Baking · Cake

Jasmine Honey Cake

This jasmine honey cake is soft, fragrant, and deeply comforting in the best possible way. The honey is woven through the entire batter, giving the crumb a natural sweetness and a beautiful golden colour that feels like sunshine in a tin. It is the kind of cake that feels elegant without being fussy, and it comes together more easily than it looks. Make the cream the night before and the rest follows on the day.

Ingredients

Honey Cake

• 169g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 150g granulated sugar
• 126g honey
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 120g sour cream, room temperature
• 61g buttermilk, room temperature
• 250g all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Jasmine Tea Whipped Cream

• 250ml heavy cream
• 30g granulated sugar
• 2 tsp loose leaf butterfly jasmine tea
• 1 to 2 drops red food colouring

Method

Jasmine Tea Whipped Cream make this first

1. 1Bring the heavy cream to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Do not boil. Pour into a stainless steel bowl, add the butterfly jasmine tea, and steep for 30 to 45 minutes as the cream cools.
2. 2Strain out the tea leaves. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
3. 3Mix the sugar and red food colouring together and stir into the infused cream.
4. 4Whisk on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Honey Cake

1. 1Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
2. 2Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. 3In a small jug, whisk the sour cream and buttermilk together until smooth. Set aside.
4. 4Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
5. 5Drizzle in the honey and beat for 1 minute until combined.
6. 6Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract with the last egg.
7. 7On low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and sour cream mixture in 5 additions, starting and ending with the dry. Mix just until no streaks remain.
8. 8Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
9. 9Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. 10Top with jasmine tea whipped cream just before serving.

Tips & Notes

Make the jasmine tea whipped cream the night before so it has time to infuse and chill properly. The reason you can steep the tea for 30 to 45 minutes is because the cream is brought to just a gentle simmer and then left to cool before steeping, meaning the temperature is much lower than boiling this prevents the cream from scorching and allows a longer, more gentle infusion. Make sure your butter, eggs, sour cream, and buttermilk are all truly at room temperature or the batter may look slightly curdled.