Almonds have been eaten as food, (but not in an almond cake recipe!) for a long time with cultivated almonds appearing as early as 2500 BC – the Early Bronze Age, or even a little earlier.

Some of the most famous archaeological samples of almonds are the fruits found in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt but these days we are more likely to find them on the top of a cake, as in this recipe, rather than buried alongside our kings and queens.

This almond cake recipe uses a very easy sponge cake topped with almonds, and glazed with honey. The delicious homemade cake is nice and nutty with a hint of honey from the glaze. It is a very easy and quick cake recipe to follow. Try different honeys for a slight variation in flavour.

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Ingredients

3oz…85g soft butter, or margarine
3oz…85g light brown sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
6oz…175g self-raising flour
(or plain flour with baking powder added)
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp clear honey
2oz..60g flaked almonds

For the glaze:
8oz…225g clear honey
2 tbsp lemon juice

One greased and lined 7in/18cm round cake tin

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Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, 350 deg F, Gas Mark 4.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs, margarine, brown sugar, milk and honey. Beat with a wooden spoon for about one minute to produce a well blended cake mixture with a soft dropping consistency – that is, the mix should just drop from the wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the mixing bowl.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with a knife or the back of a spoon. Scatter the sliced almonds in a single layer on the top of the cake, or arrange them in a neat and tidy pattern if you wish!

Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes until springy to the touch, or until a skewer, or similar, comes out clean from the centre of the cake.

While the cake is baking make the glaze by mixing the lemon juice and honey in a small pan and heating gently for a few minutes. Test the glaze by pouring it over the back of a spoon to see if it leaves a sticky coating.

Remove the cake from the oven when cooked and while still hot, pour the glaze over the cake. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tin and leave to cool completely before serving this delicious homemade cake.

Even when fully cooked this carrot cake recipe makes a very moist cake, similar to cheesecake. The carrots and ground almonds are the ingredients that give this cake it’s unique taste and texture.

The history of using carrots for sweetening cakes goes back hundreds of years. When sugar was hard to come by, grated carrot was used as a substitute as it contains more sugar than any other vegetable with the exception of sugar beet. When sugar was rationed in the Second World War, carrot cake came back into fashion and is still popular today, especially with cooks who want to avoid refined sugar and use more natural sweeteners.

Unlike many carrot cakes this recipe does not include a sweet sticky topping so you may really like this carrot cake recipe if you don’t like your cakes too sweet.

Try it and see if it’s a cake recipe you’ll use time and again.

Ingredients

1 tsp butter or margarine
6 eggs, separated
8 oz….1 cup sugar
12 oz carrots, cooked and pureed
1 tbs grated orange rind
1 tbs brandy
12 oz…1 3/4 cups ground almonds

Prepare a round 9 inch, loose bottomed, cake tin (pan) by greasing it with the butter.

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Pre heat the oven to 325 deg F, 170 deg C, Gas Mark 3.

Use a wire whisk to beat the egg yolks in a bowl until they start to thicken. Slowly add the sugar while beating until the mixture eventually turns creamy and thick. Now add the carrot puree, orange rind, brandy and almonds and stir gently, but thoroughly, to mix the ingredients together well.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites by hand, or with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Use a metal spoon or rubber spatula to fold the egg white into the carrot mixture.

Finally, pour the mixture into the cake tin, and place in the centre of the oven for about 50 minutes, or until cooked. A skewer or stick pushed into the middle of the cake should come out with no more than a few dry crumbs attached.

When cooked, carefully remove the carrot cake from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This lemon cake recipe is ideal for those who don’t like their homemade cakes too sweet. Adding a little juice and grated rind from a lemon (or orange if you prefer) just takes the edge off the sweetness. It gives the cake that little bit of “sparkle” that will leave you wanting more. A lemon cake recipe is ideal for a homemade birthday cake where all that decoration can make the cake very sweet. Enjoy!

Easy Lemon Cake

Ingredients

4 oz…110g self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz…110g soft margarine at room temperature
4 oz…110g caster sugar
2 large eggs
Grated rind of a medium lemon
3 tsps of lemon juice

To finish:

Icing/confectioners’ sugar, lemon curd

Two 7 in (18cm) cake tins, at least 1.5in (4cm) deep, greased and bases lined with greaseproof/waxed paper

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Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3, 170 deg C, 325 deg F.

This easy lemon cake recipe only takes a few minutes to mix. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Next, making sure you use soft margarine, simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and beat them well. A hand-held electric mixer will give good results. The mixture should be wet enough to just drop from a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the mixing bowl. If needed mix in 1-2 teaspoons of warm water to get the right consistency.

The mixture is divided between the prepared (greased and lined) tins. Bake on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about thirty minutes, or until the top of the sponge is springy to touch.

Remove from the oven when cooked and allow to cool for about a minute. Carefully loosen the edges with a knife and turn the sponges onto a wire rack to cool. Gently, remove the lining paper and when cooled completely, spread lemon curd on the sponges and sandwich together. To finish, dust the top with icing (confectioners’) sugar if you like.

Homemade cakes have been enjoyed at home for centuries, and many of the recipes have not fundamentally changed over the years. For those who want to try some really traditional recipes for homemade cakes, here are some from a cookbook authored by Doctor Price in 1921.

The recipes use the “Dr Price” brand of baking powder but I believe that regular baking powder (sodium bicarbonate plus cream of tartar) should work just as well.

WARNING! As with many of these old cake recipes very little information is given about temperatures or tin (pan) sizes so you need to use your experience, or best guess. If you’re new to baking homemade cakes it may be better to follow the menu link to Easy Cakes until you have more experience.

Enjoy experimenting with these classic recipes!

PLAIN CAKE

1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavoring
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons Dr. Price’s Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Cream shortening; add sugar slowly; add well-beaten egg and flavoring; sift together flour, baking powder and salt and add to mixture, a little at a time, alternately with milk. Bake in greased loaf, layer or patty pans in moderate oven. May also be used for cottage pudding served hot with hard or soft sauce.

If baked in layers a middle layer of chocolate can be made by adding 1 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate to one-third of the batter.

SPANISH CAKE

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1-3/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons Dr. Price’s Baking Powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk

Cream shortening; add sugar and yolks of eggs; beat well; sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon and add alternately with milk; fold in beaten whites of eggs. Bake in greased pan in moderate oven 35 to 40 minutes.

BRIDE’S CAKE

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
3-1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons Dr Price’s Baking Powder
Whites of six eggs

Beat shortening to a cream, adding sugar gradually; add flavoring and beat until smooth. Add alternately a little at a time milk and flour which has been sifted three times with baking powder. Beat whites of eggs until dry, and add to batter, folding in very lightly without beating. Bake in large greased loaf pan in moderate oven about one hour.

EGGLESS, MILKLESS, BUTTERLESS CAKE

1 cup brown sugar
1-1/4 cups water
1 cup seeded raisins
2 ounces citron, cut fine
1/3 cup shortening
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
5 teaspoons Dr. Price’s Baking Powder

Boil sugar, water, fruit, shortening, spices and salt together in saucepan 3 minutes; when cool, add flour and baking powder which have been sifted together; mix well. Bake in greased loaf pan in moderate oven about 45 minutes.

Easy cake recipes are ideal for busy parents who still want to treat their children to homemade cakes but struggle to find the time. Many of the other recipes on this site are easy but to save searching around for easy cake recipes it seems like a good idea to pull them altogether in one place.

More links to easy recipes at the foot of the page – these are variations on the easy sponge cake where all the ingredients are mixed together in a bowl, split between two tins and baked – it really couldn’t be easier!

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Easy Sponge Cake Recipe

Ingredients

4 oz…110g self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz…110g soft margarine at room temperature
4 oz…110g caster sugar
2 large eggs
2-3 drops vanilla essence

To finish:

Icing/confectioners’ sugar, jam

Two 7 in (18cm) cake tins, at least 1.5in (4cm) deep, greased and bases lined with greaseproof/waxed paper

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Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3, 170 deg C, 325 deg F.

This is a really easy cake recipe. Sift the baking powder and flour into a large mixing bowl. Next, make sure the margarine is soft, then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and beat them well until everything is thoroughly mixed together. An electric mixer will give better results. The mixture should just drop from a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl, so if needed mix in 1-2 teaspoons of warm water to get the right consistency.

Divide the mixture between each of the lined and greased tins and place on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about thirty minutes. When cooked, the top of the sponge should be springy to the touch.

Remove from the oven when cooked and allow to cool for about a minute. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the sponges out onto a wire rack to cool. Carefully remove the lining paper and when completely cool spread your favourite jam on the sponge and sandwich together. To finish, dust the top with icing/confectioners’ sugar if you like.