I've been baking this stunning BBC Food 4 Layer Cake for years now, and it never fails to impress. The combination of light, nutty sponge layers, silky Swiss meringue buttercream, and crunchy candied nuts creates something truly special.
This recipe might look a bit long, but don't let that put you off! I'll walk you through each step, sharing all my tips and tricks for getting it just right. Trust me, the result is well worth the effort.

What Makes This 4 Layer Cake Special
The magic of this cake lies in its balance of flavours and textures. The honey gives the sponge a lovely depth without being overpowering, while the ground almonds keep it beautifully moist. The Swiss meringue buttercream is lighter and less sweet than traditional buttercream, making it the perfect partner for the honey-scented cake layers.
I love making this for birthdays and celebrations, but it works just as well for afternoon tea or when you fancy something a bit special. The candied nuts on top add a lovely bit of crunch and make it look really impressive without hours of fancy decorating.
A Few Tips Before You Start
- Have all your ingredients at room temperature before you begin - particularly the butter and eggs. It makes such a difference to how the cake turns out.
- Don't skip the honey syrup step - it keeps the cake lovely and moist for days.
- The Swiss meringue buttercream might look a bit scary if you haven't made it before, but just take it step by step, and you'll be fine.
Ingredients
Butter:
- Always use unsalted butter - you want to control the salt level
- Must be properly softened but not melted
- Take it out of the fridge 2 hours before starting
Honey:
- Clear honey works best - set honey can be tricky to measure
- Different kinds of honey will give different flavours
- Avoid very strong-flavoured honey unless you want it to dominate
Ground Almonds:
- Sometimes called almond meal
- Keep it in the fridge to prevent them from going bad
- Don't substitute with almond flour - it's too fine
Eggs:
- Medium eggs work best - large eggs will make the batter too wet
- Separate eggs when cold, but use them at room temperature
- Save the spare egg whites for meringues or omelettes
Making the Cake
Start with the sponges. Pop your oven on to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease two 15cm cake tins and line the bottoms with baking parchment.
Beat your butter, brown sugar and 140g of honey until it's light and fluffy. Take your time with this step - it makes all the difference to your finished cake.
Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. If it starts to look a bit curdled, don't worry - it'll come back together when you add the flour.
Mix your flour, ground almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl.
Add half the flour mixture to your butter mixture and beat until just combined. Pour in the vanilla and milk, give it another mix, then add the rest of the flour mixture. Be careful not to overmix at this stage.
Split the mixture between your tins and pop them in the oven for 45-55 minutes. You'll know they're done when a skewer comes out clean.
Let them cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack.
While your cakes are cooling, you can crack on with the other elements:
For the Honey Syrup:
- Pop 2 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoon water in a small pan
- Heat until the honey dissolves
- Leave it to cool
For the Candied Nuts:
- Heat 150ml water and the sugar in a pan with a sugar thermometer
- When it hits 119C, turn off the heat and stir in your nuts
- Keep stirring until the syrup turns white and crunchy
- Tip them out and roughly chop half of them
The Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Beat your butter until it's pale and fluffy
- Put your egg whites and sugar in a clean bowl over simmering water
- Whisk with an electric mixer until the sugar dissolves completely
- Remove from heat and whisk for about 10 minutes until you get stiff peaks
- Add the butter bit by bit, beating well between each addition
- Finally, beat in the honey
Putting It All Together
Now for the fun part! Here's how to build your 4 layer cake:
- Level your sponges by cutting off any domed tops
- Split each one in half so you have four layers
- Start with your bottom layer - stick it to your cake board with a bit of buttercream
- Brush with honey syrup and pipe on a layer of buttercream
- Add your next layer and repeat until you've used all four
- Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream
- Use a palette knife to scrape the sides clean
- Pipe blobs around the top (or spread it with a palette knife if you prefer)
- Finish with your candied nuts
A Few Extra Tips
- You can make the candied nuts a few days ahead - just keep them in an airtight container
- If your buttercream looks a bit runny, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes
- Don't worry if your first attempt isn't perfect - practice makes perfect!
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Storage:
- The finished 4-layer cake can be kept for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature
- Once cut, cover the exposed cake with cling film to keep it fresh
- Don't store it in the fridge as it will dry out the sponge
Make Ahead:
- Sponges can be baked up to 2 days ahead - wrap well in cling film and keep at room temperature
- Candied nuts will last 2 weeks in an airtight container
- Buttercream can be made 3 days ahead - keep it in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before using
- The assembled cake (without nuts) can be frozen for up to 3 months - wrap well in cling film and foil
Dietary Substitutes
Gluten-Free:
- Replace plain flour with gluten-free plain flour blend
- Add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum if your flour blend doesn't include it
- The texture might be slightly different, but still delicious
Nut-Free:
- Replace ground almonds with the same weight of flour
- Skip the candied nuts and decorate with sprinkles or chocolate shavings
- The texture will be less moist but still lovely
Dairy-Free:
- Use dairy-free butter blocks (not spread) - I find Flora Plant works well
- Replace milk with almond or oat milk
- The texture might be slightly different
Equipment Needed
- 2 x 15cm round cake tins
- Electric mixer (stand or hand-held)
- Sugar thermometer
- Piping bag with 1cm nozzle
- Palette knife
- Wire cooling rack
This cake might take a bit of time to make, but it's such a showstopper. The honey gives it a lovely golden colour, and the combination of fluffy sponge, silky buttercream and crunchy nuts is just brilliant. Give it a go - I'd love to hear how you get on with it!
📖 Recipe
Honey & Almond Layer Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Honey & Almond Sponges:
- 280 g unsalted butter softened (plus extra for greasing)
- 225 g light brown sugar
- 140 g clear honey plus 2 tbsp
- 3 medium eggs plus 4 medium egg yolks
- 280 g plain flour
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 ml milk
For the Candied Nuts:
- 140 g white caster sugar
- 75 g dry roasted peanuts
For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 350 g unsalted butter softened
- 4 medium egg whites
- 250 g golden caster sugar
- 2 tablespoon clear honey
Instructions
For the Honey & Almond Sponges:
- Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Thoroughly grease two 15cm round cake tins and line the bases with circles of baking parchment.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together 280g softened butter, light brown sugar, and 140g honey for 5-7 minutes until very pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every few minutes.
- Beat in eggs and egg yolks one at a time on low speed, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl between additions. Don't worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt until evenly combined.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat on lowest speed until just combined - about 15 seconds.
- Pour in vanilla extract and milk. Beat on low for 10 seconds.
- Add remaining flour mixture and beat on lowest speed until just combined - about 15-20 seconds. Stop mixing as soon as no dry flour is visible.
- Divide batter equally between prepared tins (approximately 600g per tin). Level the surfaces with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. Test with a skewer at 45 minutes - it should come out clean. Don't open the oven before 40 minutes.
- Cool in tins for exactly 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely - about 2 hours.
For the Honey Syrup:
- While cakes are cooling, combine 2 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoon water in a small saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until honey dissolves completely - about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature - about 20 minutes.
For the Candied Nuts:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 150ml water and caster sugar. Attach sugar thermometer.
- Heat on medium-high without stirring. Swirl pan occasionally to help sugar dissolve.
- Continue heating until thermometer reads exactly 119C (soft ball stage).
- Immediately remove from heat and quickly stir in nuts with a wooden spoon.
- Keep stirring vigorously until syrup crystallises and coats nuts with a white, crunchy coating - about 2-3 minutes.
- Spread onto prepared baking sheet. Cool completely - about 15 minutes.
- Roughly chop half the nuts, leave the rest whole for decoration.
For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Cut 350g butter into 2cm cubes. Beat with electric mixer until very pale and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Fill a saucepan with 5cm water and bring to simmer over medium heat.
- In a clean, heatproof bowl, combine egg whites and golden caster sugar. Place bowl over simmering water - ensure base doesn't touch water.
- Whisk constantly with electric hand mixer on medium speed until sugar completely dissolves and mixture reaches 71C (160F) on a thermometer - about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks and cools to room temperature.
- With mixer on medium speed, add beaten butter 2 tablespoons at a time. Wait for each addition to be fully incorporated before adding more.
- Once all butter is added, beat in honey until smooth and creamy - about 2 minutes.
Assembly:
- Using a long serrated knife, level cake tops by cutting off any domes.
- Cut each cake horizontally into two even layers.
- Place a small dollop of buttercream on cake board/stand and secure first layer.
- Brush layer generously with honey syrup using a pastry brush.
- Fill piping bag fitted with 1cm round nozzle with buttercream.
- Pipe concentric circles of buttercream on first layer, starting from outside and working in.
- Place second cake layer on top and press gently to secure. Repeat syrup and buttercream process.
- Continue with remaining layers, ensuring top layer is placed bottom-side up for a flat surface.
- Apply thin layer of buttercream all over cake (crumb coat). Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Apply final, thicker coat of buttercream, smoothing sides with a bench scraper.
- Pipe 12-14 evenly spaced buttercream blobs around top edge.
- Decorate with whole and chopped candied nuts.
- Let cake stand at room temperature for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Best eaten at room temperature
- Can be made up to 2 days ahead
- Keeps for 3-4 days in an airtight container
- Calories: 580
- Fat: 35g
- Carbohydrates: 62g
- Protein: 8g
- Sugar: 45g
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