Top 10 honey recipes

It’s the only foodstuff in the world that never goes off, and we love it on toast. But what else can you do with honey? Here are 10 recipes to inspire you.

Sticky honey duck

The combination of ingredients in this sticky duck recipe – soy sauce, honey, Chinese rice wine, garlic, crushed peppercorns, and star anise – makes a wonderfully sticky and delicious dish and is fabulous with something like a carrot, cabbage and bean sprout salad. Or just a hearty helping of rice.

Wild honey-glazed roasted chicken

This honey-glazed chicken recipe is by Gordon Ramsay, who was inspired by a trip to Cambodia where he spent time with the Mondulkiri tribe.  “In the forest, bee-hunters climb impossibly high trees in order to harvest the honey, which is dark and rich in colour with a delicious earthy taste,” he says.

Honey and harissa kataifi aubergines

Chef Maria Elia is always creating stunning veggie mains. This one involves wrapping wedges of fried aubergine in ‘kataifi’, a sort of shredded filo pastry popular in southern Europe and Asia. Here honey is both mixed with harrisa to make a marinade for the veg, and used in the homemade dressing.  

Honey-glazed gammon

Martin Ng loves his gammon glazed in a honey, sugar, madeira and sherry vinegar syrup. This recipe also calls for vegetables such as carrots, leeks and onions, as well as ample herbs and spices (parsley, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaf and cloves), which should be roasted in the oven with the meat.

Crumpets with burnt honey butter

There’s nothing more British than a buttery crumpet, and Marcus Wearing’s homemade crumpets with burnt honey butter are like biting into a bit of Blighty. All you have to do to make burnt honey butter is warm the honey until deep golden, then combine with beaten, fluffy butter and a little salt.

Apricot, honey and pistachio tart

"This apricot, honey and pistachio tart is inspired by my trips to the Middle East,” says recipe author Eric Lanlard. “I love Middle Eastern sweets, with their crusty and flaky pastry dripping with honey or fragrant syrup. This tart is rustic and made to share." Serve with Greek yoghurt and extra honey.

Honey cake with honey buttercream

A wonderfully aromatic cake, topped with a chunky layer of honey buttercream. Lovefood’s Charlotte made a few of these for her Farmers’ Market stall, and they sold out in minutes. “It rose beautifully in the oven and made for a wonderfully light bake. The honey buttercream was to die for,” she said.

Honey-roast pears with orange blossom

Roasted pears drizzled in a citrus honey marinade and finished with fresh vanilla makes the perfect posh dinner party pud. All you need to do is simmer a little honey, citrus juice and vanilla together in a pan, then pour that syrup over a tray of halved pears before roasting. Serve with yoghurt and nuts.

Honey crème brûlée

A crème brûlée can be a thing of beauty or just a thing. By making sure you don’t overheat the mixture and cooking it at a lower heat for longer, means that you will always get a fantastic result rather than overcooked scrambled eggs. Honey is the main flavour here and it sings in this recipe.

Roast peaches and honey

Anjali Pathak gives her roast peaches an Indian twist with crushed cardamom pods and a good sprinkling of cinnamon. Honey is essential to this recipe – it’s the main source of sweetness, alongside raisins and the peaches themselves. Why not try this recipe with plums or figs instead?

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