🌍 Eastern European recipesDessert

Medovik

By Groceree

Also known as Russian Honey Cake

Eight thin honey layers baked crisp like biscuits, then stacked with sour cream frosting and left overnight until they soften into a moist, caramel-scented cake, covered in crumbs. A Russian celebration cake that became a Soviet-era favourite.

Last updated

A tall layered honey cake covered in fine crumbs, with a slice cut to show many thin layers
Servings
12 servings
Prep
1 h 30 min
Cook
40 min
Total
14 h 40 min

Ingredients

Honey layers

  • honey100 g
  • caster sugar150 g
  • butter100 g
  • eggs3
  • bicarbonate of soda1 tsp
  • plain flour450 g

Sour cream frosting

  • full-fat sour cream700 g
  • sweetened condensed milk200 ml
  • double cream200 ml
  • vanilla extract1 tsp

Instructions

Honey layers

  1. 01

    Melt the , and in a bowl over simmering water until the dissolves. Beat the , then add them a little at a time, whisking constantly. Add the and keep whisking over the heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture foams, roughly doubles and turns caramel-coloured.

  2. 02

    Take off the heat and stir in the to a soft, sticky dough. Divide into 8 and chill for 30 minutes.

  3. 03

    Heat the oven to 180°C. Roll each piece very thinly on a sheet of baking paper, cut a 22 cm circle using a plate or tin base as a guide, keep the trimmings, prick the circle all over with a fork and slide the paper onto a baking tray.

  4. 04

    Bake each layer for 5 to 6 minutes until golden. Bake the trimmings too, then crush them into crumbs.

Frosting and assembly

  1. 05

    Whip the to soft peaks. Whisk the with the and , then fold in the whipped .

  2. 06

    Stack the layers, spreading a generous layer of frosting between each, and cover the top and sides.

  3. 07

    Press the crumbs all over the cake.

  4. 08

    Chill for at least 12 hours so the layers soften and absorb the frosting.

Notes

  • Do not skip the overnight rest; that is when crisp biscuits turn into cake.
  • The dough firms up as it chills. If a piece cracks as you roll it, warm it for a few seconds in the microwave until it is pliable again.
  • Medovik is said to have been created in the early 1800s for Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, wife of Tsar Alexander I.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
480 kcal
Protein
7 g
Carbs
58 g
Fat
25 g

Estimated from the ingredients.

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