14 December 2020
Easy Medovik Recipe - Russian Honey Cake with Sour Cream and Biscuit
Honey cakes are very popular in Russia and of course there exist different versions of this dessert - here I will share with you our family recipe, which is not very common, but it is super easy and it comes out very rich! It is perfect if you don't have a lot of time and don't want to bother with a bain-marie, as in other Medovik recipes. Our Medovik consists of the sponge cake and layers of sour cream or crème fraîche.
Ingredients for the biscuit
4 eggs
100 gr. of sugar (half cup)
3 tablespoons of honey
180-200 gr. wheat pastry flour (1.5 cups)
1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in several drops of freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice
a pinch of salt
If you are allergic to honey (as I am), you can reduce its quantity or substitute it with cane sugar completely. Cane sugar will add the similar brownish colour to your biscuit that honey normally does.
Ingredients for the filling
500 gr. sour cream (smetana) or crème fraîche with no less than 20% fat
50 gr. of sugar
Time of cooking – within one hour
Ingredients for the biscuit
4 eggs
100 gr. of sugar (half cup)
3 tablespoons of honey
180-200 gr. wheat pastry flour (1.5 cups)
1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in several drops of freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice
a pinch of salt
If you are allergic to honey (as I am), you can reduce its quantity or substitute it with cane sugar completely. Cane sugar will add the similar brownish colour to your biscuit that honey normally does.
Ingredients for the filling
500 gr. sour cream (smetana) or crème fraîche with no less than 20% fat
50 gr. of sugar
Time of cooking – within one hour
How to prepare biscuit:
1. Beat eggs with sugar and honey, then add flour, dissolved baking soda and salt to the dough and continue to mix it until the dough increases in size and gets homogeneous.
2. Pour the dough into one or two moulds, put them the oven preheated up to 180-190° C for around 15-20 minutes. When the biscuit is ready, apart from the very pleasant smell, it will begin to come off the walls of the mould. Pierce the biscuit with a toothpick - it should stay dry. Touch the biscuit with your finger - if it's ready, the fingerprint will disappear quickly.
The good biscuit will have numerous "pores" and you will see them when you will be cutting it. The diameter of pores depends on the freshness of eggs, right temperature and other factors, so even with the same proportion of ingredients it turns out different every time.
3. Let your biscuit cool down and then carefully remove it from the mould (or moulds). Do not throw away the crumbs that will remain in the mould - you will use them later for the decoration of your cake!
1. Beat eggs with sugar and honey, then add flour, dissolved baking soda and salt to the dough and continue to mix it until the dough increases in size and gets homogeneous.
2. Pour the dough into one or two moulds, put them the oven preheated up to 180-190° C for around 15-20 minutes. When the biscuit is ready, apart from the very pleasant smell, it will begin to come off the walls of the mould. Pierce the biscuit with a toothpick - it should stay dry. Touch the biscuit with your finger - if it's ready, the fingerprint will disappear quickly.
The good biscuit will have numerous "pores" and you will see them when you will be cutting it. The diameter of pores depends on the freshness of eggs, right temperature and other factors, so even with the same proportion of ingredients it turns out different every time.
3. Let your biscuit cool down and then carefully remove it from the mould (or moulds). Do not throw away the crumbs that will remain in the mould - you will use them later for the decoration of your cake!
4. If you are using one mould, carefully divide the biscuit into three equal layers with a long thin knife. If you were using two moulds, divide each biscuit into two layers, this way you will have 4 layers at the end.
How to prepare filling:
In Russia we use smetana with 20% fat to make this filling. Russian Smetana is similar to various types of sour cream across the world. We do not substitute it with ordinary whipping cream, because in this case the filling will lose the delicious acidity that makes this cake so rich in taste.
You can also use crème fraîche, which is very similar to smetana, but it is thicker (with a fat content of 30-40%). Whatever type of sour cream you are going to buy, it is important that you choose one with a fat content of no less than 20% - otherwise, your filling will become too liquid and will not solidify.
To make the filling we simply beat our sour cream with sugar.
How to prepare filling:
In Russia we use smetana with 20% fat to make this filling. Russian Smetana is similar to various types of sour cream across the world. We do not substitute it with ordinary whipping cream, because in this case the filling will lose the delicious acidity that makes this cake so rich in taste.
You can also use crème fraîche, which is very similar to smetana, but it is thicker (with a fat content of 30-40%). Whatever type of sour cream you are going to buy, it is important that you choose one with a fat content of no less than 20% - otherwise, your filling will become too liquid and will not solidify.
To make the filling we simply beat our sour cream with sugar.
How to assemble Medovik:
1. Put the first layer of our biscuit with the baked side down and cover the other side with "pores" with our filling generously. Then put the second layer on top and continue with the same action until all the layers are mounted one on top of the other. Put the final layer with the side with "pores" down and the baked side up. Pour the rest of the filling on top of it and let it spread a bit so that the beautiful snowy smudges are formed on our cake.
2. Bake the crumbs of our biscuit that we have in our moulds for 3-5 minutes. Then make the "sand" out of these crumbs and use it to decorate the top of the cake!
1. Put the first layer of our biscuit with the baked side down and cover the other side with "pores" with our filling generously. Then put the second layer on top and continue with the same action until all the layers are mounted one on top of the other. Put the final layer with the side with "pores" down and the baked side up. Pour the rest of the filling on top of it and let it spread a bit so that the beautiful snowy smudges are formed on our cake.
2. Bake the crumbs of our biscuit that we have in our moulds for 3-5 minutes. Then make the "sand" out of these crumbs and use it to decorate the top of the cake!
Medovik "Ripening"
Leave the honey cake in the refrigerator ideally for one night. If you don't have that much time, leave it there for at least 5 hours. The longer your Medovik will be in the refrigerator, the more delicious and luscious it will become.
When the cake is ready, it must be consumed in 3 days, but if it is tasty, you will eat it faster!
Leave the honey cake in the refrigerator ideally for one night. If you don't have that much time, leave it there for at least 5 hours. The longer your Medovik will be in the refrigerator, the more delicious and luscious it will become.
When the cake is ready, it must be consumed in 3 days, but if it is tasty, you will eat it faster!
There is nothing as good as the late brunch on January, 1 with a big piece of Medovik cake and a glass of sparkling wine while watching good old Soviet films! By the first morning of the New Year Medovik gets totally "ripened" and absolutely delicious – what a good start for the New Year!
We hope that our post will inspire you to cook your own Medovik biscuit and taste it with a glass of sparkling wine too!
Don't forget to let us know about your experience and see our other easy Russian recipes that are passed from generation to generation in our families!
Text by Alexandra Carusel Tours
Don't forget to let us know about your experience and see our other easy Russian recipes that are passed from generation to generation in our families!
Text by Alexandra Carusel Tours