Honey Cloud Frosting (plus Applesauce + Pecan Cake)

a great Rosh Hashanah cake!!

Sep 14, 2023

This past Sunday was my first class after taking a long summer break from teaching. It was so wonderful to be back. I truly love offering these classes. We all have so much fun and it gives me endless gratitude when I hear things like “I honestly can’t believe I made this!” (yes you did, Amy!).

You can rent the recording of class here if you’d like (we made the cake I’m about to share, plus delicious EASY brisket and a simple chicory salad with an apple cider vinegar dressing). And today I wanted to share the cake I included in class, specifically the frosting which is a combination of vanilla whipped cream plus cream cheese whipped with honey and confectioners’ sugar. It tastes like a honey cloud. I am obsessed with it.

I made it for the first time in June for Grace’s birthday. I asked Grace if they wanted cream cheese frosting on their birthday cake or whipped cream and Grace said “could it somehow be both?” To which I said, “why not?”

The result is an incredibly easy to make frosting that tastes so good, but is also so easy to apply. It’s easy to spread. You can also make it ahead. The cream cheese stabilizes the whipped cream. It lasts for a week in a container in the refrigerator and will still be fluffy and easy to spread. You can serve the frosting straight out of the container and call it honey mousse. Fill a graham cracker crust with it and call it cheesecake. Do whatever you want!

Some more tips:

Bring your cream cheese to room temperature — this will make it SO MUCH EASIER TO WHIP!
If your cream cheese is in a foil wrapper in a box, I recommend using scissors to cut off one end and then squeeze it out as if it were a big tube of toothpaste — this is less messy than opening up the package and I find I got more cream cheese in my bowl, rather than left on the foil wrapper.
Make sure your heavy cream is cold — the opposite of the whipped cream! — if your cream isn’t cold, it won’t whip.
You need, unfortunately, two bowls to make this. I’ve tried whipping everything together in one bowl and it just doesn’t work as well as whipping them separately and then combining them. I’m sorry you have to wash two bowls but it’s worth it.
You can double the confectioners’ sugar and skip the honey.
You can leave out the confectioners’ sugar and just use the honey.
You can swap maple syrup for honey.
You can leave out the vanilla or use any extract or spice (a little almond extra, for example).

Here’s a very sweet illustration my mom made during class:

And here’s the recipe! It makes a large two layer cake* and is based on the applesauce cake I did inNow & Again, but is even better because it has this frosting and the addition of pecans in and on top of the cake. Hate pecans? Leave them out! Or use a different nut or dried fruit (chopped crystallized ginger would be lovely). It’s your cake!

*the photo of the cake at the top of this newsletter is three layers made from one very tall 6-inch cake that I cut into thirds — the 6-inch cake pan I have is very tall (I used it for the top tier of my cousin’s wedding cake many years ago!) and I only made half the batter for it

APPLESAUCE + PECAN LAYER CAKE

Based on the applesauce cake from Now & Again! / Serves 8

For the cake layers:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup canola or other neutral oil
1 cup chopped pecans

For the frosting:

1 cup cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup honey
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

For topping:

1 cup toasted pecan halves

First, make the cakes:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Spray the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda. Add the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, applesauce, oil and pecans and whisk gently just until everything is combined. Use a rubber spatula to divide the batter between the prepared pans and then smooth the tops.

Bake the cakes until just barely firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Set the cakes aside on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Use a dinner knife to loosen the edges of the cakes from the pan sides and then invert them onto a work surface. Peel off and discard the parchment.

While the cake cools, make the frosting:

Whip the cream and vanilla together to form stiff peaks (you can use a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer for this).

Place the confectioners sugar, honey, and cream cheese in another bowl and whip until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Serve:

To serve, place one cake on a serving platter, top with half of the frosting, half of the toasted pecans, and then repeat the process.

I have two more classes left this month and will be posting my October lineup soon. Stay tuned! When you sign up, whether or not you’re able to attend live, you’ll have access to the recording of class!!!!

THIS COMING SUNDAY (SEPTEMBER 17th): Free Kids Cooking Hour with Amy Palanjian! [2p EST / 60 MINS] »»» YES THIS IS A FREE CLASS!! «««

Greek Salad Bowls with Homemade Pita Chips and Easy Cucumber Sauce

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 24th: Lunches to Take With You [2p EST / 90 MINS]

Spinach + Feta Frittata
Antipasto Chopped Salad
Turkey Chili

And remember that you can always check out my on-demand video library with 70+ of my previously recorded classes. Each class includes fully written recipes + a grocery list.

»»»» VIDEO LIBRARY RIGHT HERE!!! ««««

See you next week. xoxoxoox Julia

Keep Calm & Cook On

Discussion about this post