Medovik | Russian Honey Cake

For this month’s International Food Challenge we are travelling to world’s largest country – Russia. Russian cuisine is diverse and derives from the great expanses of culture and influence, resulting in bringing more refined foods and culinary techniques. This month’s host Saraswathi of Sara’s Kitchen gave 3 authentic recipes from Russia, out of which I chose medovik.

Medovik is a soft, moist and rich honey cake and is very popular in Russia. This multi-layered cake is made of flat cookie layers, soaked with a creamy caramel filling. Making this cake needs some amount of patience and time too, but I can assure you that it is worth all the efforts. Also this is a special occasion as my little blog has completed 3 years. I would like to thank all my friends and readers for the constant support and lovely feedback. Recipe adapted from here.

Medovik

Russian 8-layer honey cake with a creamy caramel filling

Print Pin Recipe

Servings 8 – 10

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

For the layers

• 5 cups all-purpose flour / maida
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 113 grams / ½ cup unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda

For the filling

• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 8 oz / 227g dulce de leche milk caramel
• 1 tbsp honey
• 113 grams / ½ cup unsalted butter softened

Instructions

For the layers

• In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and set aside.
• In a saucepan, bring 2 inches water to a simmer. In a heatproof bowl, add sugar, butter and honey and place over the simmering water. Melt it, stirring occasionally using a whisk.
• Now add the whisked eggs and mix for about 3-4 minutes. Add baking soda and cook for one more minute. The mixture should be fluffy and double the size.
• Transfer the egg-butter mixture to a mixer and add the flour. Mix on low speed until just combined. The dough should be warm, soft and little sticky. Do not put more flour.
• Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring together gently. Knead the dough few times and form into a ball.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Cover them with plastic wrap or kitchen towel to prevent from drying.
• Preheat the oven to 190 C | 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball into a thin circle. Use the bottom of a cake pan or round bowl, cut around it with a knife to make a circle.
• Place this and the remaining scraps on the baking sheet. Using a fork, prick the dough in several places. Bake for 3-5 minutes. Repeat for remaining balls.
• Process the cooked scraps in a food processor until  breadcrumb stage is reached. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

To make the filling

• Whisk the 2 eggs in a small bowl. Add ½ milk and cornflour and whisk until smooth.
• In a saucepan, heat the remaining 1 ½ cups of milk, but do not boil. Add the whisked egg-milk mixture to the warm milk.
• Bring this to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly until it becomes very thick. Remove from the heat and cool. Whisk in the honey, butter and dulce de leche.

To assemble the cake

• Place a cake layer and top it with ½ cup of the filling and spread evenly. Repeat with all the cake layers.
• Some of the frosting will come out of the sides when the layers are done. Spread it evenly over the sides. Sprinkle the crushed cake scraps over the sides and on top of the cake.
• Leave the cake in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight.

Notes

• If you don’t have a mixer, transfer the egg-butter mixture to large mixing bowl and add the flour. Combine with a spatula gently until it comes together. Then transfer to floured surface and knead.
• Whisk the milk-egg mixture until it gets very thick. If it is not thick, the filling will be watery and it will be difficult to spread.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Russian

Keyword: Cake Recipes