With multiple, thin honey layers and a tangy sour cream frosting, this cake is so tender it just melts in your mouth. It's a classic Russian recipe that has been loved for generations.
Medovik is, hands down, my favorite cake and is totally worth every ounce of effort that it takes to make it. My mom has been making this cake since before I was born. I loved watching her in the kitchen; I was always in awe of how she expertly made beautiful creations right before my very eyes. She made it looks so easy and effortless. As I watched her, it all seemed so magical and I couldn't wait until I made this cake myself.
I was probably about eleven or twelve when I felt confident enough to approach her and plead with her to let me have a try. Mom told me it was a really hard cake to make, really finicky and I wouldn't be able to do it. Well, she didn't forbid me from making it. The next time Mom wasn't home, I rolled up my sleeves and made this cake, from start to finish. When Mom came home, the Medovik was finished and standing proudly as if personifying my victory. (By the way, this is exactly the same thing that happened with Borsch and Napoleon Cake.) Ha ha! I was always a very determined girl:). Love you, Mom!
Instructions:
Making the Cake Layers:
Place the butter and sugar in a large nonstick pot.
If you don't have a nonstick pot, or your pot burns easily, you may wish to use a double boiler. (Just place a metal or glass bowl on top of a pot with about an inch or water in it and keep it simmering, but make sure the bottom on the bowl never touches the simmering water. Add more water if it evaporates.
Cook it just until the butter melts but is still barely warm, NOT HOT. Take it off the heat. Add the eggs, baking soda and honey and mix to combine.
This is important, if you add the eggs to hot butter, it will scramble.
Cook the mixture on medium low heat for about 7 minutes, longer if you're using a double boiler. The batter will puff up and turn a deep caramel color. 
Add the flour and mix quickly with a wooden spoon.
I always add less flour than I need and add more when I'm rolling out the cake layers. If you add too much flour, it will be really hard to roll out.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cake layers.
Take approximately ¼ cup of batter and knead it on your work surface. If it's sticking to your hands and the counter, add more flour. Roll it out thinly into somewhat of a circle. Use the bottom of a cake pan or the bottom of a tart pan to cut around it with a paring knife to make a perfect circle. 
You can save all the scraps just the way you cut them and place them on a baking sheet and then bake. Later, you can crush them into crumbs and sprinkle the sides and top of the cake.
I usually just take the scraps and knead them into the batter as I roll out each new cake layer. It works great. 
I use 2 (9 inch) round tart pans to bake the cake layers. If you don't have a tart pan, use a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkled with flour or lined with parchment paper.
Sprinkle the bottom of the tart pan with flour and bake the cake layers for about 4 minutes each. 
Take them off the tart pan right away. As the cake layers cool, they will become pretty hard. Work quickly; you can roll out the cake layers and set them aside, waiting to be baked.
You want to roll them all out while the batter is still warm. As the batter cools, it becomes harder and harder to roll out.
You will end up with about 10-12 layers.
Making the Frosting:
Cream the softened cream cheese and condensed milk in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer until it's well combined. 
Add the sour cream and vanilla. 
In another chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar. Gently fold it into the rest of the frosting.
Assembling the Cake:
Dust off any excess flour from the cake layers.
Line your serving plate edges with aluminum foil. Place a dollop of frosting into the center of the plate, just to keep the cake from sliding around.
Top each cake layer with about ¼ cup of frosting and spread it around evenly. 
Repeat with all the cake layers. As you place the layers on top of each other, some of the frosting will ooze out of the sides. 
Spread it out evenly over the sides. 
Gently remove the aluminum foil.
Decorate with crushed cake layer crumbs.
I also make little bees to decorate the cake. Here's the tutorial on how to make the bees.
During the winter, here's a really beautiful way to decorate the cake.
Heat 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan just until the sugar dissolves. Pour it into a shallow dish. Place about ⅓ - ½ cup of sugar in another shallow dish. Dip the rosemary and the red currants in the sugar syrup and dip it in the sugar. 
Place on a parchment paper to dry and then place it on the cake. Now you have a beautiful winter masterpiece.
Medovik - Honey Layer Cake
With multiple, thin honey layers and a tangy sour cream frosting, this cake is so tender it just melts in your mouth. It's a classic Russian recipe that has been loved for generations.
- Prep Time: 120 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 540 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake (9 inch round) 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
Cake:
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all purpose flour
Frosting:
- ½ package of cream cheese (4 oz total)
- ½ (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 16 oz sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Sugared rosemary and currants: (Optional)
- Fresh rosemary
- Red currants or cranberries
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup plus ½ cup sugar
Instructions
Making the cake layers:
- Place the butter and sugar in a large nonstick pot. If you don't have a nonstick pot, or your pot burns easily, you may wish to use a double boiler. (Just place a metal or glass bowl on top of a pot with about an inch or water in it and keep it simmering, but make sure the bottom on the bowl never touches the simmering water. Add more water if it evaporates.
- Cook it just until the butter melts but is still barely warm, NOT HOT.
- Take it off the heat. Add the eggs, baking soda and honey and mix to combine.
- Cook the mixture on medium low heat for about 7 minutes, longer if you're using a double boiler. The batter will almost double in size and will turn a deep caramel color. Take it off the heat.
- Add the flour and mix quickly with a wooden spoon. I always add less flour than I need and add more when I'm rolling out the cake layers. If you add too much flour, it will be really hard to roll out.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cake layers.
- Take approximately ¼ cup of batter and knead it on your work surface. If it's sticking to your hands and the counter, add more flour. Roll it out thinly into somewhat of a circle.
- Use the bottom of a cake pan or the bottom of a tart pan to cut a perfect circle. You can save all the scraps just the way you cut them and place them on a baking sheet and then bake. Later, you can crush them into crumbs and sprinkle the sides and top of the cake. I usually just take the scraps and knead them into the batter as I roll out each new cake layer.
- I use 2 (9 incround tart pans to bake the cake layers. If you don't have a tart pan, use a rimmed baking sheet., sprinkled with flour or lined with parchment paper.
- 1Sprinkle the bottom of the tart pan with flour and bake the cake layers for about 4 minutes each.
- Take them off the tart pan right away. As the cake layers cool, they will become pretty hard.
- Working quickly, repeat with the rest of the cake batter. You can roll out the cake layers and set them aside, waiting to be baked. You want to roll them all out while the batter is still warm. As the batter cools, it becomes harder and harder to roll out. You should have approximately 10-12 cake layers.
Making the frosting:
- Cream the softened cream cheese and condensed milk in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer until it's well combined.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix to combine.
- In another chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar.
- Gently fold it into the rest of the frosting.
Assembling the Cake:
- Dust off any excess flour from the cake layers.
- Line your serving plate edges with aluminum foil.
- Place a dollop of frosting into the center of the plate, just to keep the cake from sliding around.
- Top each cake layer with about ¼ cup of frosting and spread it around evenly.
- Repeat with all the cake layers. As you place the layers on top of each other, some of the frosting will ooze out of the sides. Spread it out evenly over the sides.
- Grate some white chocolate on top of the cake and chopped nuts or crushed cake layer scraps over the sides of the cake.
- Gently remove the aluminum foil.
- Heat 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan just until the sugar dissolves. Pour it into a shallow dish.
- Place about ⅓ - ½ cup of sugar in another shallow dish.
- Dip the rosemary and the red currants in the sugar syrup and dip it in the sugar.
- Place on a parchment paper to dry and then place it on the cake. Now you have a beautiful winter masterpiece.
Oh how I love this cake! I have been looking for "the" honey cake recipe that would be like the classic from my childhood. You have done it Olga:)) I made it twice already, and I absolutely love it!
Thank you and may God bless you.
I'm so glad to hear that you liked the cake, Marina! That's wonderful.
This is my favorite cake and you decorated it so beautifully! You're amazing!
Thanks, Snow! This is one of my favorite cakes as well.
I meant % percentage:)
Hi Olga,
I tried to make your cake, it is very nice. It is similar to my mum's cake recipe but she makes a cream differently with butter. When I purchased sour cream I wasn't sure about the peasant age of fat so I bought 20% fat but I think the cream wasn't thick enough even though very tasty. What sour cream do you usually use?
Many thanks,
Olga
The frosting is not supposed to be thick. If you're thinking of butter cream, it is definitely much thicker than a frosting made from sour cream, however, I personally do not like butter cream.
The sour cream I use is the regualr full fat version that is sold in grocery stores, not the low fat, part skim, any of those sour creams. I'm not sure what %fat content is in the sour cream. I've never noticed it written anywhere on the package.
Thank you so much for posting this. Your pictures and directions are so easy to follow. I make this cake but can never explain it to anyone. The only thing that I do different is to cut the layer into a circle as soon as it comes out of the oven. The edges are softer, more even and rarely burned. I also use whipped cream and cooked sweetened condensed milk for the frosting, but will try out your recipe next time.
Olya, thanks for the lovely recipe! Can you please tell me what temperature to set the oven for baking the cake layers?
Thank you, Julia. 350 degrees.
Thank you for the recipe. I cooked the honey cake it was delicious, everyone liked it. My friends thought I bought the cake from the shop. Because the Cake layers were profesionaly done. I have similar recipe of a honey cake it is yumyyy too.
Olga this cake looks beautiful!!!!! At the top you mentioned something about cake Napoleon. Is their anyway you can post the recipe for Napoleon cake. Thanks
It's in the works, Elena:).
Okay, thanks
Hello Olga ya hotela sprosit ho much is 16 oz sour cream, and 1 srick butter?
Thank you
Nodira,
16 oz of sour cream is approximately 2 cups. 1 stick of butter of is 1/2 cup, or 8 Tablespoons.
Thank you Olga. I am going to cook the Honey cake this Sunday.
Let me know how it turns out, Nodira:).
This is such a beautiful cake! I will have to try making it next Christmas:)
Olga you don't know how excited i am right now. I love you so much! I tried making medovik two times....and guess what? Failed both times! It is my husbands favorite cake and i cant even make it.....Now I can! With your wonderful guidance! Thank you so much! Now i know what cake I will make for Christmas!
beautiful! How many days in advance can you make the karshe?
Thank you for such a great blog and wonderful recipes
Hi Natasha,
You can bake the layers approximately a week and a half in advance. Just make sure to store them at room temperature, very well sealed.
Wow this cake is so beautiful and festive!! You are so creative Olga!
Beautiful cake Olga, I love how you decorated it 😉
I tried to make this, the cake dough worked really well but my frosting was so runny. It took me a few hours to put it together as I had to put it in the fridge in between each layer and it still ran out the side. Any idea what I did wrong?!
Sometimes some brands of sour cream are really runny, Claire. If you notice that the frosting is really runny when you're mixing it up, use more cream cheese.
In the original recipe, the frosting is only made with sour cream and powdered sugar, so you can imagine that it is even more runnier than the recipe that I use. It does need to be a thinner consistency to make for a really tender cake in the end, so even if it's runnier when you're frosting the cake, it may be inconvenient, but the results should still be great.
also, if you mix the sour cream too much it will become runny.
For the decoration, I've never purchased rosemary and currants before, where can they be purchased?
I bought it in a regular grocery store. Rosemary is sold in every store, usually with other fresh herbs. Red currants are very seasonal, so you may not be able to find them. You can easily substitute cranberries.
Hi I'm Olga,
I was wondering would it be ok to substitute whipped cream with heavy cream?
the whipped cream is made out of heavy cream, just whip it in a mixer!