Honey Bun Cake

Church Supper Approved

I’ve always loved a good potluck. Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, potluck dinners seemed to be a regular occurrence at church. Now I think people may be concerned about food safety (rightfully so!) and so church potluck dinners happen less often. Or maybe some of the churches I have attended as an adult are too programmed and polished to think of hosting such a down-to-earth event.

I do miss those Sundays when every outlet throughout the whole church building had two slow cookers plugged in to it and we listened to the sermon while excitedly anticipating the buffet of deliciousness that was to come after the service.

THE Honey Bun Cake Recipe

I’m certainly grateful for one church dinner at least a decade ago when I left with more than a full belly and memories of chatting with friends while kids played under the tables; I left with the recipe for this perfect Honey Bun Cake! There are many versions of Honey Bun Cake, but this one stands out because it calls for butter instead of oil. I really think the butter makes for a more flavorful cake. 

Honey Bun Cake is so simple, yet pretty special. 

This is the cake you’ll want to take to a friend after they’ve had a baby. Honey Bun Cake is the one you’ll want to serve your guests after a comfort food inspired dinner. This cake is the one you might want to secretly eat for breakfast with a cup of coffee… I won’t tell!

The Buttery Batter

The most challenging part of making a Honey Bun Cake… besides avoiding eating all the crazy delish batter… is spreading the second layer of cake batter over the dry mixture that is the center pecan filling. The batter is thick and so spreading it evenly over the dry pecan mixture is a little tough. My best advice is to dollop the batter in small piles all over the dry pecan mixture then spread very carefully with a spoon or offset spatula. If you rush and are not careful then you’ll end up mixing the pecan filling into the cake batter, and that’s not what you want to do.

Friends, this is the cake that will make you want to call your neighbor over to your front porch to share the last slice with mugs of hot, nutty coffee while watching the kids play in the yard. You know, like we used to do in the “olden days” back when the kids best friends lived two houses down, evenings were spent reading the paper and watching the evening news, and church potluck dinners were our Sunday social life.

Honey Bun Cake

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• Author: Carissa Shaw for Mom Needs Chocolate
• Total Time: 60

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Description

A delicious, rich, moist cake with cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 package yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines Golden Butter cake mix is my favorite!)
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

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Instructions

1. Set aside 1/2 cup of the cake mix.

2. Pour remaining cake mix into a medium mixing bowl. Add butter, eggs, and sour cream and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until all ingredients are combined.

3. Spread half of the cake batter into a greased 9×13 baking dish (a glass dish is best).

4. In a small bowl, mix together the reserved dry cake mix, pecans, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over the cake batter in the pan.

5. Spoon the remaining cake batter onto the pecan mixture and spread carefully and evenly until the pecans are covered.

6. Bake the cake at 350 for 40 minutes.

7. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour the mixture over the warm cake.

• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 40

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 15
• Calories: 392
• Sugar: 16
• Sodium: 266
• Fat: 23
• Saturated Fat: 11
• Unsaturated Fat: 11
• Trans Fat: 1
• Carbohydrates: 44
• Protein: 4
• Cholesterol: 91

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Enjoy your Honey Bun cake with a side of happy nostalgia.