HONEY CAKE: If A Two Layer Cake Is Good, What Does That Make An EIGHT LAYER CAKE??

If you love the taste of honey, and love a dramatic dessert, than this is the cake for you! It's called Honey Cake (Medovik/Медови́к), and it's as beautiful as it is delicious.
There are many variations of honey cake that can be found all throughout Europe, but the multi-tiered version that is dusted with honey crumbs is thought to have originated in Russia in the 19th century. Many years later it would become widely popular in the country of origin as well as many of the neighboring Soviet states. And these days it is well known the world over as an iconic dessert from Eastern Europe.
The process can seem intimidating but ultimately it is very simple. A batter is made. The batter is used to make all of the cake layers as well as the decorative crumbs. A frosting is made using whipped cream, burnt honey, and sour cream. And then the cake is assembled with frosting in between the layers, as well as on top, before being dusted all over with the honey crumbs. This is only my second time making the cake so don't feel like you have to be some sort of expert to give it a try. Read below for the recipe and instructions.
Ingredients:
-250 grams (3/4 cup) caramelized honey
THE CAKE:
-200 grams (14 tablespoons) butter
-200 grams sugar (1 cup)
-250 grams honey
-80 grams (1/4 cup) caramelized honey (taken from the honey listed at the top of the recipe
-6 eggs
-4 grams salt (3/4 teaspoon)
-15 grams baking soda (2.5 teaspoons)
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-450 grams all purpose flour (3 3/4 cups)
THE FROSTING:
-1 liter heavy cream (about 1 quart)
-2 big spoons of sour cream (about 1/4 cup)
-the remaining caramelized honey that didn't go into the cake
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. To caramelize the honey, scoop 250g (3/4 cup) honey into a pot and put it on the stove over medium heat. The honey will get thin and eventually start to bubble and the color will darken. Move the pot off the heat on occasion to let the bubbles die down so you can see the color progression. You want to take it to a dark amber color. Once there, kill the heat and add a little splash of cold water which will stall the caramelizing process.
2. Get a medium size pot on to your stove. In this add the butter, sugar, non-caramelized honey, as well as the 80 grams (1/4 cup) of the caramelized honey. Heat everything over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, mix together the salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
3. As the butter, honey, and sugar melts together, use a thermometer to keep track of the temperature. When it reaches around 68 C/154 F, add your eggs to the batter while whisking. Now keep stirring frequently and wait until the batter returns to the target temperature 68C/154F. Once there, take the pot off the stove and sift in the flour in batches until you have a relatively smooth batter.
4. To bake the cake layers, draw a circle on a piece of parchment paper 20 cm/8 inches in diameter. I like to use a plate to do this. Now lay a baking mat over this circle, or another piece of parchment paper. Scoop out a deciliter/0.5 cup of batter on to the mat or parchment paper and spread it out evenly within the lines of the circle. Give the tray a couple taps on the counter to settle any big bubbles.
5. Bake in an oven set to 190C/375F for 6-7 minutes or until the cake is uniformly golden brown. Remove cake from baking pan to a wire rack to cool. Repeat this step for the remaining 7 layers of cake.
6. Spread the leftover batter on to a baking tray lined with a mat or parchment paper and spread out evenly. Bake for 15 minutes until the mass is uniformly golden brown. Next use a knife and your hands to break up the cake into pieces, and then return the pieces to the oven to bake until they are a deeper golden brown and toasty but not burnt. Allow the cake pieces to cool and then use a food processor to turn the pieces into crumbs, but take care not to over-process.
7. For the frosting, whip the cream in a stand mixer (or by hand) until peaks will hold. Next mix in the sour cream and remaining caramelized honey and whisk some more until the ingredients are incorporated and the frosting gets slightly stiffer.
8. To assemble the cake, place a cake layer on a plate or work surface if you plan to transfer after decorating. Spoon out some of the frosting and spread it out evenly over the cake layer, leaving a little edge for the frosting to expand when more layers are added. Add another layer and repeat until all the layers are used up. Now frost the top and sides of the cake.
9. For final decoration, take the honey crumbs made from the extra batter and sprinkle them all over the top and sides of the cake.
10. Let the cake rest under refrigeration for 8-24 hours. This step is important as the stiff cake layers will absorb some of the wetness from the frosting and become tender and moist.
11. Slice and serve!
I hope you enjoyed this look at the most famous cake from the east. I hope you give it a try and share it with your friends and family!