5 Delicious Mānuka Honey Recipes to Try at Home

Mānuka honey earns its place in sweet cooking for a reason that has nothing to do with sweetness: it has a slight bitterness and a resinous, almost mineral finish that stops desserts becoming one-note. Where a mild honey vanishes into sugar, this one leaves a trace.

Five sweet recipes, from a two-minute breakfast to something worth serving guests.

1. Yoghurt, toasted nuts and Mānuka

Serves 1. Five minutes.

Toast a handful of walnuts, almonds or pistachios in a dry pan for 3 minutes until fragrant. Spoon thick Greek yoghurt into a bowl, scatter the warm nuts over, drizzle generously with Mānuka honey.

The simplest thing here and arguably the best — the sourness of the yoghurt and the bitterness of the honey balance each other precisely.

2. Roasted figs with Mānuka and ricotta

Serves 4.

Halve 8 fresh figs and place cut-side up in a baking dish. Roast at 190°C for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with 2 tablespoons Mānuka honey while still hot, and serve with a spoon of ricotta and a few toasted pistachios.

Pears work equally well out of fig season — quarter them and give them 20 minutes instead.

3. Mānuka porridge, properly made

Serves 2.

Cook 100g rolled oats with 500ml milk or water and a pinch of salt, stirring, for about 6 minutes. Take it off the heat, let it sit for a minute, then stir through 2 teaspoons Mānuka honey.

Adding honey to a boiling pot thins the texture and drives off the aroma. Off the heat, it stays intact.

4. Honey and lemon drizzle loaf

Makes one loaf.

Cream 175g butter with 150g caster sugar. Beat in 3 eggs, then fold in 175g self-raising flour and the zest of 2 lemons. Bake at 180°C for 40–45 minutes.

For the drizzle: warm 3 tablespoons Mānuka honey with the juice of 1 lemon just until loose — not simmering — and spoon over the loaf while it is still warm in the tin. Let it soak in before turning out.

5. Mānuka affogato

Serves 2. Two minutes.

Put two scoops of good vanilla ice cream in each glass. Stir half a teaspoon of Mānuka honey into a fresh double espresso until dissolved, then pour over the ice cream at the table.

The bitterness of the coffee and the resinous edge of the honey are unexpectedly well matched.

The one rule

Keep it away from high heat. Honey’s aroma compounds are volatile — boiling water, a hot oven or a simmering pan will cook off exactly the character that makes MGO 700+ worth using. Add it off the heat, or at the very end, and let residual warmth do the work.

About the honey

Genesis Honey Co MGO 700+ is single-origin New Zealand Mānuka honey, harvested in one region in one season and never blended. Every batch is independently tested by Hill Laboratories, and the code on your jar traces back to that specific harvest.