Fluffy Honey Layer Cake With Fruit and Almonds

Name: Fluffy Honey Layer Cake With Fruit and Almonds
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Ingredients: 6 eggs, room temperature; 1 cup granulated sugar; 3 Tablespoons honey; 2 cups all purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 2 (8 oz. packages) cream cheese, softened; 1/2 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk; 1 cup sour cream; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 cup heavy cream, chilled; 1/3 cup powdered sugar, or to taste; toasted almonds; 1-2 mangos or peaches, peeled and sliced; 1 box strawberries, halved or sliced; 2 kiwi, peeled and sliced

106 comments
January 31, 2020
Jump to Recipe

This incredibly tender Fluffy Honey Layer Cake is perfect for any occasion. The creamy sour cream frosting pairs so well with the honey cake and the fresh fruit and almonds make it classically beautiful.

Fluffy Honey Layer Cake With Almonds and Fruit

Words don’t do this cake justice, so I’m going to keep it short. This honey cake is perfect any time of year and is relatively simple to prepare. The honey gives the cake a sweet and caramelized flavor, which is so magical and pairs so well with the tangy cream cheese and sour cream frosting.

Decorating with fruit is a great choice always. Fruit is beautiful, and no matter how you arrange it, you know it will make a gorgeous presentation. It also adds so much fresh and juicy flavor to the cake.

This cake has been a family favorite for decades. I hope you will enjoy it too.

Preparing the Honey Cake Layers

The honey cake layers are very similar to a sponge cake, so it’s important to start out with room temperature ingredients, so that you get as much volume as possible. This will help the cake layers to become very fluffy and rise as they bake.

Step by step tutorial of how to make the batter for honey layer cake

Sift the dry ingredients into the beaten eggs, sugar and honey mixture and then fold it in gently using a rubber spatula so that you retain as much of the volume of the cake as possible. Mix just until all the flour is incorporated, making sure to get all the flour from the bottom of the bowl too.

Tips To Keep the Cake Layers Flat and Even

To prevent the cake layers from caving in the center as they bake and then cool, DON’T grease the sides of the cake pans with butter or oil. This will help the cake to get a good “grip” on the edges of the cake pan as they bake and will result in a flat and even surface of each cake layer. However, make sure to place a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom of each cake pan to help you get the cake out of the pan after it’s finished baking.

Cool the cake in the cake pan for 5-7 minutes, before using a very thin knife to go around the edges of the cake and then gently remove the cake layers out of the cake pan.

Cool the cake layers completely before slicing each of the cake layers in half horizontally.

What Cake Pans Should Be Used For This Cake

I recommend using 10 inch round cake pans. They will bake through faster which will keep the cake layers much more tender. However, 9 inch cake pans will also work, you will need to bake them longer though, since they will be taller and require more time to bake through.

Preparing the Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Frosting

Cream cheese and sour cream frosting for a honey layer cake

This is my favorite frosting to use for this cake. It isn’t as thick as a typical butter cream of cream cheese frosting, because it has sour cream, sweetened condensed milk and whipped heavy cream part of the ingredients. I think it makes a really delicious frosting. Since it’s thinner, it is able to soak into the cake layers more, resulting in the most tender cake.

Make sure to start with softened cream cheese, which will mix up much better. The sour cream and heavy cream should be cold though.

When the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk are smooth, add the sour cream and vanilla, mix until combined.

Heavy cream vs Cool Whip

I use heavy cream and powdered sugar for this frosting. You can also use the same amount of already prepared whipped topping, such as Cool Whip. The Cool Whip has stabilizers in it, so it will give the frosting a much thicker consistency. I prefer to use heavy cream, but the choice is up to you.

Fold in the whipped cream gently into the frosting.

If you want a thicker frosting

As I already mentioned, it is my opinion that this particular frosting works the best for this cake. However, if you prefer a frosting to be thicker and richer, use only cream cheese, (add an additional package of cream cheese, powdered sugar to taste and 8 oz of Cool Whip. This will give you a really thick frosting.

Tips To Frosting the Cake

Frosting the Fluffy Honey Layer Cake With Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Frosting

You should use ALL of the frosting for this cake, so be generous when spreading it on the cake layers, leaving only enough frosting to go around the edges and the top of the cake. If you don’t use all of the frosting, your cake will be more dry.

To keep the cake from sliding around, I use the sides of a springform pan and place it around the cake after I have frosted it and place it into the refrigerator for a few hours to chill and set as the frosting is soaking into the cake layers.

Then, I use a really thin knife to go around the edges of the cake and carefully remove the springform pan, and then use the remixing frosting to frost the sides of the cake.

Use the palms of your hands to add toasted almonds around the edges of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with fresh fruit.

Honey Cake Topped With Fruit - Strawberries, Mangos and Kiwi

Fluffy Honey Layer Cake With Fruit and Almonds on a cake stand

How Far In Advance Can You Prepare This Cake?

I like assembling and frosting the cake the day before I serve it, so that it chills in the refrigerator overnight. Add the fresh fruit right before serving, up to a few hours in advice only. The fruit will wilt if you place it on the cake too far in advance.