Greek Yogurt Honey Cake

Don't let the title put you off! You'll regret it! When I first saw this recipe, I immediately found at least 4 ingredients that I couldn't use, but it looked delicious so I couldn't resist trying it.

After completely butchering the recipe, I pulled a bundt cake out of the oven smelling so good my mouth was watering. It looked nothing like the picture accompanying the original recipe, and tasted nothing like that recipe was ever intended to, but nevertheless, I've created a winner here!

Before you get to the recipe, a note about brown sugar. Brown sugar is a mix of regular white sugar with molasses added to it. To make your own, combine 1 cup xylitol and 2-3 teaspoons molasses (more for dark brown sugar and less for light). I find that all molasses is pretty much equal, so no need to spend on a brand name. I mixed it together till it looked like regular brown sugar.





Another problem I had with this recipe was that xylitol does not caramelize like sugar. Therefore the top of the cake ended up being a bit dark and slightly bitter when I turned it out of the bundt pan. If you can, use regular brown sugar. This certainly didn't stop anyone from eating this - half was gone before I knew what hit me.

Greek Yogurt Honey Cake

3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla sugar (I used xylitol vanilla sugar)
2 eggs
2 cups whole spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar (read above)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Beat the honey, butter or margarine, and vanilla sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the batter alternating with the Greek yogurt. Mix well until blended.

Combine pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Spray and flour a bundt pan with cooking spray. Spoon half the nut mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan and then cover with half the batter. Repeat with remaining nut mixture and batter.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan.


A note about baking cakes made with xylitol - They will stick and are sometimes impossible to turn out nicely when baked with xylitol. I would advise you use a regular round pan instead and line it with parchment paper. If you do decide to go the bundt pan route, choose a pan with a simple design for easy dislodging of the cake.