Culinary Collage

As a girl with southern roots, Honey Bun cake will always have a special place in my heart. My version of this criminally underrated classic replaces the standard white vanilla glaze with a decadent, buttery, sticky toffee glaze! Browned butter in the cake batter amplifies the buttery notes of the honeybun cake for a more cohesive toffee-like flavor, and a scoop of ice cream with a drizzle of this incredible toffee sauce makes this dessert the ultimate indulgence. 

For the cake: 

1 box of Betty Crocker yellow butter recipe cake mix

1 cup water

3 large eggs 

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream (optional) 

(optional) 1 tablespoon toasted milk powder 

For the HoneyBun Swirl: 

• 1 generous cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon 
• ¼ tsp. Nutmeg 

For the Sticky Toffee Sauce: 

• ½ cup plus 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream 
• 6 tbsp. Butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar 
• 1 generous tbsp.  powdered sugar 
• 1 ½  tsp. Vanilla extract 
• Pinch salt 

Optional: 

• Good quality vanilla or brown butter Ice cream 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, add 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a light colored pan. Bring up the temperature to medium heat. As the butter melts, stir constantly. Once the hot butter starts to bubble around the edges of the pan, add milk powder and continue stirring constantly while scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent the milk powder from scorching (preferably with a metal whisk). Continue stirring until the butter is golden brown, and set aside to cool once done. 

In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the swirl mixture; set aside. 

Once the browned butter has cooled to a texture similar to softened butter, incorporate the browned butter, cake mix, water, eggs, and heavy cream into a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13X9 cake pan, sprinkle a generous portion of the spiced brown sugar mixture over the batter,  and pour the remaining cake batter on top. Place the pan in the preheated oven. 

While the cake is baking, prepare the toffee sauce by combining the butter, heavy cream, brown sugar, and salt to a pan over low heat. Whisk the sauce for about 7-10 minutes over low heat until the brown sugar is no longer granulated. Once the heat is turned off, add vanilla and powdered sugar, whisking until fully incorporated. 

Bake the cake for 28 – 33 minutes or until a toothpick has no wet batter on it when using the toothpick test. 

While the toffee sauce is still warm, pour most of the sauce over the cake, reserving about ¼ of a cup. Serve the slices of cake with scoops of ice cream and drizzle the remaining toffee sauce on top.