Makes a 23 cm (9 inch) layered cake
“Russian honey cake is traditionally made with sour cream between the honey cake layers, but I tasted one made with a dulce de leche cream – game changer!” says Emelia Jackson. “Visually stunning, incredibly flavoursome and texturally perfect, although this cake looks difficult to make, it really isn’t. It is a bit of a long process, but it yields incredible results. Please make it (and if you don’t, please find it and buy it!).”
Ingredients
Cake batter
310g honey
225 g caster sugar
200 g unsalted butter
6 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
450 g plain flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dulce de leche honey cream
75 g honey
400 g tin dulce de leche
600 ml thickened cream
450 g sour cream
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Trace a 23 cm (9 inch) circle onto 10 sheets of baking paper. Place each sheet on a baking tray with the circle side facing down (use as many baking trays as you have – you will cook the cake layers in batches).
For the cake batter, combine the honey, caster sugar and butter in a medium to large saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk the eggs and bicarbonate of soda into the warm honey mixture (it will fizz up). Finally, add the flour, cinnamon and salt and mix until smooth.
For each cake layer, spoon 80 ml of the batter into the centre of one of the circles on the baking paper and spread it out with an offset spatula to fill the circle. Bake the layers – as many as you can fit into the oven at a time – for 8–10 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown. You will end up with 10 layers of cake. Set aside to cool for easier handling – don’t attempt to remove the cakes from the baking paper until completely cooled.
Using a 23 cm (9 inch) cake ring – or you can cut out 23 cm (9 inch) circle of baking paper – mark the cakes into perfect circles and use scissors to trim them to size. Place the trimmings on a baking tray in the oven to dry out in the residual heat. Once the trimmings are cool, use a food processor to blitz them into crumbs for garnishing the cake.
For the dulce cream, add the cream, sour cream, dulce de leche and honey to a mixing bowl and whisk using the whisk attachment of the mixer until medium peaks form.
To assemble the cake, place some of the icing onto your plate or cake board to secure the cake. Add the first cake layer, then spoon about 185g of the honey cream on top and spread it out with an offset spatula. Repeat until all the cake layers have been used. Spread the top of the cake with honey cream and use any excess around the side.
Place the cake in the fridge overnight – a necessity to allow the cake layers to soften and absorb all of that dulce de leche and honey goodness! Cover the side of the cake with the cake crumbs and bring to room temperature before serving.