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Willow Bird Bakers, I have one thing to say to you:

You’re my honeybun, sugarplum,
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin; you’re my sweetie pie.
You’re my cuppycake, gumdrop,
snoogums-boogums; you’re the apple of my eye!
And I love you so and I want you to know
That I’ll always be right here,
And I love to sing sweet songs to you,
Because you are so dear!

Mike thinks this song is annoying, but we’ll ignore him for a moment — because it’s too true to resist. I got an email today from a stranger-turned-fast-friend that reminded me (again!) how special the opportunity to share with you really is.

This now-friend, J, said that she’s been experiencing some hard times, and that something she found here — on a food blog of all things — comforted her on a difficult day.

Little did she know that I was also having a difficult day: Byrd’s tummy has been upset and after all her knee surgery woes, this feels like the proverbial camel’s back-breaking straw. Mike and I are struggling with the distance between us, among other things. A confluence of so many issues has been forming a river of worry in my heart.

Her note letting me know that she had found comfort here was, so fittingly, a huge comfort to me. Apart from just the reminder that the food community is an army of friends and supporters, her email calmed the river of worry and helped me listen to the living waters inside of me. The main points of a sermon I heard just this past Sunday while visiting Mike in Raleigh flooded into my mind: God is in control, He is faithful, and I can rest in Him in my time of need.

Indeed, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

With how you’ve supported me, no wonder I can’t help but call you my honeybuns — and give you some honeybun cake.

This cake is a simple, fuss-free dessert to make and serve. More importantly, though, it’s dynamite! The buttery cake base with the deep cinnamon swirl reminds me of the best sort of coffee cake, and the buttery caramel drizzle makes it gooey, just like a real honeybun. Each bite is a revelation of different flavors, since the swirl ensures you get a different proportion of cinnamon to butter cake with each forkful. In short: YUM.

Regarding the recipe, it calls for a box cake mix. I’m not a box mix snob — I’m of the camp that says use a box mix if you feel like it, and don’t use one if you don’t feel like it. Frankly, box mixes taste great. The only argument against them that resonates with me is the fact that they contain preservatives and artificial flavorings, but really, y’all, we’re making a honeybun cake — exactly how healthy do you think you could make this thing? (answer: not very.) We eat dessert in moderation anyway (ahem).

That being said, I prefer to make things from scratch. One reason is because I feel like people are too far removed lately from the raw ingredients of their meals, and have decided that baking or cooking from scratch is intimidating. A primary message of my blog is that cooking from scratch isn’t scary — that anyone can do it. Another reason I cook from scratch is just because I like to. Simple!


from-scratch version

For this cake, I tried it two ways. I didn’t set out to try it two ways, mind you, but that’s how it ended up happening! First, I tried baking it with a homemade cake mix. Turns out that recipe’s proportions were off somehow. The cake overflowed a bit, and was gooey in the center while done on the sides. Disappointed and in need of a dish for a school potluck, I grabbed my roommate’s box of butter cake mix and hastily remade the cake.

When my second cake was in the oven, though, I realized that my first cake was actually lookin’ pretty delicious despite being wonky. If anything, the slightly undercooked middle was appealingly moist. Just like that, I had two cakes — and the perfect setup for a box mix versus homemade comparison!


box mix version – note the yellow!

So which did I like better? Honestly, it was a very close call. The box mix has a more pronounced butter flavor that was delicious, but did taste artificial. The homemade cake had a deeper from-scratch flavor, but wasn’t as buttery. In the end, I think I preferred the homemade version, but with such close results, you can feel comfortable going either way. If you do use the homemade cake mix, though, be prepared for the wonky manner in which is bakes — and maybe line your oven with foil to guard against spills.

What about you – do you use box cake mixes? Why or why not?

Honeybun Cake with Caramel Sauce


Recipe by: My friend Lora and Martha Stewart (caramel sauce)
Yield: one 9 x 13 inch cake; serves about 12-15 depending on size of pieces

Cake Ingredients:
1 box butter recipe yellow cake mix (or 1 recipe homemade cake mix, below)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar

Caramel Sauce Ingredients:*
3/4 cups sugar
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:
Make caramel sauce first. Prepare a bowl set in an ice-water bath. Place sugar and water in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it boils and the sugar is dissolved. Throughout this process, use a wet pastry brush to wash down the sides of your saucepan often to prevent crystal formation. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reaches 345 degrees on a candy thermometer (begin swirling gently when you see hints of amber, so the sugar cooks evenly), about 5-7 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and add cream carefully (the mixture will bubble up) while whisking constantly. Return mixture to medium heat until it boils and sugar melts.

Remove from heat, and pour into the bowl set in your ice-water bath. Let the caramel cool, whisking often, for 10 minutes before whisking in creme fraiche, vanilla, and salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving over heated honeybun cake. Can store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To make honeybun cake, preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Mix together homemade or store-bought cake mix, eggs, milk, sugar, and oil. Pour this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle this mixture over the batter. Use a fork to swirl the batter over the entire cake, going to the bottom of the pan, until it is well-swirled. Bake cake at 200 degrees F for 20 minutes before increasing the temperature to 300 degrees F and baking for an additional 30 minutes. Drizzle caramel sauce over hot pieces of cake.

*(Alternate glaze, if you’re not a caramel fan (though that is some phenomenal caramel, y’all, and very easy to make with a candy thermometer! Glaze: mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoons vanilla and pour over hot cake.)

Homemade Cake Mix


Recipe by: My Kitchen Cafe
Yield: one box mix worth

NOTE: as mentioned in the post above, this recipe bakes wonkily in a 9 x 13 in. pan. Visit My Kitchen Cafe to read her note about it. I still think it’s worth making, since mine turned out delicious, but do line your oven with foil and watch that the sides of the cake don’t burn while you’re waiting for the middle to finish cooking.

Yellow “Cake Mix” Cake Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons imitation butter flavor

Directions:
Pulse sugar, flours, milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter, vanilla, and butter flavor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (much finer than, say, a pie crust). Freeze the dry mixture in a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 months or use immediately in recipe above.

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by | 40 Comments

40 Comments on Honeybun Cake with Caramel Sauce

  1. KeepItSweet
    September 30, 2010 at 8:22 am (14 years ago)

    i generally think there is a time and a place for box mixes, mainly when they aren’t the star attraction. both versions of this recipe look delicious!

    Reply
    • ELAINE
      March 12, 2019 at 12:42 am (6 years ago)

      why do i have to print 17 pages to get the recipe

      Reply
      • Julie Ruble
        March 12, 2019 at 1:02 am (6 years ago)

        Nobody forced you to print anything, actually. In fact, you don’t have to get the recipe at all.

        Reply
  2. Wei-Wei
    September 30, 2010 at 10:41 am (14 years ago)

    Oh my goodness this looks absolutely amazing! Wonderfully gooey and mmmm. I can’t praise this recipe enough! It sounds perfect!

    Reply
  3. Kat
    September 30, 2010 at 11:44 am (14 years ago)

    The homemade version is far prettier to my eye. I’m becoming less and less comfortable with the strange colors of processed foods lately, even though I’m not a food snob at all.
    However, I think that even if I made this cake with the homemade mix, it might come out a bit yellower than yours since my hens’ egg yolks are quite brilliant orange.
    BTW, why isn’t there any honey in a honeybun? I’m confused!

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      September 30, 2010 at 12:26 pm (14 years ago)

      HA, I wondered the same thing, Kat 😉

      You have a laying hen? Love it — that must be so nice!

      Reply
  4. Kaitlin
    September 30, 2010 at 11:45 am (14 years ago)

    I am sorry that you’re going through some hard times 🙁 I hope you start feeling better soon!

    I have done the distance thing before too, and while it is hard, please know that it can work! Just try to stay positive!

    These honey buns look sooooo yummy! I don’t like to use box mixes, myself, but I don’t have a problem with other people using them. It’s bad with me though – if I see a recipe even containing a box mix, I just pass it over. I never would have thought to make my own homemade cake mix! The underdone center seems like it would be the best part 🙂

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      September 30, 2010 at 12:27 pm (14 years ago)

      Thanks Kaitlin, for your sweet thoughts.

      I actually would’ve usually passed up googled recipes too, but I had some family and friends’ recipes that I knew were delicious that used cake mixes — had to find a fix! 😉

      Reply
  5. newlywed
    September 30, 2010 at 2:19 pm (14 years ago)

    This looks WONDERFUL!

    Reply
  6. Joanne
    September 30, 2010 at 2:22 pm (14 years ago)

    It really is amazing the comfort that we all seem to find in the blogger world, amongst people who we dont really know but in reality who we spend many many hours a day talking to. Ah so beautiful. I’m sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with things. Everything will turn out for the best. I promise.

    This honeybun cake looks fantastical! I’m a homemade cake girl myself, but mostly because I love the process of baking so much that I would feel like I’m cheating myself if I just used a mix!

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      September 30, 2010 at 2:24 pm (14 years ago)

      Thanks so much, Joanne. I really appreciate it!

      I know what you mean about baking. Sometimes I’m in a rush and it’s a chore, but sometimes I just want to chill out and enjoy the experience 🙂

      Reply
  7. Megan
    September 30, 2010 at 4:13 pm (14 years ago)

    That caramel sauce is making my mouth water! The whole thing looks so delicious.

    I use box mixes in a bind, but I prefer to bake from scratch too. I find that box mixes produce really light cakes, and I just like denser cakes better.

    Reply
  8. natalie (the sweets life)
    September 30, 2010 at 5:01 pm (14 years ago)

    hang in there…nothing like a fabulous baked good to raise the spirits though eh? 🙂 and yes, God is faithful and in control!

    Reply
  9. SohdaLex
    October 1, 2010 at 3:42 pm (14 years ago)

    My mouth literally dropped and hit the floor upon seeing the first photo from this post. How delicious!

    Reply
  10. Evan @swEEts
    October 1, 2010 at 4:36 pm (14 years ago)

    I will glady take a piece of either! I use boxed cake every once and a while and just doctor it up a little bit with some extra fixings and no one ever complains 🙂 Don’t fix what ain’t broke right!? ha ps. I love the song.. I used to know a website where a little bunny would sing it to you haha

    Reply
  11. Betty @ scrambled hen fruit
    October 1, 2010 at 11:09 pm (14 years ago)

    Both of these versions look delicious! I can’t resist the caramel- I must make this one way or the other!

    Reply
  12. Finny
    October 2, 2010 at 1:02 pm (14 years ago)

    I tend to use box mixes for cakes, muffins, and brownies, as I rarely have all the ingredients, the time, or the energy to bake completely from scratch. (Executive functioning and chronic pain issues mean that the easier I can make things on myself, the better.) Cookies, though, I tend to do from scratch, unless I’m making the cake mix cookies that everyone in the house is in love with.

    Reply
  13. ingrid
    October 2, 2010 at 1:42 pm (14 years ago)

    I’ve made the boxed version many times and love it. (I’ve never topped it with caramel though, good idea!) That’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy homemade. Both look very good.
    ~ingrid

    Reply
  14. Jenny (VintageSugarcube)
    October 3, 2010 at 12:04 pm (14 years ago)

    OMG!! This is truly the most decadent dessert I’ve seen in a while and I LOVE that the recipe includes a box mix. Kudos to you on a fantastic website. XO

    Reply
  15. Monica H
    October 9, 2010 at 12:54 am (14 years ago)

    This looks so comforting, gooey and delicious!

    I not against using a cake mix in a recipe, but I prefer baking from scratch. If I do use a cake mix, I prefer Duncan Hines butter recipe fudge and butter recipe yellow, simply because they taste less artificial to me.

    Reply
  16. Christina
    October 12, 2010 at 9:18 am (14 years ago)

    I’ve never used a box mix – they’re less common in NZ, but I think the homemade version looks far more delicious anyway! Though they do both look fantastic. Why must you tempt me with caramel???? NOM.

    Reply
  17. Bunny
    October 28, 2010 at 11:19 pm (14 years ago)

    I have to try this, it looks absolutely wonderful! I’ll try your homemade version. I am so happy that your faith has helped you through the rough times, His promises to us never fail.

    Reply
  18. Kristin
    March 14, 2012 at 12:10 am (13 years ago)

    Hi! I came across your blog from Pinterest about a week ago and came back today just to look at some more of your recipes. Needless to say, I’ve pinned a few more on this visit! You have a way of making such delicious and indulgent-sounding desserts seem so simple to make. I will be checking back often!

    Reply
  19. Peg
    June 2, 2013 at 3:46 am (12 years ago)

    It is amazing to me sometimes how much the internet can bring people together. I follow quite a few food blogs, some for healthy recipes to try, some for desserts to tempt my friends and husband and often the stories shared are just as vital as the recipes – a bit like sitting around the table with friends, sharing a meal. (I actually found your blog through another foodie page on Facebook, which I “found” after recipes from there were shared by a friend… and so the chain goes)

    Regarding box cake mixes: I am not a fan of them for shared recipes. I’m not so much against them, as having had the opportunity to live outside my home country, I realize the futility of using mixes as recipe ingredients. It is a bit frustrating sometimes to come across the “perfect” looking dish, whether dessert or other, and have listed ingredients that I either can’t get or are so crazily priced where I live to make it a “special occasion only” thing. Yellow cake mix is among them, and the frustration began with trying to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake like my mother makes it.

    I searched high and low to find a recipe for acceptable cake for that, whether white cake or yellow cake would be better (my mom uses a butter recipe yellow mix), since I’m having to make it from scratch anyhow… so it is really nice to see a pair of recipes like you have here, with the option to go either way. Thank you so very much for that thoughtful inclusion!

    So far as the pineapple cake goes, I finally went looking for a recipe for just that, and settled on one from Simply Recipes, which calls for ground almonds as well as flour. Heyo, it was “better than Mom’s” – but don’t tell her I said so!

    Reply
  20. Laura
    June 26, 2013 at 6:54 pm (11 years ago)

    I think your taste difference would be that the box mix recipe you used oil and the homemade, you used butter. I would use the butter or coconut oil…….

    Yes, where is the honey in a honey bun.? Or should it be called a sticky bun? How does heat affect honey?

    Reply
    • Julie Ruble
      June 26, 2013 at 7:06 pm (11 years ago)

      I think box mixes have other reasons for the taste difference, but I’m sure the butter/oil affects it as well. Moderate heat just makes honey more fluid. This is a “honey bun” cake referring to the popular snack treats, which the cake tastes like.

      Reply
      • Rattlerjake
        December 14, 2019 at 1:53 am (5 years ago)

        You statement about honey is only partially correct! First of all it depends on what honey is being used. If you are using the basic crap you buy at most stores, you’d be 100% correct since 99% of that honey is (FROM CHINA) nothing but corn syrup with ultra filtrated honey (all pollen removed) that is also pasteurized/homogenized (heat kills all beneficial properties in honey) added for flavor. But if you’re using raw honey and you heat it above 120 degrees then you destroy all of the health benefits of that honey, rendering it as nothing but honey flavoring. It really doesn’t make a difference when baking because honey is added to most recipes for sweetness (replacing sugar) and/or for flavoring. Just FYI from a Apiarist (beekeeper).

        Reply
  21. Michelle
    May 17, 2014 at 3:44 pm (11 years ago)

    I made this for my daughters 1st birthday since we were doing brunch I thought it fit quite well, and it was fantastic. At that time my husband and I had been married for 6 years, and he’s a chef so when we have people over he usually cooks for them. Well for the brunch I made all the food including this cake and it was that party that finally let my hubby’s family see that I too could cook lol. We got by far the most compliments on this wonderful cake so thank you for the recipe. Shortly after that party my husband was diagnosed with celiac disease, so sadly we haven’t had this cake since, because all my gluten containing flours and mixes moved out of my kitchen, but happily, now that I am getting really good at converting our favorite regular recipes to gf recipes, this is going high on my list, so I am looking forward to enjoying the gluten free version of this very soon! Thanks again.

    Reply
  22. Nicole Hanson
    June 10, 2016 at 8:38 pm (9 years ago)

    Really want to try these recipes!
    How do I print them and not all the other “stuff”?
    I didn’t see a print button.

    Reply
    • Julie Ruble
      June 15, 2016 at 11:06 am (9 years ago)

      Nicole, unfortunately my older recipes don’t have a print function right now. I usually just copy and paste them into a document and print like that. Enjoy!

      Reply
  23. GWEN
    June 15, 2016 at 10:08 am (9 years ago)

    How do I copy this recipe? Would like to make it!

    Reply
    • Julie Ruble
      June 15, 2016 at 11:06 am (9 years ago)

      Nicole, unfortunately my older recipes don’t have a print function right now. I usually just copy and paste them into a document and print like that. Enjoy!

      Reply

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