Medovik – Russian Honey Cake Recipe
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Medovik (Медовик) – Russian layer honey cake. 8 soft honey cake layers with delicious sour cream frosting. This cake is one of my favorite cakes in the world. Beautiful and impressive cake for birthdays, Christmas or any occasion.
Medovik - Russian Honey Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 7 tablespoons (100 g) Butter unsalted
- 4 tablespoons (80 g) Honey
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) Baking soda
- 3½ cups (440 g) All-purpose flour see notes
- 3 Eggs large
- ¾ cup (150 g) Sugar
For the cream:
- 2¼ cups (515 g) Sour cream
- 1 cup (240 ml) Heavy cream
- 1½ cups (190 g) Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Make the dough: In a heatproof bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until pale. Add butter and honey, then place over a bain-marie (double boiler). Stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
- Add baking soda while the mixture is still over the bain-marie or very hot and mix; the mixture will foam slightly, which is essential for the cake’s texture.
- Remove from heat. Gradually add about 85–90% of the flour, mixing until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Add the remaining flour only if needed.
- Cover and let the dough rest for 20–30 minutes.
- Roll and bake: Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece very thin (about 2mm), preferably on parchment paper or a lightly floured surface. Trim using a 7-inch (18 cm) ring.
- Pierce with a fork. and bake each layer for 7–8 minutes, until golden.
- When finished baking the layers, bake the scraps as well, then crush into fine crumbs. Cool completely.
- Make the cream: In a bowl, whisk the sour cream until smooth and lump-free.
- In a separate large bowl, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to medium-stiff peaks. Gently fold into the sour cream until smooth.
- Tip: If your sour cream is loose, strain it slightly for a thicker, more stable cream.
- Assemble: Spread 4–5 tablespoons of cream between each layer. Stack all 8 layers.
- Coat the top and sides with remaining cream, then cover with cake crumbs.
- Chill: Refrigerate at least 8–12 hours (preferably overnight) before serving.
Video
Notes
- Flour: Start with about 85–90% of the flour, then gradually add more only if needed. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, not dry, adding too much flour will make the layers tough.
- Work with warm dough: Roll the dough while it’s still slightly warm; it’s much easier to handle and roll thin.
- Bake efficiently: If your oven allows, bake 2–3 layers at the same time to speed up the process. Just make sure they bake evenly.
- Cream consistency: Use well-drained, full-fat sour cream. If your sour cream contains excess liquid, strain it for 1–2 hours, this will give you a thicker, more stable cream.
- Easy assembly (pro tip): For a clean, professional look, assemble the cake inside an adjustable cake ring. Chill for a few hours to set, then remove the ring and finish coating the cake with cream and crumbs.
- Alternative (no-mess method): Place strips of parchment paper around the edges of your serving plate, slightly under the first cake layer. Assemble the cake as usual, and once finished, simply pull the papers out, you’ll have a perfectly clean serving plate with zero mess.
- Make ahead: This cake is best made 1 day in advance. The layers soften and absorb the cream, creating the classic Medovik texture.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. The flavor actually improves over time.
Nutrition
Calories: 369kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 6gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 154mgPotassium: 114mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 706IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 2mg
Third time making this recipe. I had to use a bit more flour as I kneaded it due to it being super sticky, not sure if this was due to kitchen temperature etc. once you get the hang of it, this recipe is really yummy. The mascarpone frosting is really good as well.
this was an….AMAZING RECEPI ! love how you didnt add to much or too less honey but i had a smallll problem 🙂 the dough is sticky and i want to make this recepi again so how much is the limit i can add bcs when i made this i added to TOOO much flour and it wasnt as good :/
thanks! :]
Why is it important to pierce each layer with a fork?
So the cake layers can cook evenly
Hi. Tried this recipe. Had a problem. The dough circles were shrinking and became much smaller when baked. How can i stop taht from happening?
the dough turned out very sticky and had to add atleast half a cup More of flour . But i think that was because the liquid was warm . Once the dough cooled it was less sticky and more manageable . Thanks for the good video on This .
Best ever recipe!
Thanks for sharing I’ll be making this for Christmas lunch 🙂 How many does this recipe serve? How long does it keep?
Oops sorry I see it serves 10. Could I simply double the ingredients to make a larger size or would you suggest making two separate portions of dough?
before you put the baking soda, I see you removed the egg and butter mix from the stove. do you let the mixture cool before putting baking soda? if so, how long?
No, I remove the mixture from the stove and adding immediately the baking soda.
Great recipe and video!
I am by no means a baker of any sort but decided to give it a go as the ingredients and method seemed reasonable for a beginner. It IS a lot of work but manageable if you plan properly. I did watch a few other videos on the techniques used and your video in particular was pretty informative.
I got stuck (literally) with the dough but managed to reduce the stickiness by adding another cup of flour.
Also, I did not have enough leftovers to make the crumbs but substitute
My comment was truncated somehow. Anyway, i substituted the cookie crumbs by whizzing a few Danish Butter Cookies in the food processor. Thank you!
Hey I was just trying to figure out how many bread crumbs you need I couldn’t figure it out and I just need to find the substitute for bread crumbs because I have an assignment where I have to make a recipe that incorporates waffles into another culture food but you know, those darn measurements