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Russian honey cake layered with cream and decorated with cake crumbs
Creamy and classic Russian honey cake recipe

Russian Honey Cake

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Cakes and Desserts
Medovik is not just a cake, but the taste of Russian winter. The recipe's uniqueness lies in 'burning' the honey: heated with sugar and bicarbonate of soda, the honey turns deep amber and gains a rich, caramel flavour. The freshly baked layers are hard like biscuits, but the moisture of the sour cream filling softens them over time. This process is slow but worth the wait: the layers merge into a single harmonious, soft block.
🕒 Prep Time 1 hr
🍳 Cook Time 40 mins
⌛ Total Time 1 hr 40 mins
🍽️ Servings 10 servings
🔥 Calories 350 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Russian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Water bath (saucepan with hot water + fitting metal bowl)
  • Hand mixer or whisk
  • Baking parchment (many sheets)
  • Rolling pin
  • Plate or cake ring for shaping

Allergen Information

⚠️ Cereals containing gluten
⚠️ Eggs
⚠️ Milk

Instructions

1 ✓

Prepare a water bath: boil water in a saucepan and place a metal bowl on top. Put honey, sugar, and butter in it. Heat until everything melts.

Tip: The water bath ensures honey and sugar don't burn from direct heat but melt together gently.
2 ✓

Stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will foam and turn white, then as you continue heating, slowly turn caramel brown. Remove from heat then.

Tip: Bicarbonate of soda reacts with the natural acids in honey, producing carbon dioxide (foaming) and promoting browning, giving the distinctive flavour (Maillard reaction).
3 ✓

While stirring constantly and quickly, drizzle the slightly beaten eggs into the hot honey base.

Tip: Constant stirring is vital, otherwise the hot sugary mass will cook the eggs, giving you sweet scrambled eggs instead of cream (tempering).
4 ✓

Add flour in batches and knead into a soft, non-sticky dough. If very sticky, rest slightly; it firms up as it cools.

Tip: Do not over-flour! The warm dough seems soft, but as the honey cools, the dough will harden.
5 ✓

Preheat oven to 180°C. Divide dough into 8-10 equal balls. Roll them paper-thin on baking parchment and bake individually for approx. 4-5 mins until golden brown.

Tip: Immediately, while still hot, cut into circles using a plate. If they cool, they break and cannot be cut!
6 ✓

Bake the offcuts for a few more minutes, then grind into crumbs after cooling.

Tip: These crumbs will be the classic decoration of the cake.
7 ✓

For the cream, mix sour cream smooth with icing sugar and vanilla. Coat the cooled layers generously, stack them, and coat the outside.

Tip: Icing sugar dissolves instantly in sour cream. Don't skimp on the cream; the dough will absorb a lot.
8 ✓

Sprinkle the cake with the crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours (preferably a day).

Tip: Patience is the most important ingredient: the dough needs time to absorb moisture from the cream (hygroscopy).

Recipe FAQ

Why is the dough hard after baking?
This is perfectly normal, even expected. Honey and sugar harden to glass-like upon cooling. The cream will soften it back up during resting.
Can I use whipped cream instead of sour cream?
Not recommended. The soul of Medovik is the tartness of sour cream, balancing the richness of the honey layers. The acidity helps break down and soften the dough.

Ingredients

  • 100 g Honey
  • 150 g Granulated sugar
  • 100 g Butter
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 pcs Eggs
  • 450 g Plain flour
  • 500 g Sour cream (min. 20% fat)
  • 150 g Icing sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract