Medovik: honey layer cake

Equipment

• Heatproof bowl
• saucepan
• rolling pin
• parchment
• flat trays
• mixer and cake board.

Before you begin

US cup = 240 ml; tablespoon = 15 ml; teaspoon = 5 ml. Use listed gram weights for consistency; weights are raw or dry unless described as cooked or drained.

• Use a mild floral honey; strongly flavored buckwheat honey gives a more assertive cake.

Make it work

• Cool every layer fully before adding cream; overnight hydration creates the tender slice.

Ingredients

• 400 g / 14.1 oz All-purpose flour, for dough
• 40 g / 1.4 oz Flour for rolling
• 120 g / 4.2 oz Honey
• 150 g / 5.3 oz Sugar, for dough
• 80 g / 2.8 oz Unsalted butter, for dough
• 2 (about 100 g / 3.5 oz without shells) Large eggs, for dough
• 1 tsp / about 4.6 g Baking soda
• 1/4 tsp / about 1.5 g Fine salt
• 800 g / 28.2 oz Full-fat thick sour cream, 20% fat, chilled, for filling
• 200 ml / 6.8 US fl oz Heavy whipping cream, about 36% fat, chilled, for filling
• 100 g / 3.5 oz Powdered sugar, for filling
• 1 tsp / about 5 ml Vanilla extract

Step-by-step method

1. Warm the honey base
   Set a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water without letting its base touch water. Melt honey, dough sugar and butter, stirring. Remove, whisk in baking soda and salt and let foam settle. Cool to lukewarm, below 40 C / 104 F, before beating in eggs.
2. Make and divide dough
   Fold in dough flour to make a soft pliable dough, not a dry stiff ball. Rest covered 15 minutes. Divide into eight equal pieces. Heat oven to 180 C / 355 F conventional, or 160 C / 320 F fan; prepare parchment and two flat trays.
3. Roll and bake thin layers
   Roll each piece on parchment to about 2 mm / 1/12 inch thick, using rolling flour lightly. Cut a 22 cm / 8 1/2 inch circle, retaining scraps beside it. Prick with a fork. Bake each tray 5-7 minutes until evenly golden; repeat and cool layers flat.
4. Prepare the cold cream
   Check sour cream is thick and drained of loose whey. Whip cold heavy cream to soft peaks. Whisk sour cream with powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Keep refrigerated until all cake layers are fully cool.
5. Assemble and cover
   Place the first layer on a flat cake board. Spread about 100 g / 3.5 oz filling over each of the first seven layers and stack evenly. Use remaining cream for the top and sides. Crush cooled baked scraps and press crumbs gently onto the coating.
6. Chill before slicing
   Cover and refrigerate 8-12 hours at 4 C / 40 F or colder so layers soften. Slice with a long clean knife, wiping between cuts. Keep the cake chilled between servings; the dairy filling should not remain on a warm table for hours.

Cook’s notes

Cool every layer fully before adding cream; overnight hydration creates the tender slice.

Storage & reheating

• Keep covered at 4 C / 40 F or colder and use within 3 days. Refrigerate within 2 hours of serving, or 1 hour above 32 C / 90 F.

Allergens

egg, milk, wheat/gluten. Check labels on packaged ingredients and any substitutes.

Approximate nutrition

Per serving: 484 kcal · Protein 7 g · Carbohydrates 59 g · Fat 25 g.

Approximate per serving of the complete recipe. Brands, substitutions, cooking losses and portion sizes affect the figures.