Grease your 9 x 5 loaf pan with some oil. Line with parchment paper for easy removal later
Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C) for conventional oven or 300 F (150 C) for convection oven
Prepare the cake batter:
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside
Combine the soft butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and honey until smooth. Add the red bean paste and eggs and mix until combined. Sift in the dry ingredients and chopped nuts and mix until just combined. Don't overmix. Some lumps are okay as long as you don't see dry pockets of flour mixture. This is a very thick batter
Spoon the batter into the prepare pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle with some chopped nuts on top if you wish
Bake the bread:
Put the loaf pan in the middle rack and bake for 45 minutes and then tent the top with aluminum foil, shiny side up and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with few crumbs on it is okay as long as no wet batter. If it's still wet, bake for another 5 minutes and check again
Cool down:
Let the cake cool down in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool down on the cooling rack completely before serving
Serving:
I recommend serving the cake the next day to allow the cake to develop flavor and to distribute moisture. The cake serves on the same day tends to feel drier.
Storing:
The quick bread can be kept in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 days