Medovik, Russian honey cake

[jmacnaughtan]

Hi,

I've been asked to make a Medovik cake for an upcoming Russian dinner party. I've eaten it before, it's a multi-layered honey cake with a sort of dulce de leche/sour cream flavor filling. This is Café Pouchkine's version:

It's a wonderful cake. I think they separate the dulce de leche and sour cream into two different fillings, and use a strongly flavored honey cake that I think has been soaked. However, I've been browsing Google English, French, and as much Russian as I can understand, and all the recipes vary wildly, with most of them making a strange sort of cookie for the cake layer. I'd be willing to give this a go, but I'd rather have something moister and more delicate.

So my question is: does anyone have any experience with this cake? Failing that, can anyone provide a good honey cake recipe that could be used for the layers or a filling that's strong enough to support itself and has a good honey/dulce de leche/sour cream flavor?

I'll do a couple of test runs before the real thing, but all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

James

[djyee100]

This one's a toughie. I googled "how to make Café Pouchkine russian honey cake medovik". May be duplication with some of your research. Anyway, here are the links that caught my attention.

This blogger posted links for a couple recipes for the Cafe Pushkin honey cake, one of them in Croatian.

http://6lumens.com/blog/tag/paris/

The English link didn't work for me, but I found it with another google search (below).

Delights of Culinaria recipe:

http://delightsofculinaria.com/russian-honey-cake-medovik/

The dulce de leche part of this recipe doesn't sound right.

If you go back to the blogger link at http://6lumens.com/blog/tag/paris/ there's a photo from the menu that deconstructs the cake as honey buckwheat biscuit, confiture de lait (yes, basically dulce de leche), and creme smetana (the sour cream filling, which may actually be more like creme fraiche). Maybe finding recipes for each of these elements is the way to go in making and assembling this cake.

I liked the explanation of method on this blog. The cook assures you that the dough is supposed to be firm, even cookie-like. After the finished cake sits in the fridge overnight, the biscuits absorb moisture from the filling, and become soft. (Note: a delicate cake might not be a good idea. It could fall apart overnight.) At least a couple bloggers mentioned that the longer the cake sits in the fridge, the better it tastes. That makes sense to me.

http://twospoons.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/multilayered-russian-honey-cake/

A blogger's history of medovik, and an explanation of the condensed milk filling found in so many recipes--it's from the Soviet era.

http://www.moscovore.com/blog/honey-coating-a-controversy-medovik/

BTW, my reward for doing this research--I found out a new cafe-bakery in SF is making this honey cake, to raves from bloggers and reviewers. Guess where I'm headed the next time I'm in SF.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/rph/6/1782766/2667503/sf-bay-area-20th-century-cafe-20th-century-cafe-photo

good luck with your cake!

ETA: That's "buckwheat honey biscuits" on the cafe menu (not honey buckwheat biscuits). Those are two different things, aren't they?

Edited January 28, 2014 by djyee100 (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

Wow, thanks a lot for those links. I looked at a few of them the first time around, but I was put off by the cookie dough layers. It seems like that's the way to go!

You're right, it's a buckwheat honey "biscuit" - miel de sarraisin refers to the honey, but "biscuit" can mean anything from a hard cookie to a sponge cake.

I have to say that I'm not convinced about the filling- just using sweetened crème fraïche or soured cream doesn't sound like it'll hold up too well, and the same for the condensed milk layers.

However, I'll follow the recipe exactly - but with smaller quantities - and see how it comes out. I've got some time to experiment before the party, and none of the ingredients are very expensive. I'll post back with the results.

[Katie Meadow]

Never having heard of this cake, the name alone caused me to do a little research. An alternate spelling "medovnik" turns up at least as many recipes, so if you are looking for fillings there are plenty of options, all of them more complicated than just swiping with either creme fraiche or sour cream. None of the recipes I looked at used creme fraiche; about half used sour cream mixed with other ingredients and half used condensed milk, also mixed with a variety of ingredients.

But back to the name. As much as anyone in my family agrees (and at this point there are no old olds left) our name used to be Medovnik. True or not, I couldn't be happier thinking my name means Russian Honey Cake. Far more appealing than "Runs With Sabre," though not quite as funny as "Pass the Samovar." Regardless, the cake looks delicious, and I've got to make a field trip to the city and check out that bakery.

[Kerry Beal]

When I first looked at this thread it reminded me of a recipe that I got from someone years ago - they were european - but can't recall what country. It involved a cookie that softened into a cake (just like icebox cakes) under the influence of a cream of wheat layer - I'll PM the recipe to you - it might be of some use to you in your research.

[jmacnaughtan]

When I first looked at this thread it reminded me of a recipe that I got from someone years ago - they were european - but can't recall what country. It involved a cookie that softened into a cake (just like icebox cakes) under the influence of a cream of wheat layer - I'll PM the recipe to you - it might be of some use to you in your research.

Thanks for that, it looks like an interesting recipe. As an aside, I've never seen a filling made like that before. What is cream of wheat? I take it it works like cornstarch in a crème patissière?

Katie, thanks for the medovnik tip, I'll have a look at those.

I'll start trials for the Medov(n)ik tomorrow, and post back with the results.

[Kerry Beal]

Cream of wheat is sold as a hot cereal. I think wheat farina would be another name for it. So it's not as smooth as starch but thickens in a somewhat similar way.

[Franci]

I also found this in Italian

http://cipensacristina.blogspot.com/2012/02/torta-medovnik-torta-ceca-al-miele-e.html

and this

http://www.marianne.cz/jidlo/tipy/medovnik-krok-za-krokem

[djyee100]

Both of Franci's linked recipes sound promising.

I translated both webpages into English on Google Translate ( http://translate.google.com/ ). Cristina's recipe was in Italian and translated well. Marianne's recipe, in Czech, translated decently. Cristina's recipe was more detailed in its instructions.

Cristina's recipe:

If you've been to Prague, you will certainly spotted this cake from the windows of the many pastry shops in that city: it is the famous cake Medovnik, one of the most common sweets, Czechoslovakia (and also very popular in Russia and Croatia), unfortunately little known in Italy. It 'a very spectacular dessert, consisting of ten thin layers of dough with honey, alternating with a cream made with cream and nuts, extraordinarily good. Many versions running on the web and I today I propose that my, I assure you, it is easier to do than it may seem at first glance: just follow the instructions below.

400 g flour 00

3 eggs

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

100 g of sugar

4 tablespoons of honey

for cream

700 ml of liquid cream

1/2 cup of sugar

2 cups chopped walnuts

Oven to 180 degrees, static mode

1 round mold 20, max 22cm in diameter

With an electric mixer, whisk the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is soft and fluffy. Transfer everything in a pot, add the honey, baking soda and butter and put in a water bath: resume to mount, until the mixture will have doubled in volume

Important!

Do not be fooled by the presence of bicarbonate: alone, is not a leavening agent (because it becomes, there is need of an acid such as sour cream or buttermilk or lemon juice). Need to get a crunchy biscuit and honeycomb.

When the mixture is doubled in volume and is warm, add half a cup of sifted flour and incorporate into the mixture from the bottom to the top with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Just cooled, add the rest of the sifted flour and embed it into the mixture in the same way, from the bottom upwards.

Spilling the dough on a lightly floured worktop, knead quickly and divide it into 11 pieces, roughly the same weight. With the help of a rolling pin roll it into many thin discs with a diameter of 20-22 cm

Important!

In this operation, you can help yourself with a sheet of baking paper

Place the first disk on the bottom of a buttered and floured mold and bake at 180 degrees for about 4 minutes. Proceed in the same way, up to the complete cooking of all eleven disks

Important!

If you have two pans of the same diameter, you can speed things up, either by baking two disks at a time, or by removing and inserting the cooked immediately what to cook.

Let cool completely on baking paper.

Meanwhile, prepare the cream

Whip the cream with the sugar, not too dense.

To assemble the cake

Place the first layer directly on the serving dish and sprinkle with unostrato cream, about half a centimeter high. Sprinkle with a handful of chopped walnuts, stack the second layer and repeat the process, until the tenth disc. When finished, cover the cake with the remaining cream, level in order to create a uniform surface and wrap it completely with the eleventh disc, reduced to fine crumbs (you can use a blender)

Keep in the fridge for at least eight hours before serving.

Translated on Google from

http://cipensacristina.blogspot.com/2012/02/torta-medovnik-torta-ceca-al-miele-e.html

[DianaM]

Cream of wheat is sold as a hot cereal. I think wheat farina would be another name for it. So it's not as smooth as starch but thickens in a somewhat similar way.

My Hungarian grandmother makes a dessert she calls Honey cake. The layers are, indeed, pretty firm when baked, and soften up overnight. Like the cake Kerry describes, it looks like an icebox cake, and it is filled with a white filling made with wheat semolina (looks and tastes something like semoule au lait), and a dark jam. I may have a recipe for it in an old cookbook she gave me, let me know if you need it. Edited January 29, 2014 by DianaM (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

djyee, thanks for the translation. I could just about get by reading the Italian, but Czech is beyond me.

Diana, I'd love to see your recipe. Could you post or PM it?

[Tri2Cook]

I'd like to see those recipes (Kerry and Diana) if either/both of you don't mind sharing.

I'm completely unfamiliar with the Medovik so I won't be of any use trying to work it out but it looks and sounds interesting.

[Kerry Beal]

here you go -

Rum Squares

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 ½ tbsp honey
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¾ cup milk
• Filling
• 3 cups milk
• 1 dash salt
• 6 tbsp cream of wheat
• 1 ½ cups butter softened
• 1 ½ cups icing sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• ¼ cup dark rum
• Frosting
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled
• 2 tbsp butter softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp cream heated to boiling
• icing sugar

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.Dough: beat together shortening and sugar. Add honey and eggs. Beat in dry ingredients, alternating with milk, until stiff dough is formed. Divide into four. Roll out each into a rectangle of approximately 15"x10" or the size of your cookie sheets. Bake each on greased and floured cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Cool.

3.Filling: mix together milk, salt and cream of wheat. Cook over med-low heat until thickens. Cool while stirring occasionally to prevent lumps from forming. Meanwhile beat together butter, icing sugar, cocoa and rum. Mix together with cooled cream of wheat mixture.

4.Icing: Beat together melted, cooled chocolate, butter and vanilla. Add icing sugar alternating with hot cream until you make a mixture of good spreading consistancy. You will probably require about 2 cups of icing sugar.

5.Assembly: Alternate layer of baked dough with cream of wheat mixture. Top with icing. Refridgerate overnight before cutting into diamond shapes. Better on the second day. Freezes well.

[Jaymes]

I must say, the thought of Cream of Wheat (complete with catchy television jingle: "It's Cream of Wheat weather, I repeat, so guard your family with hot Cream of Wheat"), on my breakfast table practically my every childhood morning, doesn't speak to me of sweet treats. In fact, just the opposite. It reminds me that the sorts of sugary cereals other kids got weren't even allowed in our house.

I am so very eager to follow this thread and see what the final recipe is.

The thought of Cream of Wheat used in a cake is intriguing enough.

But it's not very often that I read about a cake that seems to be completely different from the ones with which I am familiar.

[DianaM]

So I looked into the old cookbook and I found a recipe that looks like it might be the one my gran used to make. There is no sour cream in the cream, and it is made with semolina, like I mentioned above. Here it is:

Honey cake

Biscuit:

150 g sugar

2 tbsp honey*

2 tbsp milk

1 whole egg

1 tsp baking soda

450 g flour

*the teaspoon and tablespoon measurements are not standardized. People simply use a regular spoon, or a regular (not the tiny moka) teaspoon.

Mix the sugar, honey, milk, egg and baking soda. Heat mixture over a double boiler for about 15 minutes, until it is foaming. While still warm, we add the 450 g flour. Divide in 4 parts, roll out and bake each sheet. (No mention of oven temperature, size of pans, or baking time. But the second recipe, below, has more details in this respect: bake at 180 degrees C for 8-10 min, on the back of a pan).

Sandwich the sheets together with the following cream: cook 100 ml of semolina (unusual to have volumetric measure for a dry ingredient) in 500 ml of milk and a little vanilla, until it becomes quite thick. Cool this mixture. Cream 200 g butter with 200 g confectioners sugar until fluffy, then add the cool semolina mixture little by little, mixing well after each addition.

This biscuit can be filled with any other starch-thickened filling (the book has several of these).

The cookbook recipe does not mention that the cake needs to be wrapped up and softened overnight, which is what my gran did. Also, my gran stacked it like this: biscuit, semolina cream, biscuit, a tart jam (usually apricot was available), biscuit, semolina cream, and finish with biscuit. For the top confectioners sugar, that was it.

I thought I'd also search the hungarian web, and I found a very similar recipe, that does use sour cream. Check out the picture:

http://www.nosalty.hu/recept/kakaos-tejfolos-mezes

My gran's looks just like this, but with fewer layers. FWIW, there are several great reviews all saying how good the cake is. But the cocoa powder in the biscuit doesn't sound authentic (to me), at least my gran never put cocoa in hers, as far as I remember.

Cocoa and sour cream honey cake

For the biscuit:

450 g flour

150 g confectioners sugar

50 g butter

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp milk

2 eggs

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 levelled tsp baking soda*

For the filling:

3 packets pudding powder, cream flavoured**

900 ml milk

10 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

200 ml sour cream

200 g butter

150 g confectioners sugar

a tart jam like apricot

*the teaspoon and tablespoon measurements are not standardized. People simply use a regular spoon, or a regular (not the tiny moka) teaspoon.

**in most of Europe, Dr. Oetker makes and sells "pudding powders," in different flavours like vanilla, caramel, chocolate. Apparently there is now a (whipping) cream flavoured pudding powder, and that's what this lady uses. I searched for the ingredient list: cornstarch, salt, artificial flavour, artificial colouring. One package weighs 40 g.

1. Prepare the filling first. Cook the milk with the pudding powder, until thickened. The sugar is added only after removing the pudding mixture from the heat, because otherwise is can scorch very easily. Once the sugar is added, and while the mixture is still hot, add the sour cream. Cool the mixture (this is bolded in the text). Cream the butter with the confectioners sugar until light and fluffy, then mix this into the pudding little by little, mixing well after each addition.

2. For the "biscuit:" Mix all ingredients except the flour, then set the mixture over a water bath. Heat this mixture over the water bath until it foams. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Divide the dough into 3 parts, leave two in the mixing bowl, cover, and switch off the heat (under the water bath, I'm assuming). Turn your oven on to 180 degrees Centigrade. On a floured board, roll out the dough (further down she mentions the size of the pan, 28x38 cm, and the dough should cover the pan's bottom). In the beginning, it will tend to stick, so flour both sides of the dough. (in the comments she says she sometimes rolls it out on the very parchment sheet she will bake it on). Prick the sheet of dough with a fork all over to prevent it from shrinking.

3. Bake the sheet on parchment, on the back of the pan, in the preheated oven. It bakes fast, so keep an eye on it as it can easily burn (takes 8-10 min). While it bakes, roll out the second sheet of dough, then the third, and then bake these as well.

4. Cool the layers of dough, then assemble the cake. It goes like this: 1st layer, cover with the cream, 2nd layer, then cream, and finish with the 3rd layer. Cut the cake in 2, then stack one half on top of the other, with a layer of apricot jam in between. Cover the whole cake with aluminum foil, and refrigerate until softened.

Phew.

A few notes to test your patience even further, lol. Old cookbooks have very parsimonious method descriptions, so you will not find oven temperatures listed, pan sizes, and usually it says "bake until it's done." Also, as I mentioned, tablespoons and teaspoons are not standard measurements, and you sorta eyeballed it using your regular cutlery. If it worked, it worked. My gran never botched a cake, though, she was the queen of desserts in the family (people in her village used to ask her to make their wedding desserts, fun times .

I will gladly answer if you need any clarifications.

[Tri2Cook]

Thanks Kerry! Thanks Diana! Including the Medovik James is trying to track down, that's three spins on a similar theme. Looks like I have some work to do...

[adey73]

different name but looks identical....

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/russian-honey-cake-ruskie-przekladaniec

[Gruzia]

I was born in Ukraine and this is a very familiar cake to me - I've never made it but have watched it being made and have eaten it a lot! The dough layers should be thin and crisp, like a sweet cracker tasting strongly of honey. It is true - the longer the cake sits in the fridge, the better the flavors get integrated with each other and the dough softens into the filling. The trick is not to make this too sweet, otherwise too cloying in taste.

[annabelle]

I must make this. It sounds intriguing.

[djyee100]

I was born in Ukraine and this is a very familiar cake to me - I've never made it but have watched it being made and have eaten it a lot! The dough layers should be thin and crisp, like a sweet cracker tasting strongly of honey. It is true - the longer the cake sits in the fridge, the better the flavors get integrated with each other and the dough softens into the filling. The trick is not to make this too sweet, otherwise too cloying in taste.

Gruzia, thanks for telling us about this cake. What was the filling in your cake? How was it made?

[jmacnaughtan]

OK, sorry for the delay in posting.

Medovik 1.0 has been built, and is now "resting" in the fridge, and will be tested later. I used this recipe, halved and aimed for a 14-15cm diameter by 4.5-5cm cake.

Dough

Really strange, almost like a cross between choux pastry and cookie dough. There was no way I was going to be able to roll it out fresh, so I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, which turned it into ultra-soft sweet pastry.

I rolled it as thin as possible, around 1mm, and after cooking each layer ballooned up by about 4 or 5 times, surprising and dismaying me.

Here's the before and after, the coin is a 10 centime piece.

I do not have high hopes for this "biscuit". It's dry, thick and surprisingly heavy for something that rose so much.

Cream

I couldn't find any sour cream, so I whipped up half a litre of crème fraïche and incorporated 50g of icing sugar. It's OK.

Here's a picture of the finished article. I coated it in blitzed medovik crumbs for a traditional finish. Due to the thickness of the layers, there are only four or five in there, and I was hoping for six or seven at least.

I'll see how it turns out after the rest in the fridge- if it's as bad as I fear, I may ditch the biscuit style layers and use something softer. Maybe a pain d'épices, minus the spices and with a hit of strong honey.

As for the filling, I still want to incorporate the dulce de leche. I was thinking of using a whipped crème fraïche/vanilla chantilly for the exterior and maybe a dulce de leche crémeux for the layers.

What do you guys think? All suggestions welcome.

[Franci]

How did it turn? Maybe it's that particular recipe that didn't work for you.

I found also this other recipe with video, the layers don't look that puffed to me

http://ekucharka.net/recept-na-medovnik

More videos

And a chocolate version, in English

http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/russianrecipes/chocolate-honey-layer-cake/

I'm thinking I'm going to end up making this one.

Oh, the same blogger has also the medovik cake!

http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/favorites/medovik-honey-layer-cake/

Edited February 2, 2014 by Franci (log)

[annabelle]

Should the biscuit layers be pricked before baking, the way blind-baked pie pastries are? That should stop the rising you are getting.

[jmacnaughtan]

Should the biscuit layers be pricked before baking, the way blind-baked pie pastries are? That should stop the rising you are getting.

You're probably right, I didn't try that. The cook in the first video Franci posted does that too and the layers are fairly thin. I may do that next time, but using another biscuit recipe.

[jmacnaughtan]

OK, here's what it looks like rested and cut:

I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't hard and dry, and the flavour was fine. I think it may have needed longer to rest though, as the centre was drier than the outer edges, but not a complete failure.

I have a problem with the texture though. It has the kind of texture you get from dunking a biscuit into tea, and it's not great. I'll try one of the other biscuit recipes to see if it makes a difference. If not, I'll switch to something more cakey.

Any ideas on how to bump up the honey flavor, though? I've just been using standard liquid honey, so maybe its time to pony up for some buckwheat or pine.

Also, the cream had a really weird aftertaste. The initial sourness of the crème fraïche is great, but then it gives way to something almost mushroomy. Maybe I just need to switch brand.

By the way, Franci, I didn't properly turn it (if by turn you mean masking and then finishing the tops and side with cream). I used a cake ring, assembled it inside and let it firm up in the freezer before unmoulding and adding a final layer to the semi-hard cake. I know it's cheating, but my spatula skills are not good.