Whole grain honey cake (with sour cream)
10 servings
150 minutes
Whole grain honey cake is a true masterpiece of European cuisine inspired by traditional Russian baking. Its history traces back to ancient honey cake recipes where honey served as the main natural sweetener. The flavor of this cake is a harmony of rich buckwheat honey, creamy sour cream frosting, and a hint of cinnamon spice. Thanks to whole grain flour, the layers are dense and aromatic while the sour cream frosting gives them perfect softness. This honey cake will be a decoration for festive tables or a cozy treat for family evenings. The classic combination of walnuts, condensed milk, and thin layers of dough makes it unique. Before serving, it's important to let the cake rest so that the layers soak and reveal their full flavor. Refined and soulful, this honey cake will bring joy with every bite.
1
Preparing the dough: in a deep saucepan, beat the eggs with sugar and salt, add 100 grams of butter and honey. Place the mixture over low heat (or in a water bath). Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to 60-70° - at this stage the sweet components dissolve completely and it’s important to remove the saucepan from heat in time. While continuing to stir, sift a teaspoon of baking soda into the mixture (the mass will foam and slightly increase in volume - this is how soda interacts with honey). Gradually sift flour into the warm mixture and knead a soft dough. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a log and divide it into 8-10 pieces. Wrap the resulting balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes. During this time, the dough will firm up and become more manageable.
- Chicken egg: 2 pieces
- Sea salt: 3 g
- Unrefined (raw) cane sugar: 120 g
- Butter: 225 g
- Buckwheat honey: 80 g
- Baking soda: 3 g
- Whole wheat flour (stone-ground): 400 g
2
Preheat the oven to 170*;
3
We bake the layers: immediately roll out the 'rested' dough balls into thin layers of the required shape on floured parchment paper (I use a round mold with a diameter of 20 cm; you can also take a smaller mold of 16 cm for a taller cake). We prick the surface of each layer with a fork and collect the excess dough from the edges for the next one. Bake for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. It's convenient to work on a conveyor using two baking sheets. In total, we get 8-11 layers, one of which will be sacrificed for decoration.
4
It's time to make the cream: beat 125 grams of very soft butter (left at room temperature for 3-4 hours) with powdered sugar. Add thick sour cream 21%+ (also preferably at room temperature) to the fluffy butter mixture and beat everything until smooth. I recommend flavoring the resulting cream with cinnamon;
- Butter: 225 g
- Cinnamon sugar (powdered): 100 g
- Sour cream 25% fat: 450 g
5
Assembling the cake: line the edges of the serving dish with strips of parchment so that after decorating, they can be carefully and easily removed from under the product. Generously spread cream on the layers and stack them tightly on top of each other. Crumble the last layer and decorate the cream-covered sides and top of the cake to your liking. For decoration, you can use condensed milk and walnuts (like sour cream, these products are classic in honey cakes);
- Crushed walnuts: to taste
6
The most challenging stage: we send the honey cake to the fridge for at least a couple of hours (to soak).