Honey Bun Cake Recipe
Honey bun cake is so easy to make, so delicious to taste, and it will knock the socks off of family and friends you make it for!
You know, I hate to be one of those people who tell you that your life has been void because you’ve never tried a certain food or recipe but today I’m going to be that person. Yes, folks, if you’ve never had honey bun cake, you really have been missing out. Not only is this cake version of that decadent snack treat possibly even better than its namesake, but it’s also easy as can be to make and will impress the socks off whoever you cook it for. So only cook it for folks you don’t mind being barefoot in your house.
If you’re new to the honey bun cake world, let me fill you in on what it entails. First, you’ve got the yellow cake, which is topped with cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans, and honey. How delicious and flavorful does that sound? But wait, there’s more! Once you bake the cake, you add a simple vanilla glaze on top. Yep, this cake recipe is sweet, moist, and absolutely irresistible.
If you like cinnamon rolls or coffee cake, you’re going to love honey bun cake!
Ok now, let’s bake! 😄
Recipe Ingredients
- A box of yellow cake mix (if you want to make your yellow cake from scratch, here’s my homemade yellow cake recipe).
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Oil
- Brown sugar (I prefer dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar will totally work).
- Honey
- Chopped pecans
- Cinnamon
- Confectioner’s sugar
How to Make A Honey Bun Cake
Place all of the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined and no lumps remain, about two minutes.
Pour the cake batter into a greased cake pan. I just spray mine with some cooking spray. Isn’t this a pretty picture, though?
Now take your brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans and stir them together really well.
Autocorrect changed that to “eerily well” and I almost let it stay like that just to make y’all wonder 😉.
Sprinkle every bit of this goodness over the top of your honey bun cake.
Drizzle honey over the top of this cinnamon mixture.
Just kinda however it happens to go on is fine, but try to drizzle it over most of the top hither and yon.
Take a butter knife and swirl the honey in just a little bit.
Y’all, seriously, this cake is so easy and so good!
Tada! Bake this at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Look at that gorgeous honey bun cake! Let it cool for about ten minutes or so and then we’re gonna mix up our glaze.
Stir together the milk, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. The ideal consistency here is about like Elmer’s glue.
Drizzle over still warm cake and then cut yourself a piece! Yes, you can eat this after it has cooled but it is a crying shame not to have a slice of honey bun cake while it’s warm.
Best enjoyed with people you love and a good cup of your favorite hot beverage.
Storage
- When stored in an airtight container, leftover cake will last at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the fridge for up to 6 days.
- You can also store leftovers tightly wrapped or in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before enjoying cold or warm (quickly reheat in the microwave).
Recipe Notes
- While I prefer yellow cake, you can use any type of box cake mix for this recipe.
- Don’t follow the instructions on the back of the boxed cake mix! We’re making our own rules today.
- For a chocolate honey bun cake, substitute the yellow cake mix for chocolate cake and then top it with a creamy chocolate frosting.
- If you want to try something different, substitute the pecans in the cake topping for mini chocolate chips, walnuts, or your favorite dried fruit.
Recipe FAQs
What type of honey do you use?
Now you could go all out and get yourself some Manuka honey, which is delicious. Otherwise, just get whatever you like from your grocery. My friend, Tom, is a beekeeper and I get my honey from him. I have to keep it hidden in a cabinet so I don’t eat it all at once. If you are curious what type of honey pastry chefs use, and I mean who wouldn’t be curious, check out this post on brands of honey.
Ingredients
- 1 box plain yellow cake mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
Topping
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup brown sugar I prefer dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place all the cake ingredients together and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.1 box plain yellow cake mix, 1 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 4 large eggs
- Spread the cake batter into a greased 9x13 pan.
- Stir together the dry filling ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the cake batter. Drizzle honey over the pecan mixture. Pull a knife through batter to swirl filling into it.1/4 cup honey, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or until it tests done.
- Stir together the glaze ingredients until there aren't any lumps. Drizzle over the warm cake.2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1/3 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutrition
You may also like these recipes with honey:
Fresh Fruit Salad with Lemon Honey Dressing
Banana Brownies (with Quick Peanut Butter Honey Icing)
Honey Lime Chicken Crunchy Goodness
“If you don’t have the time to do it right, you don’t have the time to do it over.”
As usual, you have given us an excellent suggestion for the opportunity to better ourselves, Christy.
Almost 6 years ago I was given a terminal diagnosis (a rare heart-lung disease). It’s a progressive disease, and God has been wonderful in giving me time to be with loved ones, even more time than what the average life-expectancy is. At the time of diagnosis, I began a “journal” (of sorts) on my laptop. It’s called “Adventures in Dying.” Haven’t been writing much in it lately so, for my challenges, I’d like to:
1. Walk with God more each day.
2. Write more in my “adventures,” but make it more about living instead of dying.
3. Reach out to someone in my past and thank them for having been in my life.
4. Give compliments more freely, and restrict criticisms (OK, OK – as much as possible).
5. Keep living each day to it’s fullest, while thanking God.
Well it has been 6 months I await your post on how the challenge went. I love your cake.
Oh my – the Honey Bun Cake looks and sounds delicious! Hubby would devour it and wonder what happened in order for it to show up ;-). Sweet things in life sure are a necessity! Love your challenge – I’ll be challenging myself to get up earlier before everyone else in the house. When I do this, I’m a much happier person and feel so much more success with my day. Thanks so much for the encouragement!
🙂 I hope you get the chance to make it soon Brandi and I can’t wait to hear how you do on your challenge!!
I love the challenge idea. I am going to do it, BUT my list is so long that I’m going to pick two challenges for each month. I’m hoping that as I move to each new month’s challenges that the old ones will stick. It’s said that if you do something for at least 21 days in a row it becomes a habit.
To everyone who plans to de-clutter: Make that your first challenge! I did it 3 weeks ago and it’s such a great feeling. Now that it’s done everything around the house (and garage!) is cleaner and neater. I feel like a weight has lifted……I’ve said I was going to do this for so long. Go ahead and throw all those clothes in your closet on the bed and get started. Once that’s done you won’t be able to stop!
This cake looks amazing:) can’t wait to try it! It’s funny you mentioned a new challenge; I am just getting used to a new spiritual routine. Last month I realized how little I had been connecting with God through prayer and reading His Word, so I decided to start making prayer a priority at least 3 times each day and to begin and end each day with a passage of Scripture. It has helped me immensely. I have also found the more I pray and the more Scripture I read, the more I want to.
As to a 6 month challenge? I would say finishing the novel I can never seem to find the time to write!
This recipe looks wonderful!!
1. I need to study the Bible.
2. Need to be less cynical of the world. (I’m a medical transport driver).
3. Need to declutter.
4. Need to go on a no flour no sugar regimen to get my health back in check.
Baby steps but I am working on it lol!
Thank you for the inspiration, I truly need it!
Challenge idea:
I would love a Bible Study. ❤️
You should join my fellowship group on Facebook! We are finishing up reading the entire Bible in a year at the very first of October. It has been a very intensive and wonderful study, we’ve learned so much! Each day I post the readings and my notes and then we all discuss in the comments. You can apply to join now and be one of the first ones in when I open membership back up, which will be soon. We are at almost 10,000 right now and a little over 900 are waiting to join. The Father has blessed us richly with a wonderful group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/frontporchfellowship