Honey Cake (Medovik)

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The first answer any Russian would tell you once you ask them what’s Russia’s most famous dessert is medovik (honey cake). It’s the comfort food of their homes, their childhood. Every household has their own recipe that gets passed down from generation to generation. It can be made in many different flavors, from nutty, to caramel, coffee, and even chocolate. The base of this recipe is a welcome blank slate to all sort of flavor experimentations.

Chefs in Russian restaurants like to add their own twists to the recipe, they were even entire medovik festivals!

But where and when did it all begin?

honey cake layers

Origin of the Honey Cake

Many think that the origin of medovik was in the 19th century due to a misunderstanding a chef made when making the cake for Emperor of Russia Alexander I’s wife, Elizaveta Alexeyevna, while not knowing that she hates honey. The chef used honey to make the cake anyway and to his surprise, Elizaveta absolutely loved it and appreciated this new “Russian” flavor.

However, there are no historical sources whatsoever to confirm this story. Not only that, but it’s historically inaccurate to assume that the kitchen were not familiar with the royal family’s food preferences. Hence, the story of it being “Elizabeth’s favorite cake” is false. In the 19th century, the only dessert that was made out of honey was prianiki (gingerbread).

Medovik wasn’t documented in any of Russia’s historical cookbooks in the 19th century until a whole century later.

Honey cake is not actually native to Russian cuisine, but the cake was an adaptation of a foreign cake that appealed to Russian’s taste for honey. It became everyone’s favorite dessert in the 20th century during the Soviet period.

It’s essential to note that medovik was always done homemade during this time. It wasn’t served in restaurants or cafes in the Soviet Union. It was only included as an official recipe in cookbooks in the 1960s in the book “Ukrainian Dishes” which was published in Kyiv, Ukraine.

A well-known Ukrainian cuisine expert, Darya Tsvek, published a myriad of versions of this delicious homemade dessert.

This recipe is inspired by both Chef John and Michelle Polzine who owns the 20th Century Cafe in San Fransisco and famed for her honey cakes. All credit goes to them!

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Honey Cake (Medovik)

Yield: 12

Author: Yasmeen's Kitchen Diary

Prep time: 45 MinCook time: 40 MinInactive time: 9 HourTotal time: 10 H & 25 M

Honey cake consists of scrumptious fluffy honey sponges layered with the creamiest and lightest cream, infused with the nutty taste of caramelized honey, this cake is worth every cloud-like bite.

Ingredients

Caramelized honey:

• ¾ cup (255 g) honey
• 3-5 tablespoons cold water

Cake sponge:

• 1 cup (200 g) white sugar
• 14 tablespoons (200 g) unsalted butter, cubed
• ¾ cup (255 g) honey
• 2 ½ teaspoons (10 g) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 large eggs
• 3 ¾ cups (about 470 g) all-purpose flour

Whipped cream frosting:

• 5 cups (1 L) whipped cream
• 2 cups (about 400 g) sour cream
• The rest of the caramelized honey

Instructions

Make cake sponge:

1. On medium heat, add honey into a sauce pan and stir until it comes to a boil. Keep stirring until it reaches a darker shade and has a caramel-like aroma. Turn off the heat and stir in cold water to stop it from caramelizing (be careful, it will splatter!).
2. In a bain-marie (a bowl over a pot of simmering water), combine sugar, butter, ¼ cup of the caramelized honey (we'll be using the rest for the frosting) and honey. Allow the butter and sugar to melt and stir and combine well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda and salt.
4. Allow the butter mixture to become very warm (NOT hot, just very warm) to the touch, then whisk in one egg at a time, making sure to whisk in quickly and efficiently. If your mixture is too hot, the eggs could scramble so be sure it is just very warm.
5. Whisk in the baking soda and salt.
6. Remove from the bain-marie, and sift in flour one cup at a time. The batter will become sticky but easily spreadable.
7. On a parchment paper or silicone pad, spread ½ cup of batter into a 9-inch circle using an offset spatula. You can use a cake pan for reference. Tap any air bubbles away.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 375ºF (190ºC) for 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool. Repeat the same process until you have 8 layers.
9. After all the cakes are cooled, trim the edges down, making sure they're all the same size. Save the scraps for crumbs later.

Make the crumbs:

1. If these steps are done correctly, you will have leftover batter.
2. Spread the last bit of batter on a pan and bake in the oven for 4 minutes, then cut the sponge up and spread them apart and toast them for another 3 minutes until they're nice, dark, and toasted.
3. Place all the leftovers into a resealable bag and beat until they're fine crumbs.
4. Set aside for later use.

Make the frosting:

1. In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine cold heavy cream and whip until soft peak forms.
2. Add in the remaining caramelized honey and sour cream.
3. Whisk until stiff peak forms.

Assembling the cake:

1. On a parchment paper or cake board, place a cake layer and spread an equal amount of frosting on top with an offset spatula. When adding the sponge, turn it upside down, making sure the air bubbles are facing upwards. This way it will be sufficiently covered by the frosting.
2. Repeat the same process until all layers are added and frosted. When adding the last layer, place the sponge smooth side up.
3. Frost the top layer and sides of the cake well with the rest of the frosting.
4. Cover the cake with the crumbs and clean any excess crumbs at the base.
5. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave it to set and soak in all the layers overnight.
6. Cut and serve the next day and enjoy!

Notes

• Any type of honey can be used for this recipe. A lot of recipe call for wildflower honey since it has a lovely caramel and maple flavor notes, however if you don't have access to it any regular honey works.
• Caramelizing the honey is called "burnt honey", we're not really burning the honey though, we are darkening it in color to add deeper caramelized and pronounced notes to the cake. You can go without it but it is truly worth it!
• A lot of traditional recipes add flour to the batter until it stops becoming sticky and they handle it with their hands and roll it out into the layers of the cake. I personally don't like this method since you would be working the gluten in the batter - resulting in a more dense cake. I understand the process above can be quite troublesome since the dough is quite sticky, but it results in the fluffiest sponge and once the cream soaks into the layers overnight, it will be as if you're biting into a cloud.
• If you run out of crumbs for the cake, you can use Lotus biscuits. This is untraditional but it will work wonderfully.
• The frosting of this cake is not very sweet. I really appreciate the light and airy balance of sweetness within the cake. You can adjust the sugar to your liking though, by adding more honey or even incorporating some dulce de leche (which is also not traditional).

Nutrition Facts

Calories

552.29

Fat (grams)

21.61

Sat. Fat (grams)

12.69

Carbs (grams)

84.64

Fiber (grams)

1.14

Net carbs

83.5

Sugar (grams)

53.62

Protein (grams)

8.25

Sodium (milligrams)

463.99

Cholesterol (grams)

147.12

Bon appétit!