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 1x
- 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.
I tried making this cake for Thanksgiving and it was awesome! I have to say your recipes are easy to follow and always gives good results. I have tried your other recipes too like Kiev Cake and Medovik...both turned out pretty good as well.
Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Hi Louie,
Thanks for such an awesome comment! I'm so glad that the recipes are working out for you. I try my best to make them user friendly, easy to follow and of course, taste great too. I share the food that my family loves and it's always so encouraging to hear that others are enjoying them too.
My cake turned out more like biskvit as well and I didn't make the layers thick so that's not the reason. I thought 4 cups of flour was too much, my batter didnt even want to spread in a pan because it was quite thick. Nonetheless, we ate it, it was good, just not the same I imagine.
I'm sorry to hear that, Lena. I've been making this cake since I was 10 and never had any issues.
My sister in law made this cake few weeks ago and it is very delicious! I will need to make it for my family some day soon 🙂
That's wonderful! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
Hey Olga! started making this cake and ran out of condensed milk but have dulce de leche caramel. Will it be ok if I replace it or better go to the store???
Hi. I've been eyeing this cake for a while... I have a quick question. If I bake the layers one at a time, will the batter still be okay by the time I bake the last one? I seem to always have this question when it comes to baking, dough/batter can be tricky sometimes. What is your experience with this?
I always bake my layers one at a time and it turns out great. There shouldn't be any issues with it. Of course, don't set the batter aside for hours, but if you bake the layers one after another, it should be just fine.
Thank you for the recipe Olga. I made this cake but I have a question... How long do you keep it out on counter before placing it in the fridge so it would get soft? Mine was kind of hard... Thank you very much!
I actually put mine in the refrigerator right away and it's always soft. I do keep it in there for a few hours though, before eating it though.
You may have baked the cake layers too long or not used enough frosting.
Thank you for the answer Olga.
I made this cake, and decorated it using the chocolate glaze. But I had a question: I ended up with a lot of the glaze left over. Is it ok to keep it in the refrigerator, and then reheat it later? I'm not quite sure what to do with it now. 🙂
Yep, you can store it in the refrigerator and reheat it later.
It's very hard to make a small amount of glaze in order for the consistency to turn out correctly. If I need only a tiny amount of glaze, I usually just melt some chocolate. I LOVE how this glaze tastes though, so we usually put a lot on the cake. Also, when I bake a cake, it's usually for company and most of the time I make at least 2 cakes, so it works out well too.
This was the first time I tried this glaze and I actually REALLY liked it too. What a great combination of sour cream and cocoa! Thanks, ill definitely use it for something later. 🙂
Thank you for this cake recipe. Made it many times for family get togethers and it turns out delicious every time!
Thanks for telling me, Olga!
I'm so happy to hear that.
Hi, I was wondering what kinda oil you use?
I usually use canola oil.
Hi Olga, Regarding baking soda 1 1/2 tablespoons, isn't that too much?
Luda, Nope, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of baking soda is the correct amount.
Hello! i am planning to make your cake today for some guests that are coming over. I was wondering, when i cook the layers do u cut them in half or you leave them whole?
Victoria,
You don't need to cut the layers horizontally, since they are as thin as they need to be. You can cut the layers to a different size to make it the size that you want, but you don't need to. It's up to you.
Thank you! I made this cake yesterday for some guests and it was Delicious!! but i think i made the layers a little to thick.... But other than that it was an amazing cake. Thank you for the recipe!!
You're welcome, Victoria. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Hi!
I was just wondering how for how long are you supposed to mix the batter? Is it supposed to rise? I mixed mine for like 10 minutes and it rose a bit and turned out like a biskvit.
It will definitely rise. My guess is that you spread the batter too thickly. The layers should be very thin. When you spread it out, it should just cover the bottom of the baking sheet. The cake layers will still rise but they won't be like a biskvit.
Olga, my daughter is getting married and would like a cake like this as her wedding cake. I live in Sydney and wondered if you know of anyone who would be able to make it for me.
Hi Loretta!
I'm honored that you would like this cake for your daughter's wedding:). Sorry, but I don't know of anyone who could make the cake for you.
Olga, I was wondering what do you use to press the crumbs on the sides of the cake? I always use m my hands but on your pics it seems like a neat way to press.
I usually use my hands, Tanya. I also use a sturdy piece of paper or even a bench scraper/chopper. Next time I decorate the sides of a cake, I'll make sure to take detailed pictures to post here.
Hi! I was wondering if you have a good way of dividing batter evenly so you have the same size cake layers .
I usually just eyeball it. If you want to be precise, use a scale. Weight the empty bowl where you will be mixing the batter and then weigh it again when the batter is ready. Subtract the weight of the bowl and then divide the weight of the batter by the amount of layers that you want to have.