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    Russian Honey Cake with Cooked Flour Frosting - Medovik

    Published: Aug 29, 2013 / 112 Comments

    8.9K shares
    • Facebook96
    Recipe Print

    Russian Honey Cake with Cooked Flour Frosting - Medovik - a beautiful cake for a special occasion.

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    Today is a very special day, my blog's 1-year anniversary, which I am celebrating by baking a very special honey cake with a very special cooked flour frosting.  You should definitely make it at least once in your lifetime -  just to see how great this frosting is! My mom has been using this frosting made with flour and milk all along for the last 40 years! And it's my mom's recipe that I am sharing here - a recipe for my favorite Russian honey cake with cooked flour frosting - also known as Medovik Tort.

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    Yes, a year ago today I started this site, working on the very first recipe which I published on August 29th, 2012 - Thai red curry sauce with quinoa. Unbelievable that it's been already a year: surely, a lot has been done, quite a few recipes have been published, I've "met" and discovered so many great and talented food bloggers, and I've learned a whole deal about food blogging. Yet, it feels like I've only touched the tip of the iceberg: I want to publish more recipes more often, I want to connect more with other food bloggers through comments, social media. I need to learn so many new things, and I want to do so much more! And, the most important thing, I want to balance it better with the rest of my life, because there is so little time, especially with a family, a full-time job, friends, and, supposedly, a regular work-out schedule. I want to do more, but sometimes I feel lost as to when and how to manage it all! I welcome any tips and suggestions. 🙂

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    But, let's go back to this amazing Russian honey cake with an amazing cooked flour frosting, shall we? Growing up, this was the cake that my mom would make every year for special occasions, and since it's a 1-year birthday of my blog, it is only appropriate to celebrate it with this cake, isn't it?

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    This honey cake is definitely a celebratory cake, perfect for parties, birthdays, or anniversaries! I urge you to try it, if only to get a taste of this delicious frosting made from flour and milk - one of the best you'll ever try! It's much lighter than buttercream frosting, as it uses less butter because we're using flour/milk slurry as a thickening agent or butter-replacement here. The cooked flour frosting is also amazingly easy to spread and pipe. All-in-all it's just a great, lighter cake frosting!

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    The cooked flour frosting is essentially made by cooking flour and milk mixture, constantly stirring, on low-medium or even high-medium heat until it really thickens and all lumps dissolve. Separately, room temperature butter and white sugar are beaten really well, using electrical mixer. Then, the cooled flour/milk concoction is gradually added to the butter/sugar mixture and beaten until very creamy and smooth.

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

    It's a very special cake, and I loved it since I was a kid. Even though it's called honey cake, a relatively small amount of honey is used: only ¼ cup for the cake batter, and there is no honey in the frosting cream. Yet, even this small amount of honey gives this very subtle and delicious flavor to the whole cake. And, don't forget that you will spread this cake with the most amazing cake frosting made from a slurry of milk and flour!

    Honey cake - Medovik Tort - торт Медовик

     

    russian honey cake
    5 from 4 votes

    Russian Honey Cake - Medovik

    A very special honey cake with a very special cooked flour frosting.  Perfect for special occasion!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 40 mins
    Cook Time 40 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Russian
    Servings 30 people
    Calories per serving 231 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    Cake:

    • 1 cup sugar
    • ¼ cup honey
    • 8 tablespoons butter
    • 2 eggs
    • 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour

    Cooked flour frosting / Cream:

    • 2 cups milk
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour , bleached flour
    • 1 cup white sugar
    • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

    Instructions 

    Cake:

    • Preheat oven to 350 F.
    • In a medium pan, add 1 cup sugar, ¼ cup honey and 1 stick butter – heat it up on low heat until everything is blended well together: honey softens up and sugar dissolves.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 1.5 teaspoon baking powder until well combined. Add heated honey mixture from step 2 to the eggs mixture and stir until everything is well incorporated. Let the mixture cool down. When the mixture has cooled off, add 4 cups flour and whisk until just combined. You will have a pretty thick cake batter.
    • Divide the cake batter in 4 portions, because we will have 4 layers of cake. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil, spray with non-stick spray. Using your hands, roll out the the first layer of the cake batter onto the lined cookie sheet, spreading the batter across the sheet. I usually run my hands under cold water, shake off some excess water and use wet hands to handle the dough – that way it doesn’t stick to your fingers. I actually use my hands to spread the batter across a cookie sheet and form a rectangle. I repeatedly rinse my hands with cold water (shaking off excessive water) to help spread the batter. Roll out the second layer of the cake batter onto the second cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake both sheets at the same time for 15 minutes at 350 F. When they are done, they should turn golden brown color. Remove from oven and remove the foil with the cake layer onto the cold surface to cool off.
    • In the same manner as described, prepare the 2 remaining layers of the cake batter on the same cooking sheets, using new sheets of aluminum foil. Also, bake for 15 minutes. Let all 4 layers cool completely. Trim the edges so that all layers are the same size.
    • Using food processor, finely chop the edges you just sliced off to create finely crumbled mixture which you will use to decorate the cake in the final step.

    Cooked Flour Frosting:

    • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk 2 cups of milk with 1 cup of flour until very well combined. The mixture in its thickness should resemble crepe batter (if you ever made one :)). It is very important that you use all-purpose white bleached flour! If you use unbleached flour, your frosting will not be white in the end!
    • Add this mixture to a small pan and heat it up on low-medium heat, until mixture thickens and starts boiling, constantly stirring. At this point your mixture will start thickening really fast and will not be liquid any more – it will turn into very thick dough-like mixture, and will have lots of big clumps – that’s OK. Remove from heat, and continue stirring the hot thick mixture until all clumps dissolve – and they will dissolve easily at this point. You will have a nice slurry of flour and milk. Continue stirring the mixture until it somewhat cools down – it will help prevent it from sticking it to the bottom of the pan. It will be pretty hard to stir it as the mixture should be very thick. Allow this slurry mixture to completely cool down, occasionally stirring. You might even put it in the refrigerator.
    • In a large mixing bowl, using electric mixer, beat 2 sticks of butter with 1 cup of sugar until very creamy and white.
    • When the slurry of flour and milk from step 1 is cooled, add it gradually to the large mixing bowl with butter/sugar mixture, and continue beating, using electric mixer, until well incorporated and thick. Place the cream in the refrigerator to cool further.

    Assemble the cake:

    • Place one of the four cake layers on a large serving platter, spread â…•th of the cream over the top. Place the other cake layer on top; spread another â…•th of the cream over the top. Repeat with 2 remaining layers.
    • Spread the remaining cream over the the four sides of the assembled cake. Sprinkle finely crumbled mixture (That you made in the food processor earlier) all over the top and the sides of the cake. Keep the cake in the refrigerator, and it only gets better the next day, when the cake layers soak up some of the cream and puff up, making the cake even taller. 

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Russian Honey Cake - Medovik
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    231
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    10
    g
    15
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    6
    g
    38
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    36
    mg
    12
    %
    Sodium
     
    39
    mg
    2
    %
    Potassium
     
    71
    mg
    2
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    32
    g
    11
    %
    Sugar
     
    16
    g
    18
    %
    Protein
     
    3
    g
    6
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    325
    IU
    7
    %
    Calcium
     
    35
    mg
    4
    %
    Iron
     
    1
    mg
    6
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
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    Comments

    1. Ginny

      September 07, 2020 at 4:26 pm

      I made this exactly following the recipe and using your suggestions about the flour in the frosting. Disappointed in the frosting because I could definitely taste the flou in the frosting.

      Reply
    2. Ann

      March 18, 2019 at 12:01 pm

      Hi! Is the cake batter suppose to turn out crumbly? Mine did what did I do wrong

      Reply
      • Julia

        March 25, 2019 at 6:14 pm

        The cake batter would be pretty thick but it shouldn't be crumbly. I always use sifted flour so I would suggest sifting the flour first, before measuring it. To spread the batter on the cookie sheet, I usually run my hands under cold water, shake off some excess water and use wet hands to handle the dough – that way it doesn’t stick to your fingers. I repeatedly rinse my hands with cold water (shaking off excessive water) to help spread the batter.

        Reply
    3. Sandy

      November 25, 2015 at 12:08 am

      Will a hand mixer work just as well as a stand mixer when making the frosting?

      Reply
    4. Tatin

      April 04, 2014 at 2:40 pm

      Hi Julia,
      The recipe says to use 4 cups of flour for the cake but in the instructions it says to add 4.5 cups, which is the right amount?

      Reply
      • Olga

        June 27, 2018 at 3:12 pm

        The same question:)

        Reply
        • Julia

          July 01, 2018 at 4:24 pm

          It's 4 cups flour. I just corrected the recipe. Thank you for noticing and letting me know!

          Reply
    5. Natasha (@NatashasKitchen)

      September 25, 2013 at 6:52 pm

      I've pinned this recipe and my readers seem to really like it. Happy 1 year to your blog Julia, fun is just getting started :).

      Reply
      • Julia

        October 03, 2013 at 3:18 am

        Thanks, Natasha! Yes, I've noticed the re-pins from your pin of this recipe - very nice! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Winnie

      September 22, 2013 at 3:30 pm

      Your version of the cake looks and sounds great!!
      As you know (you commented on my post) - I made a little different version of this cake.
      I'm going to check a few more of your posts.... 🙂

      Reply
    7. Dina

      September 18, 2013 at 3:29 pm

      looks delish!

      Reply
    8. Erika

      September 09, 2013 at 9:14 pm

      I am so intrigued by this cooked flour frosting concept. It seems like a lot of flour in the frosting! But I am all about less butter, so I definitely want to try this!

      I can't believe you've only been blogging for a year--your blog looks totally fab! Keep up the good work 🙂

      Reply
      • Julia

        September 10, 2013 at 4:19 am

        Erika, it is a lot of flour in the frosting, but trust the recipe! 🙂 (and, don't forget to sift the flour to avoid overpacking the flour in the measuring cup). I also use 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of sugar in this frosting - so 1 cup of flour is just the right amount to thicken 2 cups of milk and thicken the frosting. It will come out wonderful! I made it many times. 🙂 The really difficult part of the recipe is to be very patient with the flour-milk slurry and let it boil and yet not let it overcook, stirring at all times. And, it's key not to overpanic if you see too many lumps forming in the process. 🙂 All lumps should disappear if you continue stirring and follow the recipe.

        Reply
    9. Julia @Vikalinka

      September 06, 2013 at 6:13 am

      Happy anniversary, as a first year blogger myself, I know it's a big deal! I can't say enough good things about how beautiful your blog is! I can't imagine how far you will go if this is your first year. 🙂 Great choice of the celebratory cake, it's one of my favourites as well. I experimented a little with my mom's recipe and added mascarpone to the frosting to make it a bit more stiff. Here is the link. I made it for the Valentine's Day so it's a bit dramatic. 🙂
      http://vikalinka.com/2013/02/18/my-honey-valentine-russian-honey-and-cream-cake-medovik-or-fire-and-ice/

      Reply
      • Julia

        September 06, 2013 at 1:08 pm

        Thank you, Julia, you're very sweet! 🙂 This cake is always my # 1 choice for a celebration cake! Just give me an excuse to make it. 🙂 I checked out your medovik cake - oh mine, those caramel flames are unbelievable! I love it how you dressed it up, and it looks like a fine French dessert on the outside :).

        Reply
    10. Annie @ Natural Sweet Recipes

      September 05, 2013 at 5:19 pm

      How beautiful! I love honey flavored anything. I will have to try this cake out. Happy 1 year to your blog! You have a lovely site. 🙂

      Reply
      • Julia

        September 06, 2013 at 4:55 am

        Thank you, Annie! 🙂 Honey gives this cake a very subtle and delicious flavor. I love it! What can I say? It's one of my most favorite cakes ever! 🙂

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

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