Honey Marmalade Beehive Cake

by cookingwithauntjuju.com

I made this cake for Easter last week (along with my chocolate covered Easter Oreos) and it is a good choice  to bring to the party over at The Novice Gardener’s Fiesta Friday #13 today.   This cake is also perfect to represent the onset of my gardening season of which some bees will play a big part.

The big bumble bees are the first ones to arrive from their hibernation  as the queens are slowly flying among the early bulbs and flowers searching for nectar and pollen to feed their new brood.  Then come the honey bees who love my many lavender plants among other flowering plants in my herb garden.   Sure wish I had a good picture like Nancy over at  feasting with friends or Patty at pattynguyen, who took beautiful pictures of some big bumble bees – maybe this year!   So, I think this cake is quite appropriate for any special occasion!   This recipe is adapted by bakepedia.com via fancyflours.com and the beehive cake pan is from Nordicware.

I always have to taste the batter when I make something like this and right away I knew it was going to be good.  After looking at the ingredients I thought it might be too sweet but the flavors blend together so well.  Hey, it is kind of healthy as black tea is one of the ingredients.

I used this pan before to make a cake for one of my sister’s birthdays.  Not a typical birthday cake that I usually try to make but noone was disappointed.  See Lemon Beehive Cake – a Williams Sonoma recipe which is delicious too – just decide whether you prefer an orange or lemon flavored cake.  Serve with some ice cream or maybe some freshly whipped cream.  It is also very good toasted the next morning for breakfast, if there is any left!

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Honey Marmalade Beehive Cake

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil or you can use canola
  • 1 cup honey – I used clover honey or you can use an orange honey but I felt the orange honey might make it too “orangey”
  • 1 cup orange marmalade
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup strong brewed black tea, cooled (I used two Earl Grey tea bags)
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla

Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350°F.  Coat the insides of the pan with a pastry brush very thoroughly with a vegetable shortening.  Lightly coat with flour and tap out any access.  Be sure to coat the entire pan so the details in the cake come out good.

Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

In another bowl, whisk together the oil, honey and marmalade.  Whisk in sugar, then add eggs one at a time until each one is blended in.  Next add the black tea and vanilla.  Add this wet mixture to the dry by folding all of the ingredients with a large spatula just until combined.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.  In my oven it took 60 minutes, just test with a toothpick after 50 minutes and then cook longer if needed.  Cool for 10 minutes on a rack before turning out to cool completely.

Filling:

  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted – be sure to sift it so you have a smooth filling
  • 1 to 2 tbsp. orange juice – I only used 1 tbsp.

Beat butter in a medium size bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high until creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add half the sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy for 3 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl every now and then.  Add remaining sugar and enough orange juice to create a rather thick, but spreadable filling.

Honey Glaze:

  • 1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 1 tbsp. honey (here again you can use clover or an orange honey)
  • 1 to 3 tbsp. whole milk – I used skim as that was all I had – next time I will use 2%

Whisk the sugar, honey and half of the milk together in a medium bowl.  Just use only the amount of milk you need, I used 2 tbsp.  You want the glaze to be thick but thin enough so it will run down the cake like in my pictures.

To assemble:

Trim the cake halves if necessary; I needed to do this especially since I wanted to taste it!  If the two halves do not fit perfectly, just add more filling to make up for any gaps.  Spread the filling on one half and press the other half against it firmly.  Place the cake on your presentation plate.  Drizzle the honey glaze over the seams and pour a puddle on top of the cake so it will drip down.  I have these cute sugar bees that I added for a special touch.

Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com 

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61 thoughts on “Honey Marmalade Beehive Cake”

  1. Beautiful cake Judi! So perfect for Spring, and it sounds delicious. Love the dripping glaze! Thanks for the bumble bee shout-out too…and in the same breath as a great photographer like Patti…never thought that would happen, lol! You’re more than welcome to copy/paste my bee photos! I haven’t spotted any yet this year…

    Reply

    • Thank you Nancy and you are welcome! I am not sure how to transfer a photo to my site but thanks for giving me permission, of course I would mention where it came from. I really need to spend some time with my computer and camera since I just volunteered to be the photographer for this years Jr. Master Gardener Program. I have not seen any bees yet but a sister disturbed a nest and it scared her to death! Luckily she did not get stung as that is about the only time a “docile” bumble bee will sting.

      Reply

  2. A work of art! I love how you drizzled the icing over and added the extra bee candies. My daughter would love this (I made simple bee cupcakes for her last birthday!). Thanks for sharing this gorgeous creation!

    Reply

  3. Pingback: (A Forager’s) Fiesta Friday #13 | The Novice Gardener

  6. Judi, this is the most adorable cake I’ve ever seen!! I must have one of those cake pans!! I LOVE it!! How much fun would it be to serve at a summer soiree?? I love the spices..and the honey.. and marmalade! Yum. Just YUM.
    I think you chose the perfect cake to serve for Easter…and to bring to Fiesta Friday! It’s a happy cake, filled with the signs that spring is finally here! The bees will start doing their work and bringing fruit to our plants and trees!!
    Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us on this Fiesta Friday! It made me happy. Truly happy. <3 Now I have to go check out Patty's and Nancy's bees!!

    Reply

    • Thanks Prudy – it is a “fun” cake to make and I have used the pan twice now. Check out my Lemon Beehive Cake as is is delicious too! I am anxiously awaiting any signs of bees but it has been cold, only in the high 50’s, they are still hibernating and saying “what’s up with this weather?” The cake made me very happy and also my family (and their neighbors) and you too, so that is all I can ask for 🙂 I need to learn how to post a picture from another site or maybe I will get lucky this year and get a good snapshot!

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  7. What a delightful cake, Judi. I’m seeing more and more unique baking molds around the web and in stores. This is the first I have seen a beehive one. I love how you decorated the cake with the glaze and bees. Happy Friday!

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  11. That is such a work of art! The glaze drizzile looks so perfect and professionally done. Really pretty and looks delicious.

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  12. Judi, this is a work of art! Absolutely over the top in the world of cakes! And so appropriate that it has more than 1 cup of honey in the recipe! 😉 Simply an amazing cake! 😀

    Reply

    • Thanks a bunch Julianna – I use to make a lot of these “stand-up” cakes for everyone through the years and now just once in awhile. This type is more for me 🙂 Not only over a cup of honey but some black tea too – it does give the cake a good background flavor.

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    • Hi Simi – I am called Judi/Juju and I live in the Great Lakes state of Michigan, USA! I am glad you like my cake! I love your country as Gene and I some years ago went to Venice, Pisa, Rome, Sorrento, Naples. We especially loved the Amalfi coast – spectacular and one of our best vacations ever 🙂

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  15. Love your cake and the sugar bees really make it fabulous 🙂 I have trouble keeping cakes from over-baking when using large williams-sonoma cake pans- yours looks so good!

    Now… you need to make gnocchi!! 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks! I have never had any problem with WS pans. The cake rose too much and I did have to slice the tops off. It was very moist and baked near perfection. Since I took the gnocchi class about 2 years ago I think it is about time I made them – you are inspiring me to do so 🙂

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  16. I LOVE it! That’s such an adorable cake! I happen to love bumblebees. They always make me so happy. I’ve only seen one or two in my garden this year. Last year I had a whole swarm of them all over my redbud. Such a happy sight! I’ll have to look for that cake pan. 🙂

    Reply

    • Thank you Angie! I love those big fat bumblebees too but I have not seen any yet – too cold! The pan is still available and the recipes are very easy to make. People are amazed when they see this cake and just love it 🙂

      Reply

  29. Pingback: Honey Marmalade Beehive Cake | homethoughtsfromabroad626

  30. This is a fantastic and very creative marmalade cake. Great fun idea. My daughter will love it. Love the honey and bees touches. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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