Erin Mann is baking a new cake every week for a year from the "All Cakes Considered" cookbook and shares her adventures here on AnnArbor.com. Read past columns here.

There's an old saying: "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Why? Apart from the life lessons your grandmother was trying to teach you, honey is just so darn good.

Honey's distinct sweetness has complemented many a bowl of oatmeal or stack of pancakes at my breakfast table. This week, the shiny, golden syrup replaced most of the granulated sugar in the recipe for Honey Spice Cake.

I'd never baked with honey before and was anxious to witness its effect on the final product. Would there be remarkable changes in the color, texture and flavor of the cake?

Before setting foot in the kitchen, I researched "baking with honey" on the Internet. Honey is considered a healthier alternative to white sugar in recipes. I learned honey creates moister, longer-lasting baked goods because of its high water content. The Home Baking Association provides a list of tips for using honey in baked goods.

The recipe recommended I bake the cake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. I'd read that baking times may need to be adjusted when using honey because it browns more quickly than sugar when heated.

To be safe, I opened the oven door and tested the cake for "doneness" with a toothpick after 35 minutes. A little batter clung to the toothpick. Almost done, but not quite.

When the timer bell sounded 10 minutes later I removed the cake. The cake was quite browned on the top, especially near the edges where it had started to pull away from the sides of the pan.

My rum glaze was nothing like the thick, white glaze in the recipe. I had about half the amount of confectioner's sugar necessary. (Oops, looks like confectioner's sugar was left off the shopping list this week.) I was worried I wouldn't have enough glaze to cover the entire cake so I thinned out the glaze with some milk.

The texture of the Honey Spice Cake was unlike any of the other cakes I'd baked. It was perfectly moist and it sliced very cleanly making easy to eat with your hands.

The recipe, by well-known chef Emeril Lagasse, specifically calls for clover honey. Next time I make this recipe I plan to challenge my taste buds a little and use buckwheat honey. I'm curious as to whether the stronger flavor in the honey will be evident in the cake. Emeril's recipe for Honey Spice Cake with Rum Glaze is available on the Food Network website.

Erin Mann is ruining diets one cake at a time and welcomes your baking wisdom. E-mail this baking bachelorette at SheGotTheBeat@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter. Facebook users can also keep up-to-date with A CAKE A WEEK by joining the group.