Medovik (honey cake)

Medovik is a cake of six thin honey layers that soften overnight from the cream. The usual failure is stone-hard layers that never absorbed anything. The cause is time, not the recipe: a freshly assembled medovik is still dry.

What it is made of

Top to bottom:

Six layers and six films of cream. Each honey layer is thin, about 0.6 cm: closer to a soft gingerbread sheet than a sponge. It is firm and dense and depends entirely on the cream.

An honest note: the classic medovik is usually joined with sour cream or custard. Here it is whipped cream. Whipped cream is lighter and less sweet but holds its shape worse and slumps during a long rest. Sour cream cream is denser, so the cake stands more firmly.

Order of work

Day 1, dough and layers: warm the honey with sugar and butter over a water bath, then stir in baking soda (honey is acidic, the soda foams and the dough becomes open and soft) and the eggs. Add the eggs once the mixture has cooled a little, or they scramble. Add the flour in parts. The dough is sticky, but do not fix it with flour: wet your hands and rolling pin with water, or roll between sheets of baking paper. Roll thin and bake each layer 4 to 6 minutes at about 180 °C until golden. Trim each layer to a template while hot and flexible; cold, it cracks. Dry the trimmings and crush them into crumbs for the coating.

Cream: whip it cold (33 to 35% fat) to soft peaks. Over-whipped cream goes grainy.

Assembly: spread each layer with a thin film of cream, 3 to 5 mm. Coat the top and sides and press on the crumbs.

Resting: at least 8 to 12 hours in the fridge, better a full day. Moisture moves from the cream into the layers; that is what turns hard layers into a soft cake. Shortening this makes no sense.

What can go wrong

• Hard layers, dry cake. It has not rested yet, or the cream layers were too thin.
• Bitter aftertaste. Too much soda, or the honey was heated until it caramelised.
• The cake slides. The cream slumped and the lower layers could not carry the weight. Keep it cold and assemble in a ring.
• Dough cannot be rolled. It is warm. Chill 15 to 20 minutes; do not add flour.

The verdict

Medovik is a cake about time. The layers are thin, the cream is simple, and the decision is made by a night in the fridge.