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Whole barley honey cake loaf on wooden board with honey drizzle and one slice showing golden nutty crumb

Barley Honey Cake

A moist, one-bowl barley flour cake sweetened with honey. Ready in under an hour, with a nutty crumb and long shelf life.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 220
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g barley flour whole or pearl barley flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 150 g runny honey about 4.5 tbsp, plus extra for drizzling
  • 80 ml mild olive oil or neutral vegetable oil
  • 120 ml whole milk or oat milk for dairy-free
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 170 C / 340 F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, letting the paper overhang the long sides by about 3 cm.
  2. Warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes until it is fully liquid and pourable. Set aside to cool slightly for 3 minutes.
  3. Whisk the eggs, olive oil, milk, and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl until combined and slightly frothy, about 1 minute.
  4. Pour the warm honey into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth and evenly combined.
  5. Add the barley flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Fold with a rubber spatula until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
  6. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes in the bowl, then pour it into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
  7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with just dry crumbs.
  8. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Lift out using the parchment paper overhang and cool fully on the rack before slicing.
  9. Drizzle a thin line of extra honey over the top just before serving if you like.

Notes

Barley flour absorbs liquid more slowly than wheat flour, so letting the batter rest 5 minutes before baking gives the flour time to hydrate and produces a more even crumb.