Medovik is a traditional Russian honey cake made from thin, golden-baked honey dough layers assembled with whipped sour cream and heavy cream frosting. The cake is chilled overnight to develop its signature tender, moist texture.
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1. Whisk eggs with sugar until white and fluffy.
2. We will cook dough for honey cake on a bain-marie. Place a stew-pot with water on a medium heat. Put honey and butter into a smaller stew-pot and place to the bain-marie. Stir until butter is completely melted.
3. Add whisked eggs to the butter and honey and thoroughly mix. Leave honey mix on a bain-marie about 5 minutes more, constantly stirring. In 5 minutes add baking soda, mix well and cook about 20 minutes, occasionally stirring so mix doesn't stick to the bottom.
4. Preheat oven up to 180°C or 356°F. Remove stew-pot with honey mixture from bain-marie, add flour and knead soft and plastic dough. Divide the dough on 8 equal pieces. On the floured-well table roll out each piece of the dough into 8-9'' inch circle (about 1/6'' thick). Bake each layer about 3-5 minutes on a covered with baking sheet oven-tray until evenly golden. To optimize the baking process, roll out the next layer while the previous one is baking.
5. Place ready layers on a cutting board and, while they still warm, correct the edges to get a perfect circle shape for your honey cake. Crush the scraps with the rolling pin or into a blender, set aside
6. While the baked layers are cooling down, let's make a cream. Whisk sour cream with powdered sugar until fluffy and soft peaks. Separately whisk chilled heavy cream until stiff peaks. Now just carefully fold whipped cream into the sour cream and our cream is ready.
7. Spread about 3 tablespoons of cream on each layer and assemble your honey cake. A little secret! Place 1 tablespoon of cream to the plate or surface, where you'll assembling your cake, under first layer – it will make your cake gentler.
8. Cover top and sides of your honey cake with remaining cream and dust with the scraps. Refrigerate overnight and decorate with chocolate, caramel, nuts, fresh fruits or berries before serve. Invite your family or friends and enjoy this delicious honey cake!
Refrigerate the assembled Medovik overnight before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Do not freeze.
bain-marie (or improvised double boiler with two pots and hot water) · rolling pin · 9-inch cake pan or cutter for shaping layers
Yes. Assemble the cake and refrigerate overnight before serving. This allows the layers to soften and flavors to meld, which is actually essential for the final texture.
The bain-marie gently heats the honey, butter, and eggs without scorching them. This prevents the eggs from curdling and ensures the honey caramelizes evenly without burning.
Roll each piece to approximately 1/6 inch thick and 8-9 inches in diameter. Bake for 3-5 minutes until evenly golden; thicker layers will take longer and may not crisp properly.
Not recommended. Greek yogurt is too thick and tangy; the recipe requires sour cream at 25-40% fat for the correct texture and flavor balance in the frosting.
Crush the scraps with a rolling pin or blend them, then dust the top and sides of the assembled cake for decoration.
