Russian Honey Cake - Medovik

Elena Butuc

This cake is always successful on any festive occasion. It melts in your mouth and it's a perfect combination of honey flavored dough and sour cream. If you add some nuts and prunes ... I assure you there will be none left for the next day.

I have been making this cake recipe for almost twelve years, since I found it in an old Soviet newspaper in my grandmother's closet. I recommend it with confidence!

Important! Follow all the steps and the little tips to be 100% successful. Also, you'll find a picture of the cake section in the last step.

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Ingredients

Metric US

●

Egg

2 pieces

●

Sugar

1 cup

for the dough

●

Butter

60 g

●

Honey

2 tbsp

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Baking soda

1.5 tsp

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White flour

3.5 cups

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Sour Cream(20%)

1.5 l

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Sugar

2 cups

for the cream

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Chopped walnuts

200 g

and prunes or pitted sour cherries, optional

Step by step

Step 1

In a saucepan or heat-resistant bowl beat the eggs. Add sugar, butter and honey, mix with a spoon.

Step 2

Place the pan over a bain-marie. Stir periodically for 15 min.

Step 3

During these 15 minutes, the butter, sugar and honey will melt. Remove the pan from the bain-marie and add baking soda. Mix well and put it back over the bain-marie.

Step 4

Stir slowly and continuously for five minutes, until the mixture gets double in volume.

Step 5

Add flour and knead.

Step 6

If the dough seems too soft, add half a glass of flour. Keep the dough in a warm place or covered with a towel while it sits, otherwise the honey and sugar will harden and it will be difficult to work with it.

Step 7

Cut about seven pieces (balls) from this dough. Make sure you keep the rest warm while you work each sheet.

Step 8

Spread each ball out into a round sheet. It should be thin, about 1.5mm.

Step 9

Arrange the sheet into a round pan. Use a glass lid or round plate to give a round shape. I used a 30cm pan lid.

Step 10

Cut around with a knife and remove the extra dough. You won't be using it anymore so you can discard (it will harden so much that you won't be able to work with it). Should the dough harden and you cannot work it - heat a little in the microwave or on the bain-marie and knead well (grease your hands with butter or milk).

Step 11

Cook each sheet until brown. Here you have to be very quick - by the time you spread out and prepare the next sheet, the first will be almost done.

Step 12

In this way, cook all the cake sheets (there are six or seven). It takes about an hour and a half, including the kneading.

Step 13

Combine the sour cream with the sugar. Whisk well with the mixer until the sugar dissolves and the cream stays on the spoon, it mustn't be runny. If it's still runny, add whipped cream stabilizer - two sachets to one liter of sour cream and beat a little more.

Step 14

Spread the cake sheets with sour cream. You can sprinkle with chopped walnuts and pieces of prunes. Use plenty of cream, about three or four tablespoons per sheet, it will be much tastier. Just make sure you have enough for all the sheets.

Step 15

This is what the cake looks like now. Then, keep in the fridge for five to eight hours, overnight. Reserve some sour cream for the next day, to smooth out.

Step 16

On the next day, remove from the fridge. Spread with cream, smooth out with a knife. You can trim the edges if needed, now it's soft and you can shape it as you want.