Ukrainian Old-Fashioned Honey Babka
Ukrainian Old-fashioned Honey Babka: sweet, fluffy, moist; topped with a creamy frosting for that extra incredible taste. The easiest and the best honey dessert you’ll ever taste!
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Babka is very often shaped into molds and baked for Easter, but it can also be made in a regular baking sheet (like I did) and served anytime of the year. It has a spongy texture and reminds me a lot of the honey sponge cake.
The sweet and honey aroma around the house during the baking process just puts me through the roof. I was especially surprised when I saw how much my kiddos love it. The perfect square size is kid friendly and can also be served as a hand held dessert.
I remember I used to bake this babka quite often for my brothers when I was a teenager. They loved me more for making all these goodies for them all the time 🙂 . I didn’t top with any frosting back then and it was still super delicious without it. All we needed was a cup of coffee.
Honey Babka Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 eggs – room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup honey – microwaved for 30 seconds
- 16 oz sour cream – room temp
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Honey Babka Frosting Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese – room temp
- 8 oz cool whip – frozen
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
How to Make Honey Babka:
1. Preheat the oven to a 350°F. Line a large baking sheet (11×17) with a parchment paper and set aside (make sure the baking sheet has an edge of approximately 1” to prevent the batter from running out). In a large bowl, beat 8 eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp salt until light and fluffy (8-10 mins on high).
In a small bowl, combine and stir 2 tsps baking soda and 2 tbsps white distilled vinegar – it will fizz up. Microwave 1 cup honey for about 30 seconds. Then, add the baking soda/vinegar mixture, honey and 16 oz sour cream to the batter. Beat on low for 30-40 seconds just until combined (do not over-beat it). Sift 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour into the batter and with a mixer on low, beat just until the flour is combined. The batter will be runny and lose the fluffiness a bit, but make sure to not over-beat it otherwise the cake texture will turn out hard and won’t be as fluffy.
2. Pour all the batter at once into the prepared baking sheet and level to the edges with a spatula. Bake for 30-32 mins, until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place a cooling rack over the baked cake and flip over the baking sheet. Remove the parchment paper from bottom of the cake. Place a large cutting board onto a cake and flip over again; let the babka cool. (Do not leave the cake upside down on a cooling rack for long, or it will leave cooling rack squares on top of the cake and might break/mush the top of it). Once cooled, cut off edges with a sharp knife, and cut whole babka into an even squares, to about 1.5-2”, or your desired size.
How to Make Frosting for Honey Babka:
3. In a medium bowl, combine and beat 8 oz cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar for about 1 min on low-medium speed. Add 8 oz cool whip and continue beating on high until frosting is thick, for about 5 mins.
4. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with Wilton tip #199 attached. Pipe the frosting onto each square.
Enjoy right away or refrigerate and keep enjoying for next 3-4 days!!
The fluffy, spongy texture…
More Cake Recipes to Explore:
- Ammonia White Cake with Sour Cream Frosting
- Farmer’s Cheese Blueberry Crumb Cake
- Honey Cake with Sour Cream Frosting
Ukrainian Old-Fashioned Honey Babka
Ingredients
Ingredients for Babka:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 eggs – room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup honey – microwaved for 30 seconds
- 16 oz sour cream – room temp
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Frosting Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese – room temp
- 8 oz cool whip – frozen
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to a 350°F. Line a large baking sheet (11×17) with a parchment paper and set aside (Make sure the baking sheet has an edge of approximately 1” to prevent the batter from running out). In a large bowl, beat 8 eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp salt until light and fluffy (8-10 mins on high). In a small bowl, combine and stir 2 tsps baking soda and 2 tbsps white distilled vinegar – it will fizz up. Microwave 1 cup honey for about 30 seconds. Then, add the baking soda/vinegar mixture, honey and 16 oz sour cream to the batter. Beat on low for 30-40 seconds just until combined (do not over-beat it). Sift 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour into the batter and with a mixer on low, beat just until the flour is combined. The batter will be runny and lose the fluffiness a bit, but make sure to not over-beat it otherwise the cake texture will turn out hard and won't be as fluffy.
- Pour all the batter at once into the prepared baking sheet and level to the edges with a spatula. Bake for 30-32 mins, until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place a cooling rack over the baked cake and flip over the baking sheet. Remove the parchment paper from bottom of the cake. Place a large cutting board onto a cake and flip over again; let the babka cool. (Do not leave the cake upside down on a cooling rack for long, or it will leave cooling rack squares on top of the cake and might break/mush the top of it). Once cooled, cut off edges with a sharp knife, and cut whole babka into an even squares, to about 1.5-2”, or your desired size.
- TO MAKE THE FROSTING: In a medium bowl, combine and beat 8 oz cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar for about 1 min on low-medium speed. Add 8 oz cool whip and continue beating on high until frosting is thick, for about 5 mins.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with Wilton tip #199 attached. Pipe the frosting onto each square. Enjoy right away or refrigerate and keep enjoying for next 3-4 days!!
Pat says:
Be sure to let the cake cook somewhat before flipping it or you may lose the top crust of the cake. Still delicious but not as pretty.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi Pat! Make sure to follow the recipe, without skipping any steps. In step 2 it says to insert a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean, this will take you if the cake is fully baked. Different ovens might take few more mins to bake, even a minute makes a difference. Make sure to never take out the take out of the oven if it’s still raw on the inside.
Eloise says:
What would the measurements be for this in g and ml please? I made this today and tried to convert the measurements myself but it didn’t come out quite right!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi Eloise! I have to test it out myself for the grams and ml, by manually weighting out each ingredient in order to be exact. All of my recipes are in the US measurements, and I slowly started adding the grams to some of the older recipes and moving forward to new recipes. Just did not get to this exact recipe yet.
Anna says:
I have made this cake several times. It’s wonderful! Very easy!
Patricia Kunish says:
I plan to make this recipe for our International Food Festival at our church. Have you made these in muffin or cupcake tins? We are excited to make them. Thank you
Olga in the Kitchen says:
We did make it in standard muffin mold. See our Honey Cupcakes Recipe
Lucretia says:
Easy to make. Delicious! Am making this for our Ukrainian art auction. The auction runs in October…14th-22nd, but we’re have an in person grand afternoon finale that will be Ukrainian desserts. This one is definitely a keeper!!
Nik says:
Sounds delicious. Have you cooked a gluten free version of this recipe?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
I have not, but if you do decide to try, would love to know the results. Thanks
Bonnie Krochak says:
I’m planning on making the Honey Babka cake for two tea’s in December. Have you ever made
This tea cake a few weeks in advance and freeze
It? I’m cooking for 50 people and trying to do as much ahead of time as I can.
It looks wonderful and I want to honor Ukrainian’s this year.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
While freshly baked desserts always taste their best, you can definitely bake this cake ahead of time and freeze and frost later. Just make sure you’re wrapping properly so it doesn’t get freezer-burn. Make sure to fully thaw before frosting.
Leeat says:
Would I be able to make this recipe in a 9×13 pan even?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why not it wouldn’t work. You might have to adjust baking time since it will be thicker in size. Check with a wooden toothpick in the center of baked cake before taking out, to make sure it’s fully baked.