Russian Medovik

Cake Layer Ingredients:

4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) honey

1/4 cup granulated sugar (optional but helps)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 large eggs, room temperature and beaten with a fork

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour 

Cream Layer Ingredients:

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp honey or sugar or both

1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make the Honey Cake:

1. Add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup honey and 2 Tbsp unsalted butter to a medium sauce pan and melt together over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally until sugar is melted (5-7 mins). Don’t put over high heat!

2. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and while it’s still hot, add in the beaten eggs slowly while whisking vigorously until all of the eggs are incorporated (make sure to whisk constantly so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs).

3. Whisk in the baking soda until no lumps remain, then fold in ~2 cups of flour 1/2 cup at a time with a spatula until the dough reaches a clay-like consistency and doesn’t stick to your hands too much. 

4. Cut the dough into 5-6 equal pieces and move on to the next step right away (they roll out best when the dough is still warm)

5. On a VERY well-floured surface, roll each piece out into a thin 6’ circle (about ⅛’ thick). You can sprinkle the top with a little flour too to keep dough from sticking to your rolling pin.

6. Place a 6″ plate (I used the rim of a bowl) over the rolled dough and trace around it with a knife to get a perfect circle. Keep the scraps for later.

7. Transfer the dough to a large sheet of baking tray and bake 2 at a time at 350˚F for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before stacking. Repeat with remaining layers. 

8. Finally bake the scraps on your tray until they’re dark brown and cookie-like. This took about 12 minutes. Once the scraps are baked, cooled and firm, you can crush them with your hands, a rolling pin, or pulse them in a food processor until you have fine crumbs.

Tips: Roll out the next layers while the first ones are in the oven — the total combined baking time shouldn’t take more than 25-ish minutes.

How to make the frosting:

1. Beat 3/4 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form and then add 1 tbsp of sugar or honey and 1 tsp vanilla extract. I did this by hand but you can use an electric mixer. 

2. Continue beating until fluffy and stiff peaks form (1-2 min on high speed if you use an electric mixer). I did this by hand.

Assembling the Cake:

1. Spread about 1/3 cup cream on each cake layer. Press the cake layers down gently as you go to keep the layers from having air gaps. Frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.

2. Dust the top and sides with your breadcrumbs. Make sure to press them into the cream frosting so they stick, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. This cake needs time to absorb some of the cream and soften. It’s worth the wait!