - optional, 15 ml
Instructions
- Beat the unsalted butter in a stand mixer/bowl until fluffy. Gradually mix in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine until fluffy.
- Once your cakes are cool (you never want to frost a warm cake), cut off the tops and bottoms using a long, serrated knife to ensure your cakes are flat.
- Apply icing to the top of the first cake and stack the second on top. Repeat with the third cake.
- Apply a thin layer of icing all around (crumb coat) and put the cake into the freezer for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from fridge and apply more icing to the whole cake, saving 80 ml(1/3 cup) for rosettes.
Decorations
Instructions
- This is where you can exercise your own creative vision. Maybe you create a fondant honeycomb or make some honey tuille to beautify your creation. We suggest a honey caramel sauce drizzled over the top of your cake adorned with icing rosettes and crispy salted caramel cookies.
Honey Cinnamon Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 60 g
- 1/2 cup honey, 125 ml
- 1 cup heavy cream, 250 ml
- pinch of sea salt
- dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and honey together over medium heat, stirring until combined. Increase the heat slightly and simmer for 10 minutes until the mixture is a bit thicker and darker.
- Whisk in the cream and allow to come to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the salt and cinnamon. Let stand until the sauce is cool, but pourable.
- Drizzle over your cake with your own creative flair.
Rosettes
Instructions
- Insert a 1M or 1B piping tip (or whatever your artistic preference is) into a piping bag and fill the bag with the remaining icing using a spatula. Starting with a dab for the centre, work your way out in three or four circles to create rosettes for the top of your cake. Do as many or as few as you like or have icing for.
Toppings
Instructions
- We used a store-bought crispy salted caramel cookie in our rosettes. Feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy and taste.
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