From palms to dandelions... and Walnut and Honey Cake (Medovik)

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Coming back from the airport I could not but notice that everything is blooming. Everything is green.

And dandelions, they were everywhere! Anyplace I looked I saw dandelions.  Every little land of grass was covered with these bright yellow flowers.  They always bring lovely memories from my childhood.

 

Next day we woke up early.  After having our breakfast, cinnamon oatmeal porridge for A. and usual eggs and strong cup of coffee for me, we headed to the park. Since it was still early, there were not many people. But neither of us minded that, we had fun of our own.

We came home just before lunch, pleasantly exhausted.  With A. happily napping I decided to make cake. But not any cake. The cake from my childhood - Walnut and Honey Cake or as we call it Medovik.  It is quite time consuming to make the cake but when is ready it will be worth all efforts!

Prep time: 45 min + 30 min to stand

Total time: 1 ¼ h + 6 h to chill

(Serves 16)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

200 g sugar

120 g honey

100 g unsalted butter, melted

1 ½ tsp baking powder

500 g all-purpose flour

For filling:

2 cans (800 g) of caramelized condensed milk*

200 g sour cream or crème fraiche

For coating:

250 g plain biscuits, crushed

150 g chopped walnuts

Method:

In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar. Add honey, butter and baking powder, stir well.

Place bowl over pot with simmering water and stirring constantly heat up batter until it will double in size and slightly change in colour.

Remove from the heat then sift in flour. Cover dough with cling film and leave to stand for 30 minutes. The dough will be soft and sticky but it will harden as it cools. 

Preheat oven to 200⁰C. Line baking tray with parchment paper or non stick baking sheet.

Transfer dough onto lightly floured surface then divide it into 10-14 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into 2-5 mm thick circle, about 18-20 cm in diameter. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 3-7 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool.

For the cream, combine caramelized condensed milk and sour cream or crème fraiche. If desired add chopped walnuts.

Assemble the cake by coating each layer with generous amount of cream. Coat the sides with cream and sprinkle top and sides with biscuit crumbs and ground walnuts.

At this point the cake will be hard, but after leaving it in the fridge for 6 h it will be soft and moist.

*if you can’t buy ready caramelized condensed milk, you can do it yourself by boiling 2 cans of  condensed milk for 2 hours. Just let it cool completely before opening the cans.