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Medovik Tort (Russian Honey Cake)

Sliced Medovik tort on a white platter.
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★★★★★

5 from 14 reviews

Medovik tort is a traditional Russian honey cake made with multiple layers and sour cream frosting. It is sweet and rich due to its honey flavor, majestic in taste, and beautiful in stature. 

Ingredients

Scale

For biscuit:

  • 3 cups + 3 tablespoons (400 g) all-purpose flour
  • 4.2 oz. (120 g) unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon (80 g) granulated sugar
  • 6 1/2 tablespoons (140 g) buckwheat honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

For the sour cream frosting:

  • 1 1/4 cup (300 g) whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup (200 g) sour cream
  • 2/3 cup (80 g) icing (powdered) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon buckwheat honey

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Instructions

  1. To make the biscuit, place butter cut into cubes, sugar, and honey in a medium/large saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, constantly stirring with a hand whisk until the sugar melts.
  2. Remove the saucepan from heat, add baking soda and lemon juice, and mix with the whisk. The mixture will start foaming and will almost double in volume. Add eggs one at a time while whisking vigorously to avoid getting scrambled eggs. Stir in the sifted flour.
  3. Sprinkle a working place with a bit of flour and transfer the dough onto the surface. It will stick to your hands. Make a ball using some flour (don't overuse flour!), wrap it with plastic film and refrigerate for 50 to 60 minutes.
  4. Prepare 5 parchment paper sheets. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Take the dough from the fridge and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece into about a 9-inch/23 cm circle right onto the parchment. It does not need to be perfect since the 8-inch/20 cm disk will be cut out of the baked biscuit. Do not use any flour while rolling. Bake each circle for 5 minutes until golden brown. While the biscuit is hot, cut a disk using an 8-inch/20 cm cake ring or use a plate and a knife to get a perfect circle. Continue with the remaining layers. Keep the biscuit scraps for decoration.
  5. To make the sour cream frosting, place a clean bowl in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Pour whipping cream, and add sour cream, icing (powdered), sugar, and honey. Whisk at high speed using an electric or stand mixer until firm.
  6. To assemble the cake, place the first layer of biscuit on a cutting board lined with parchment, then pour a layer of cream and spread it with a rubber spatula. Then place another layer of biscuit and another layer of cream. Take care to even the surface between each layer and gently press the cake layers. Continue with the remaining layers and cream. Cover the sides and top of the cake with cream and even the cream on top with a bent spatula. 
  7. To decorate the cake, place the biscuit scraps in a food processor and crush until fine crumbs. Using your hands, cover the top and sides of the cake with the biscuit crumbs.
  8. Use a honeycomb stencil and dust icing (powdered) sugar on top of the cake. Arrange a few bee icing decorations. Transfer the cake to a serving plate and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, better overnight.

Notes

  1. To be precise, use a kitchen scale to divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
  2. Don't overuse flour while making the ball out of the dough. And don't use flour at all while rolling the layers. The dough is easy enough to work with on parchment paper.
  3. To save preparation time, roll out the next cake layer while the first one is in the oven. 5 minutes of baking time is enough to manage the rolling step.
  4. To make more honey biscuit layers, divide the dough into 6-8 equal pieces and roll them out into thin layers. You will need to increase the amount of cream ingredients by 30-50%.
  5. To get the biscuit scraps crisp and darker in color, place them on parchment paper and bake at 355 degrees F/180 degrees C for 3-5 minutes until they have a very amber color. Take out of the oven and let cool. Crush them in a food processor or a plastic bag using a rolling pin.
  6. To assemble your Medovik, you can use a mousse cake mold and an acetate cake collar, although they are optional. They both help get the neat assembling of the cake. 

Nutrition

Keywords: Medovik tort, cake Medovik, Russian honey cake

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/medovik-by-damien-piscioneri/

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