Russian Honey Cake

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Moscow.  What a dream!  The ground was still covered in snow, and I walked for hours through the city streets.  On my last night, I had dinner at Cafe Pushkin, one of the most glorious dining experiences of my life.  In addition to having winter borsch that was out of this world (sorry--move over Brighton Beach restaurants), I had a dessert that couldn't have been more perfect: a 15-layer honey cake.  

I knew I'd have to try to make my own version when I got back to America.  

With an amazing new pastry roller (thanks, Molly!), I created 15 separate dough circles and baked them for just a few minutes each.  Making this cake is a labor of love, but it's so worth it.  Not only is the cake batter filled with delicious honey, but I made it with two different kinds of honey-based filling: a sweet sour cream (everything in Russia is served with it, it seems!), and a buttercream icing. My version is a little bit different than the slice I devoured in Moscow, but I thought I'd make it my own.

I'm so angry with myself that I've already given you the song that would go perfectly with this pastry.  I used it last year for a baklava post when I was getting ready to leave for Istanbul.  What was I thinking?  I promise I'll do my best not to repeat another song, but I've gotta do it here.  Instead of the album version this time, here's the Feelies' "Moscow Nights," performed at Maxwell's in Hoboken.

Cake Batter:
*Recipe adapted from RusCusine.com (these Russian dessert recipes aren't easy to find!)
--2 large eggs
--3/4 c. granulated sugar
--1 tsp. baking soda
--3 tbsp. honey, warmed (so it's very thin liquid-y)
--1/4 c. unsalted butter
--2 c. all-purpose flour

[filling and icing recipes to follow]

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until light yellow (about 3-4 minutes by hand with a whisk).  Add in baking soda and liquid honey, and continue to whisk until combined.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter.  Add the egg mixture and whisk until combined.  A bit at a time, add the flour and continue to whisk until all flour has been incorporated.  The mixture will be thick and extremely difficult to whisk when it's finished.  

Remove from heat, and separate into 15 small balls of dough and dip them in flour so they're not too sticky to handle.  On a floured surface, use a pastry roller to flatten each ball of dough until it's approximately 2mm thick (as thin as possible, while still being able to move the dough and place it on a baking sheet).  Using a saucer (or any other tracing tool that's approximately 6 inches in diameter), trace each dough into a perfect circle, trimming the edges.  Repeat with each ball of dough. 

Bake each dough circle on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, or *just* until golden in color.  Allow to cool at room temperature while you make the filling and icing.

Honey Sour Cream Filling:
--2 c. sour cream
--1/4 c. honey, warmed
--1/2 c. granulated sugar

Whisk to combine and set aside.

Honey Buttercream Icing:
--3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
--3 tbsp. honey, warmed
--1/4 c. half & half
--1/2 to 1 c. confectioner's sugar (depending on how thick you want your icing)


Beat on low speed until combined.  Continue to add confectioner's sugar to thicken (and, if you've added too much, a splash of half & half to thin it).  Set aside.  Now, put the cake together!!!

Alternate filling layers with the sour cream and buttercream until you've stacked all 15 cakes (the cakes will be very thin, like cookie-style pastries, so you're not in danger of the cake falling over!).  

Ice the outside with the remaining buttercream, and drizzle a honey pattern on top.  Best with a Baltika No. 6 Porter.