Russian Honey Cake (Медовый Торт)

Ever since returning from Russia a few weeks ago, I've been obsessed with Russian cakes. My mom is a fantastic cook and her cakes received awards in local competitions. She's especially famous for her Honey Cake (Medoviy Tort). I'm sharing a simplified recipe of this cake here. It's just heavenly!

Russian cakes are very different from their American cousins because they contain significantly less sugar and are more diverse in the ways  you prepare them. Honey Cake is a layered cake with a slight taste of honey. Each layer is baked individually for 7 minutes. The frosting, or creme the way we call it, is light and made of sour cream and sugar. The cake is left to sit for at least 3 hours to allow the cream to saturate each layer. It's heaven.

In Russia we're used to using a double-boil method of preparing the dough for this cake. You will love this recipe because this method is not really required.  You will prepare the dough by melting the ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat. This method makes Medoviy so much more manageable.

Serves 8-12

Cake Layers

• 1 stick (4 oz) butter
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp milk, divided
• 3 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 1/3 cups flour

Cream

• 16 oz sour cream (do not use light sour cream)
• 3/4 cup sugar

1. On low heat, melt butter, honey, sugar, and 2 tbsp milk in a small saucepan. Stir until butter and sugar are completely melted. Beat eggs with a pinch of salt. Gradually pour the eggs into the butter mixture while constantly stirring. Mix soda with 1 tbsp milk to help it get dissolved. Pour the soda mixture into the butter mixture. Heat through while stirring and remove from the heat.

2. Cool the mixture until just barely warm. Gradually stir in the flour. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine all ingredients to form sticky dough. The dough may seem unmanageably sticky at this point, but I promise it will get better. Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap to form a foot-long tube. Place in the fridge for 1 hour. The dough will become harder in the fridge and will be extremely easy to work with.

3. While the dough is in the fridge, prepare the cream by beating sour cream and sugar with an electric mixer until sugar dissolves and a fluffy cream forms. This light creme may seem a bit runny, but it will do the job to saturate the cake layers and make the cake wonderfully moist.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. What you are going to do next is very much like making giant cookies, only you will make cake layers. Once the hour has passed, remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into 8 even chunks. If it's warm in your kitchen, I recommend to keep the rest of the dough in the fridge while you're working with each piece individually. Using one chunk of dough, form a ball. On a piece of parchment paper roll it out into a thin circle with a rolling pin. (Hint: do not use flour to dust the surface as it will make your cake layers less fluffy. The dough will roll out on a piece of parchment paper just fine) Make it as thin as you can. Place an 8-inch cake or bowl lid over the thin layer and cut out an 8-inch circle. Just like cutting out a cookie! Using a fork, poke the circle multiple times all over. This will prevent the cake layer from being bubbly. Save the scraps. They will serve a purpose. Transfer the circle on the parchment paper to a cookie sheet. Bake the first layer for about 7 minutes or until it is golden brown. Once it's out of the oven, remove the layer from the parchment paper fast and place on wire rack or a plate to completely cool. Repeat with the rest of the layers.

5. Combine scraps on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Process in a food processor forming fine crumbs. You will use them to decorate the cake.

6. Stack each layer on a cake plate and smear 3-4 tablespoons of the cream on top of each layer. Use generously, but pace yourself to make sure you have enough for all layers. Gently apply pressure on top of the cake to make sure the cream is distributed evenly. Generously sprinkle the top of the cake with the cake crumbs. Leave the cake to sit for 3 hours. I usually leave it for 2 hours at room temperature and then transfer it to the fridge. I hope you enjoy it!