Russian Honey Cake
By Chef Alla Driksne
For 2 People
60 Mins
Allergens:
Eggs, Gluten, Milk
Utensils & Essentials
Saucepan, whisk, sieve, baking trays, parchment paper, mixing bowl, rolling pin.
Egg, Gluten, Milk
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 150g unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 200g granulated sugar
- 300-320g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large tablespoons good quality honey
For the cream:
- 300g full fat sour cream
- 300g full fat double cream
- 200g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
How to make
Russian Honey Cake
Preheat oven to 200°C. In a deep saucepan, add the butter, sugar and honey and melt it over a medium heat. Use a whisk and move the mixture around until it's completely melted.
Next, leave the mixture for around 30 seconds on a medium heat or until it starts to bubble. When you see it bubbling add the baking soda, and immediately mix with your whisk, at a fast pace; the mixture will triple in size and change colour.
Reduce the heat and keep mixing for 3 minutes, until the colour of the mixture changes to an amber gold, but never stop whisking or the mixture will burn.
Take the mixture off the heat and leave it to cool to room temperature. You can place it in a different bowl and continue whisking it so it cools faster.
When the mixture has cooled , continue mixing and add one egg at a time, only adding the second egg once the first is fully combined.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Add the sieved plain flour in stages and continue whisking. Once everything is incorporated, divide the mixture between 2 bowls.
Take a silicon mat or baking tray lined with parchment and place the first half of the dough on-top. Wet both of your hands, and stretch the dough across the whole tray.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
When it becomes sticky, wet your hands again and keep stretching until the dough is evenly shaped. This should take you a few mins to do, but don’t worry you'll get the hang of it! You can also use a spatula, but make sure it's wet. Repeat the process on another tray with the second layer.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Bake each layer for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Once baked, take each sponge layer off the baking tray, cut in half and then half again. You should have 4 layers from each ball, 8 layers in total. It’s important to cut the sponge straight away while it’s still hot.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Keep the leftover dough, we will crush it to coat our honey cake.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
In a bowl, add the sour cream (it must be full fat or the recipe won’t work, as sour cream will be too runny), vanilla extract, double cream and icing sugar. Whisk everything until you get soft, perky peaks, then set aside.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Once the sponge layers have cooled, place cream in-between each layer. Top-tip: Use a lot of cream as the sponges absorb it nicely.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Crush the leftover dough with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor, then cover the cake in sponge crumb.
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Finally: Place in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight for best results. Enjoy!
Season the yoghurt with black pepper, salt and cumin powder to taste, mix well, then leave to one side.
Remember to Recycle!
All the packaging in your recipe box, as well as the box itself, is completely recyclable, so make sure you do your part to help save the planet!
To dispose of the ice packs, cut them open and pour the gel down the sink – it's totally nontoxic. In fact, you can even use it to give your houseplants a little boost, then recycle the empty bag.
