Honey Cake (Medovik)

Name: Honey Cake (Medovik)
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 150 g honey; 100 g butter; 100 g sugar; 1.5 tsp slaked baking soda; 350 g flour; 500 g sour cream (20%); 200 g heavy cream (33%-38%); 180 g sugar; 1 packet vanilla sugar (10 g)

There are countless versions of Medovik honey cake. Some are made with sour cream frosting, custard, buttercream, or a butter-and-condensed-milk cream. I chose to go with sour cream frosting, as I think it makes the most delicious cake — but feel free to use whatever cream you prefer. To keep the layers soft and tender, I used a small amount of flour. Because of this, the layers can't be rolled out with a rolling pin — you have to stretch them out with your hands. Both liquid and thick honey work fine. Just make sure it's good quality, and ideally a dark variety, since dark honey has a richer aroma. You can also mix one of the following add-ins into the cream layer, according to your taste: - rehydrated prunes - rehydrated dried apricots - walnuts Those are the add-ins I've seen in store-bought Medovik cakes, at least. The result is an incredibly tender, delicious cake with soft, well-soaked layers. Medovik has a pronounced honey aroma and literally melts in your mouth. I was 100% happy with how it turned out. The finished cake weighs approximately 1.2–1.3 kg and measures 25 cm in diameter.

Ingredients:

Dough:
3 eggs
150 g honey
100 g butter
100 g sugar
1.5 tsp slaked baking soda
350 g flour
Cream:
500 g sour cream (20%)
200 g heavy cream (33%-38%)
180 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar (10 g)

How to cook honey cake (Medovik)

Make the dough. Lightly beat the eggs until smooth and uniform.

Add the honey, butter, and sugar. Set up a double boiler — place the bowl over a pot of boiling water.

Heat, stirring occasionally to speed things up, until the eggs, butter, and honey come together into a smooth, uniform mixture.

Remove from the heat and add the slaked baking soda. Stir well — the mixture should lighten considerably in color.

Add the flour in portions, stirring thoroughly with a spoon after each addition. The dough will be warm, sticky, and tacky — that's exactly how it should be. Don't add more flour.

Generously grease a baking sheet with butter. Place 1/5 of the dough (170 g) in the center of the baking sheet. Have a pot lid or large plate about 25 cm in diameter ready to use as a template.

Using gentle hand movements, stretch the dough out into a circle. It will stick to your hand — that's normal.

Stretch it into a circle slightly larger than the lid (use the lid as a guide). The more evenly you spread the circle, the more even the layer will be.

Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (390°F) for 5–8 minutes (I baked mine for exactly 8 minutes). The layer should turn a deep golden-brown with a reddish hue, but the edges should not get too dark or dry out.

While the baked layer is still warm, trim it using the lid as a cutter.

My lid has a sharp edge, so I didn't need a knife — the excess dough separated from the layer easily. If your lid or plate doesn't have a sharp edge, just trace around it with a knife.

Bake the remaining layers the same way (you'll get 5 layers total). Remember to grease the baking sheet with butter each time. It's convenient to use two baking sheets — while one layer is baking, you can stretch out the next one.

Make the cream. Whip the heavy cream until thick and stiff.

Add the sugar, vanilla sugar, and sour cream, then beat until the sugar has dissolved.

Blend the baked trimmings in a blender or crush them by any other method.

Place the first layer on a large plate or cutting board. Spread approximately 1/5 of the cream over it. The cream layer will be very thick — it will soak into the cake layer later.