Natural honey is the star not only of breakfast tables but of dessert and snack recipes too. In the recipes below, you can bring Artvin Honey together with different ingredients to prepare treats that are both practical and pleasing to the palate. Each recipe is designed to protect honey's distinctive aroma by not drawing out the heat unnecessarily.
1. Honey-Molasses Apple Baklava
A classic Turkish dessert where apple, walnut and molasses meet, crowned with honey. It comes together with few ingredients and is always the star of the table when guests are over.
Ingredients for Honey-Molasses Apple Baklava
- 20 sheets of baklava dough (yufka)
- 150 g walnut kernels (finely chopped)
- 1 cup Artvin Honey
- 4 sweet apples (grated)
- 200 g butter
- 2 cups grape molasses
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
How to Make Honey-Molasses Apple Baklava
Grate the apples and squeeze them well by hand to drain off the juice. Put the squeezed grated apple in a bowl, add the finely chopped walnut kernels, cinnamon and honey and mix; this is your baklava filling. Melt the butter. Lay one sheet of dough on the counter and brush it lightly with butter, then lay another sheet on top and brush that too. Fold the buttered dough to about two fingers thick, then sprinkle the prepared filling along the folded, thick section. Roll the dough up by hand and arrange it in a buttered baking tray. Drizzle the remaining butter over the rolls and slice into 6 pieces. Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 15–20 minutes, until golden on top. Pour grape molasses over the hot baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven and serve.
2. Honey Peach with Yogurt
A refreshing option for the summer months. The trio of yogurt, peach and honey makes for a snack that's both light and energising.
Ingredients for Honey Peach with Yogurt
- 2–3 ripe peaches
- 1 bowl cold strained yogurt
- 2 tablespoons Artvin Honey
How to Make Honey Peach with Yogurt
Cut the peaches into cubes. Mix them into the yogurt in a bowl. Drizzle honey over the top and serve. If you like, you can garnish with fresh mint leaves or a pinch of cinnamon.
3. Honey Baked Apple Dessert
A light but flavourful apple dessert made with honey instead of sugar. Once baked, the inside softens and the top caramelises slightly.
Ingredients for Honey Baked Apple Dessert
- 6–7 (about 1 kg) tart apples
- 1.5 tea glasses (100 g) Artvin Honey
- 4 teaspoons (30 g) butter
- Fresh fruit (for garnish, optional)
How to Make Honey Baked Apple Dessert
Wash the apples; core them from the stem end, but don't pierce all the way through the bottom so the filling doesn't leak out. Melt the butter in a pan. Divide 1 teaspoon of honey and half a teaspoon of butter into the centre of each apple. Arrange the apples with space between them on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated 180°C oven until soft. To serve, place honey in the centre of the plate with the apple on top; garnish the edges with pieces of fresh fruit.
4. Honey Banana Toast Towers
A practical recipe you can make for breakfast or as a snack that kids love too.
Ingredients for Honey Banana Toast Towers
- 1 hamburger bun bottom half
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 banana (sliced)
- 1 dessert spoon Artvin Honey
- 1 tablespoon roasted hazelnuts or peanuts (finely crushed)
How to Make Honey Banana Toast Towers
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Toast the bun, flipping it to lightly brown both sides. Place the toasted bun on a plate, arrange the banana slices on top, drizzle with honey, and finish by sprinkling with roasted hazelnuts or peanuts before serving.
What Should You Watch for When Using Honey in Recipes?
- Watch the heat: not exposing honey to very high heat protects its enzymes and aroma. In recipes, it's generally better to add honey after cooking rather than during it.
- Naturalness: the more natural the honey you use, the tastier the results. Artvin Honey, with its dark colour and intense aroma, gives your desserts character.
- Measure: when using honey in place of sugar, reducing the amount by about 25% is enough for a balanced sweetness.
Where Can You Buy Artvin Honey?
You can buy Artvin honey straight from the beekeeper, with no wholesaler in between. Browse the honey we take from our own hives and from the beekeepers we work with, in Artvin's villages and highlands at elevations of 1,200 metres and above, produced by the Caucasian honey bee, on our product pages; you can message us directly on WhatsApp about harvest timing, jar sizes and shipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can honey be used instead of sugar in recipes?
Yes, it can. Because honey is sweeter than sugar, the general rule is to use about ¾ cup of honey in place of 1 cup of sugar and to reduce the liquid in the recipe slightly. Honey also gives baked goods a moister texture.
What happens when honey is used in the oven?
Honey caramelises in the oven and makes the surface brown faster. That's why oven temperature is usually lowered by about 15°C in honey-based recipes. At high heat honey's enzymes are lost; here honey serves purely as a sweetener and colouring agent.
Which honey suits dessert recipes best?
Mildly aromatic flower and lavender honeys don't overpower a recipe's own flavour; chestnut and pine honey, on the other hand, stand out in simple recipes thanks to their dominant aroma. Flower honey is generally preferred for cakes and cookies.
Can honey recipes be given to babies?
No recipe containing honey should be given to babies under one year old; cooking does not reliably destroy the botulism spores that honey may contain. This risk goes away once a child turns one.