Honey cake, or Medovik, is a popular Russian dessert that has been around for centuries. The unique flavor of honey cake sets it apart from other cakes, and it is a favorite of many who have tried it.
Brief History and Origin
The origins of honey cake can be traced back to the 12th century when it was a popular treat among the aristocracy and royalty of Russia. The cake was made with a combination of honey, flour, eggs, butter and spices. It was also served with various other foods and drinks, such as honey-based liqueurs.
Honey Cake (Medovik) – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 2 hrs
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Total time: 2 hrs 30 mins
- Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the cake
- 80g unsalted butter
- 120g white sugar
- 270g runny honey
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 lightly beaten eggs
- 500g all-purpose flour, sifted
- Fresh berries for serving
For the filling
- 80g icing sugar
- 600ml soured cream
- 250ml double cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 65g runny honey
To decorate
- 100g roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
For the cake
- Add butter and boil in a saucepan over medium heat; decrease heat and continue cooking until it turns brown, then take off from the heat. Add sugar and honey, and heat again until sugar dissolves.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and leave to cool for 15 minutes. Then add eggs and mix until everything is well incorporated. Now add flour and baking soda, and mix again until consistent dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Take out the dough, place it on the flour-dusted work surface, roll it into the sausage shape, divide it into 8 equal portions, and then roll each portion into a ball using your hands.
- Prepare oven and preheat to 160 degrees C. Also, prepare 2 baking trays by lining them with baking paper.
- Place a flour-dusted ball between 2 baking papers, roll using a rolling pin until 3mm thick, cut into a 7″ round disc, and reserve the scrape. Repeat the process with all the dough balls.
- Place the discs in the baking trays in a single layer and bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and place on the wire rack until you repeat the process with all the discs. Do the same with the scrape as well. When baked for 5 minutes, remove from oven and set aside.
For the filling
- Add icing sugar and sour cream to a bowl, and mix well. In another bowl, add double cream and whip until soft peaks appear. Then fold in vanilla, honey and soured cream mixture.
- On a serving plate, place a disc, and add 3 tbsp. of filling and spread evenly using the back of the spoon, then place another disc and repeat the process until all the discs are utilized. Spread the remaining filling cream on the cake’s top and sides, and level using a spatula.
- Add scrape into the food processor and process until fine crumbs. Add salt and hazelnuts, and mix again.
- Apply the crumble mixture to the top and sides of the cake and press gently to adhere. Place in the refrigerator until chill and set, then slice and serve with fresh berries.
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Jam Layered Honey Cake: The sweet honey cake has layers of tangy jam in between the cream frosting. It is clever to have a jam layer since it cuts off the sweetness from cake and frosting. Delicious addition, indeed!
- Chocolate Medovik: The chocolate-flavored Honey cake sponges are rich and have indulgence from the chocolate. It also has cocoa cream and a chocolate glaze that melt in your mouth to create a delicious symphony.
- Medovik with prunes and nuts: This recipe includes prunes and nuts in the original version. We love the texture of chewiness, crunch, and slight tartiness from prune and nuttiness from nuts in the cake.
- Strawberry-Honey Cake with Sour-Whipped Cream: Keeping the frosting traditional, this spin-off offers a strawberry sponge to the honey cake. It has subtle freshness from the strawberries that go perfectly with the sour cream and honey flavor in the cake overall.
- Medovik with Pineapple and Cheese cream: the complete assembly of the cake has the traditional honey cakes and cream mixed with crushed pineapples. We like that the cake is covered with cream cheese frosting and crushed pineapple in the cream between the layers. It does give it a slightly different taste and texture.
