Ingredients
Layers
- 150 ghoney
- 100 gbutter
- 150 gsugar
- 2eggs
- 500 gplain flour
- 2 tspbicarbonate of soda
- a pinch of salt
Cream
- 800 mlsour cream, 20 per cent fat or higher
- 300 mldouble cream, cold
- 150 gicing sugar
- 1 tspvanilla
To finish
- the trimmed cake scraps, crushed to crumbs
Equipment
- a 22 cm plate or ring, to cut around
Directions
- Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and put in the honey, butter, sugar and salt. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the warm mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Tipped into a warm bowl at once they scramble and there is no recovering the mixture.
- Keep it over the heat for 2 to 3 minutes while it foams, then take it off. Stir in the flour while the mixture is still warm, working quickly, until you have a soft sticky dough. Wrap the dough and chill it 30 minutes, which makes it manageable. Divide it into 10 pieces and keep them covered. Roll each piece out extremely thin, about 2 mm, directly onto a sheet of baking paper.
- Roll them thinner than seems sensible. These layers must be crisp thin wafers, because they soften into cake only by absorbing the cream. Lay a plate on the rolled dough and cut round it, leaving the trimmings in place on the paper.
- Bake each layer at 180°C (355°F) for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Four minutes is right and six minutes is burnt, and honey dough goes from golden to black very fast.
- Trim any spread edges while the layer is still hot and soft, because it turns brittle within a minute of leaving the oven. Bake the trimmings alongside and keep them for the crumb coating. Whip the cold double cream to soft peaks, then fold in the sour cream, icing sugar and vanilla.
- Whip the double cream separately and fold the sour cream in afterwards. Whipped together the sour cream stops the whole thing thickening. Assemble on a plate: a layer, then a generous spread of cream, then the next layer, pressing down gently.
- Use more cream between the layers than looks right. The cream is what turns the biscuits into cake, and a thin scrape leaves you with a stack of hard wafers. Coat the top and sides with the remaining cream. Crush the baked trimmings to fine crumbs and press them over the whole cake. Now refrigerate it for at least 12 hours, and 24 is better. Cut it with a hot dry knife, wiping between slices.
Technique
- Full-fat sour cream is essential, because low-fat versions stay runny and will not hold the stack.
- Some bakers use a boiled custard or condensed-milk buttercream instead of sour cream.
- It keeps three or four days in the fridge and stays good throughout.
Substitutions
- Crème fraîche in place of sour cream, which is thicker and works well.
- Ready-made honey cake layers, which are sold in Eastern European shops.
Variations
- With a dulce de leche or condensed milk filling.
- With walnuts between the layers.
- Made square, in a tray.
History
Honey-layered cake with sour-cream frosting; a court legend credits a cook who made it for an empress who disliked honey.
Frequently asked questions
What is Medovik?
Medovik is a dessert from Russia: many thin honey layers with sour-cream frosting. Honey-layered cake with sour-cream frosting; a court legend credits a cook who made it for an empress who disliked honey.
How long does Medovik take to make?
Medovik takes 1 hr 30 min plus 12 hr chilling of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Medovik?
Yes, within limits. Crème fraîche in place of sour cream, which is thicker and works well. Ready-made honey cake layers, which are sold in Eastern European shops.
What is the most important thing to get right in Medovik?
Roll them thinner than seems sensible. These layers must be crisp thin wafers, because they soften into cake only by absorbing the cream. Lay a plate on the rolled dough and cut round it, leaving the trimmings in place on the paper.
