Indulge in this zesty, moist Honeybell cake, a dessert that transforms the juicy sweetness of a Honeybell tangelo into an irresistible bundt cake that is bursting with citrus flavor!
Honeybell Cake is a delicious citrusy flavored cake, light and moist, perfect with coffee as a morning pick-me-up or with Afternoon Tea.
Why You’ll Want to Make this Honeybell Cake Recipe
- This is an easy recipe that uses entirely common ingredients, with the exception of a Honeybell orange, making it usual and unusual at the same time!
- The addition of yogurt (or sour cream) adds an additional level of moisture to the Cake.
- This Cake is naturally flavored and colored by the Honeybell juice and zest.
- Versatile use for this Cake. It can take center stage during morning coffee, brunch or Afternoon Tea.
- Stale Cake pieces can easily be transformed into French toast or cake crumbs used in recipes such as Apfel Strudel.
- Honeybell Cakes travel well, so bring them to your next pot luck or get together.
- Lots of substitutions can be made to this recipe to make it dairy free, and gluten free. You can even substitute the Honeybell oranges for another citrus fruit.
What is a Honeybell
A Honeybell is a type of citrus fruit, also known as a Minneola tangelo. It is a hybrid of a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit, that was first developed in Florida in 1931. It is named after its sweet – honey like flavor and its bell shape. Honeybell oranges have bright orange skin, juicy, seedless segments, and are easy-to-peel. They have a tangy-sweet taste that’s less tart than grapefruit but stronger than the standard orange. Like most citrus fruits, they grow well in Florida with Honeybell season lasting from December to February. They are a wonderful and necessary ingredient when making a Honeybell Cake.
What is Honeybell Cake
Honeybell Cake got its reputation through online ordering from companies such as Hales Groves, and Dockside Markets. Buying these Cakes online requires them to have a longer shelf life than a freshly baked version. Unwanted ingredients, such as mold inhibitors are often added to extend the Cake’s life.
Online Honeybell Cakes are typically baked as a bundt cake, giving the cakes their distinctive look. That is why I chose to use a cake mold for this cake.
A Honeybell Cake bought online is around $40–$50 for a 24oz Honeybell Cake. This cake cost me about $4.25 for a similar size of cake.
How to Make Honeybell Cake at Home
With no shipping to pay and no unwanted ingredients:
- Butter: preferably salted, if using unsalted then add a small pinch of salt with the other dry ingredients.
- Honeybell: wash the surface prior to using.
- Sugar: white granulated.
- Flour: all purpose flour/ plain flour.
- Eggs: large, fresh.
- Yogurt: Greek, plain and preferably full fat.
- Baking powder: used as the raising agent in this recipe.
Ingredient substitutions include:
- Using mandarin oranges in place of Honeybells.
- Replacing the butter, yogurt, and eggs with a vegan product of your choice.
- Swapping out flour with a gluten free flour such as almond flour to make the recipe GF.
- Substituting the granulated sugar with monk fruit sugar and using a 1:1 ratio of replacement.
- Add vanilla extract for another layer of deliciousness. Honeybell vanilla cakes are delicious!
How to Make This Honeybell Bundt Cake Recipe
Preheat oven. In a bowl, cream sugar and melted butter together. Then add the eggs and mix.
Add the zest and juice of the Honeydew as well as the yogurt.
Finally add the dry sifted ingredients and mix until blended, then stop.
If your mold is metal, grease it well before using it. Pour the cake batter into the mold. (I used a silicone mold.)
Bake in a 350°F / 180°C oven for about 20 – 30 minutes (timing will depend on the type of mold you have used) or until a thin skewer is used to test the doneness of the cake and it comes out ‘clean’ (no batter on it.)
Wait for the Cake to cool before turning it upside down and releasing it from its mold. Top the Cake with a citrus curd, lemon drizzle or a slight dusting of powder sugar.
Enjoy a nice slice of sunshine with a hot cup of tea!
A Tip From Me
To avoid zest bitterness from the Honeybell orange, only remove the very outer orange part of the peel. When that part has been grated do not be tempted to continue grating the white part. This white part is the pith and it is bitter and will release unwanted bitter tannins and bioflavonoids. Stick with the orange part!
Pair this Cake with robust blue cheeses! I know it sounds absurd and definitely a bold move but trust me – the citrus tang and sweetness of the Honeybell Cake softens the blue cheeses and highlights their creaminess.
Make this Honeybell Cake as a gift especially around the holidays. Use a metal gift box like these ones, that doubles as a gift box and storage container. At a fraction of the cost of the Honeybell Cakes purchased online, you can afford to make several Cakes for friends and family.
To avoid Cake sogginess when defrosting this Cake, do so in the refrigerator. The slow temperature change reduces the amount of condensation formed on the Cake surface and keeps texture intact.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers – hopefully!
Technically no, because Honeybell oranges have a short and specific harvest from December – February. Substitute a Honeybell with your favorite variety of orange if you want to make this cake off season.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Like most citrus fruits, Florida is the main producer of Honeybell oranges. This fruit is distributed throughout the U.S. and can be found in most supermarkets in the produce department. They are often labeled Minneola tangelo.
Irresistibly Moist Honeybell Cake Made with Fresh Juice and Zest
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 oz salted butter
- 4 oz white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 oz Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 12 oz flour all purpose / plain
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 honeybell juice and zest only.
Instructions
- In a bowl, cream sugar and melted butter together. Then add the eggs and mix.
- Add the zest and juice of the Honeydew as well as the yogurt.
- Finally add the dry sifted ingredients and mix until blended, then stop.
- If your mold is metal, grease it well before using it. Pour the cake batter into the mold. (I used a silicone mold.)
- Bake in a 350°F (degree Fahrenheit) / 180°C (degree Celsius) oven for about 20 – 30 minutes or until a thin skewer is used to test the doneness of the cake and it comes out 'clean' (no batter on it.)
- Wait for the cake to cool before turning it upside down and releasing it from its mold. Top the cake with a citrus curd, lemon drizzle or a slight dusting of powder sugar.
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