Have a large pot, suitable to hold a medium size bowl as a water bath (also known as bain-marie method). Have a little water boiling in this large pot while you are mixing initial ingredients of the dough. In a medium bowl crack the eggs, agitate them a little with a whisk, add sugar and honey. Mix everything well with a whisk.
Transfer the honey mixture on top of the pot with boiling water (for the water bath, as shown in the photos). Turn the heat down to medium (no need to make an omelet out of the eggs), add butter into the honey bowl and continuously whisk the mixture until the butter is completely incorporated. This method will also melt the sugars and renders the batter base very pliable and quite workable. Once the butter has completely incorporated into the rest of the mixture. Turn the heat down and keep the batter on the water bath until you mix the baking soda with the lemon juice.
Do this very quickly. In a small cup mix baking soda with either lemon juice OR vinegar.
Remove the batter from the water bath and quickly work in the baking soda mixture into the batter. The batter will turn a little whitish during this process.
Add half of the flour into the batter and mix it in with a spoon. You don’t really need a whisk anymore. The flour will incorporate fairly well, without clumping.
Add the second half of the flour and gently incorporate it. This time it will take a little more effort since the dough is going to start thickening. Within 1 minute you will have a dough the consistency of which should remind you of a thick pancake batter (maybe even a little thicker).
use two 9-inch baking pans to bake the round layers of honey cake. Using two pans helps expedite the process of baking the layers.
Turn the oven on to 390F.
Grab a tablespoon and place 2 heaping tablespoons of the batter right in the middle of the parchment paper. You will need to have an additional teaspoon handy to help you scrape the batter off of a tablespoon on to the parchment surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the batter to help you spread it. Don’t be scared of this step. Your hands will remain almost clean. Gently press on the batter to spread it across the parchment paper. The disc you are spreading will turn out to be quite thin.
If you feel like your hands are sticking onto the batter, dip your fingertips in the flour OR sprinkle just a tiny bit of flour on top of the batter and keep on spreading it. if you make a hole in the middle of the disc, don’t fret! Just grab a little from a thicker end and patch it up.
Place the baking pan in the hot oven and bake it for about 6 minutes OR until the color of the batter turns a nice golden brown color. You can make it a little lighter if you wish. The lighter the batter, the softer the cake. I prefer my cake to be a little on the golden brown side. Your best bet is to orient yourself on the color of the layers rather than the time it takes baking it. Everyone’s oven is different and some might bake within minutes. So, regulate it out for yourselves.
Place a couple of dish towels on the dinner table or the kitchen counter. Once the layers have baked, remove the pan from the oven and flip over the baked layers onto the towels. Gently remove the parchment paper from the honey layers. Let the layers cool down. Re-use the parchment paper for the rest of the batter baking.
In a medium bowl place all of the frosting ingredients and whisk with a handheld mixer (or with whatever mixer you have!) The frosting should not be too thick. Whisk for about 5 minutes. When you use a spoon, the frosting should barely slide off the spoon. It should be spreadable, not runny, but at the same time not too thick.
Break down one of the layers with your hands. Since our layers are nice and airy, they will break up quite easily. Add chopped walnuts into the honey cake crumbles and mix it all together. Set aside until you are done with putting the cake together.
Place the first layer of the cake on to a dish that is big enough to accommodate the cake and can go into the refrigerator. I use about 2 and a half tablespoons full of frosting on each layer. Technically, you shouldn’t be able to see the color golden from under the frosting. Spread the frosting on to the first layer, and continue doing so layer after layer until you are done with the 7th one. Spread the remaining frosting on the sides of the cake.
Carefully adorn the nut and crumble mixture on the side of the cake. You can spread the same mixture on top of the cake and have a uniform look to it. Or you can go a little wild and decorate it with pieces of fruit. Honey cake goes very well with the addition of fruit or berries. Give it a try!