Smetannik is a Russian cake that has multiple thin and fluffy cake layers with a tangy and sweet sour cream frosting. The cake is so tender and delicate, it just melts in your mouth. 
This classic Russian cake has been in our family and on our holiday tables since before I was born. The tender and delicate layer cake is an ideal accompaniment to an evening of tea with friends or a family birthday party. The cake absolutely melts in your mouth and is not overpowering or cloyingly sweet.
The numerous layers make it beautiful and intricate but preparing it is so simple, I remember making it when I was ten. You can also add poppy seeds to the batter and it will become a poppy seed layer cake. The tangy sour cream frosting seeps into fluffy, thin cake layers and that's what makes it so magically moist, slightly tart, with the sweetness of the honey cake layers.
Ingredients:
Cake:
9 eggs
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons honey
1 ½ Tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, etc.)
1 Tablespoon baking soda dissolved in ¾ Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
3 cups all-purpose flour
Sour Cream Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (16 oz) containers sour cream
8 oz heavy cream or Cool Whip
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper and spray the top and bottom with oil. (I do 2 baking pans at one time.)
Using a standing mixer with a whisk attachment or a large bowl and a hand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until they are pale yellow and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Dissolve the baking soda in the vinegar and add to the batter. 
Add the honey and oil. Mix to combine. 
Add the flour and mix just until the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth. 
Spread 1/9 of the batter evenly on the baking pan. (If you want, you can use a scale and it is approximately 5 oz of the batter for each layer.) The cake layers should be very thin, the batter just covering the bottom of the baking pan. 
You should have 8-9 cake layers. (I set one of the cake layers aside to use for crumbs and the cake is 8 layers tall.)
Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. 
Repeat with the rest of the batter. The cake layers will peel off the parchment paper very easily. Cool the cake layers completely.
Meanwhile, make the sour cream frosting. 
In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl and a hand mixer, cream the cream cheese and condensed milk until they are an even consistency.
Add the sour cream and vanilla until they are incorporated too. Mix the sour cream only until combined, don't overmix, or it will become too runny. 
Pour in the chilled heavy cream and whip on high speed until the frosting thickens. However, if the frosting is really thin, (it depends on the sour cream, some brands of sour cream become very thin when mixed) whip the heavy cream separately and then fold in gently into the sour cream mixture. You can also use the same amount of Cool Whip instead of the heavy cream.
Place one of the cake layers in a food processor and pulse it a few times until you have crumbs and set them aside. The crumbs will be used as a decoration for the sides of the cake.
Spread the sour cream frosting on each of the remaining 8 cake layers. 
Since the sour cream frosting is on the thin side, the cake layers may slip around on me. That is ok. Sometimes I use a springform pan to put around the sides of the cake to keep it all together better, place it in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. The sour cream frosting will soak into the cake layers and firm up, so the cake will be perfect at that point. This is what makes this cake so magically soft, fluffy and tender. You may have a small amount of frosting left over.
Take the springform pan from around the cake, spread some of the frosting on the sides of the cake, just to even up the sides and then press the crumbs onto the sides of the cake. Grate some chocolate on top of the cake. If you want, you can also pipe a border around the top of the cake from buttercream frosting. (butter, powdered sugar and a splash of milk.) Store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Delicate and Tender Layer Cake - Smetannik
Smetannik is a Russian cake that has multiple thin and fluffy cake layers with a tangy and sweet sour cream frosting. The cake is so tender and delicate, it just melts in your mouth.
- Total Time: 2880 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
Cake:
- 9 eggs
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ Tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, etc.)
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda dissolved in ¾ Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Sour Cream Frosting:
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 (16 oz) containers sour cream (32 total ((32 oz total))
- 8 oz heavy cream or Cool Whip
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper and spray the top and bottom with oil. (I do 2 baking pan at one time.) You will need to do this for every cake layer.
- Using a standing mixer with a whisk attachment or a large bowl and a hand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until they are pale yellow and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Dissolve the baking soda in the vinegar and add to the batter. Add the honey and oil. Mix to combine.
- Add the flour and mix just until the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth.
- Spread 1/9 of the batter evenly in the baking pan. (If you want, you can use a scale and it is approximately 5 oz of the batter for each layer.) The cake layers should be very thin, the batter just covering the bottom of the baking pan. You should have 8-9 cake layers. (I set one of the cake layers aside to use for crumbs and the cake is 8 layers tall.)
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the batter. The cake layers will peel off the parchment paper very easily. Cool the cake layers completely.
- Meanwhile, make the sour cream frosting. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl and a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese and condensed milk until they are an even consistency.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla until they are incorporated too. Mix the sour cream only until combined, don't overmix, or it will become too runny.
- Pour in the chilled heavy cream and whip on high speed until the frosting thickens. However, if the frosting is really thin, (it depends on the sour cream, some brands of sour cream become very thin when mixewhip the heavy cream separately and then fold in gently into the sour cream mixture. You can also use the same amount of Cool Whip instead of the heavy cream.
- Place one of the cake layers in a food processor and pulse it a few times until you have crumbs and set them aside. The crumbs will be used as a decoration for the sides of the cake.
- Spread the sour cream frosting on each of the remaining 8 cake layers.
- Since the sour cream frosting is on the thin side, the cake layers may slip around on me. That is ok. Sometimes I use a springform pan to put around the sides of the cake to keep it all together better, place it in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. The sour cream frosting will soak into the cake layers and firm up, so the cake will be perfect at that point. This is what makes this cake so magically soft, fluffy and tender.
- Take the springform pan off from around the cake, spread some of the frosting on the sides of the cake, just to even up the sides and then press the crumbs onto the sides of the cake.
- Grate some chocolate on top of the cake. If you want, you can also pipe a border around the top of the cake from buttercream frosting. (butter, powdered sugar and a splash of milk.) Store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Hi Olga,
I made it last weekend and can tell that this is a great recipe. But I went farther by adding 1/2 tbsp salt, 1/2 lemon juice and zest to the batter. I also substitute vanilla extract with 3 tsp almond extract, sprinkled 2 middle layers with 4 shots of rum, 2 for each layer, and covered 1 middle layer and top layer of the cake with crushed walnuts.
This is unforgettable! Thank you!
My family hosted a second mini Thanksgiving for my Baba and Dieda yesterday. My grandparents and my father were born in Kiev, so I knew I had some big critics to impress when making this cake. Not only were all three of them super impressed, but told me it tastes just like they went to buy the cake at a traditional Russian bakery! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! 🙂
I'm so happy that you and your family enjoyed the cake, David. Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
Hi Olga, I made this cake following the recipe very precisely. The cake layers rose and were very sponge-like. I'm using Australian ingredients so wondering of there are some differences. I know that Australian flour is more glutenous than European flours but wondering if the vinegar or bicarbonate of soda might be different. I used extra large eggs too. My frosting was also quite stiff and didn't soak in to the layers as much as I would have liked. It was much better after 48 hours but still not what I would have liked. I used the Aldi sour cream here which is very thick and fairly natural (and, according to my husband, similar to the smetana he grew up with.) I think I will try a different sour cream next time or swap one tub out for a thinner one. Despite the issues above, this cake is indescribably delicious! I made it using 7 inch rounds and made extra layers (I calculated the weight required for the smaller rounds). This allowed me to make 2 cakes. One for a dinner party with friends that looked amazing and a smaller, more rustic looking cake for home. I will definitely make this again as it was a hit but would love to know why my cake layers rose so much.
Hi Louise,
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the cake.
The #1 reason that I see with this cake where it rises too much or doesn't absorb as much of the frosting as it should, is when the batter isn't spread out thinly enough in the first place before the cake is baked. The layers should be really, really thin. It should be hard to spread out because you are working with a small amount of batter. The way I describe it is to use just enough batter to barely cover the bottom of the cake pan - when you spread it out, it should be almost see through, and then just a smidge more. The thinner the cake layers, the more tender the cake will be.
I'm sure different ingredients do play a role in the way the cake turns out too. Different flours, eggs, sour cream, etc. I usually use sour cream that has only cultured cream in the list of ingredients. I hope the cake works out better for you next time.
Hello Olga,
I was wondering what is used on top of the cake? In the picture it looks and says grated chocolate but in the comments you mention using a chocolate glaze?
Thank you
Hi Olga, I have a question regarding the chocolate part. In the recipe it says grate chocolate on top but in the comments you talk about a chocolate glaze being used?
Thanks
You can use whichever you prefer, grate some chocolate for a very simple decoration or make a chocolate glaze. You can use this recipe, or just melt chocolate and drizzle it on.
Amazing thank you very much. Ignore the comment below as I didn't realize my first comment posted.