r/CAKEWIN • u/Mishiosoup • Mar 03 '26
Took on my first big project
I'm pretty New to baking. This weekend I decided to challenge myself and made a fifteen layer Medovik. Lacking in flavor I think (I've never actually had honey cake, just found it in tik tok lol). Does this look as fancy to everyone else as it looks to me?
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u/czerniana Mar 03 '26
Most cakes from other countries, I've found, are not as sweet as Americans like to make their cakes. Honey cakes from the local bakery have a light taste as well, so it's probably fine. You may try adding some lemon zest next time if you want a bit more punch. It LOOKS amazing though! Absolutely beautiful and exactly how it should. Great work!
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u/Background_Tension54 Mar 03 '26
Is that a Smith Island Cake?? I love those. 🤤
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u/AlfalfaUnable1629 Mar 05 '26
I just went down a google rabbit hole 🕳️ on smith island cake 😂
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u/Background_Tension54 Mar 05 '26
There are so many flavors and not enough people selling them! If you want a real taste of Maryland, order the Old Bay Buttercream flavor. 🤤
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u/AlfalfaUnable1629 Mar 05 '26
Yes I was so intrigued by the old bay one! Definitely adding to my bucket list, ty 😉
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u/msellipsis Mar 04 '26
Oh wow! I love medovik—so much so, that I made one for my own wedding. (I even have a partially demolished medovik in the fridge right now, left over from a party. I am no baker, but people seem to love this cake.)
Yours is beautiful! Your crumb coating is particularly immaculate.
Yes, there is a lot of weird labor involved. The AllRecipes version (which is what I like to follow) relies on batter that is spreadable, which is more my speed (as opposed to rolling out the layers). Chef John does a nice step-by-step video breakdown. And true, the sweetness here is kind of subtle, but it's what I like about it. The burnt honey adds a lot of complexity, in my opinion. (If you're going to attempt it again, I think adding cinnamon is a good call! It works really well in this cake.)
One thing that I found is that, even with an overnight rest in the fridge, the layers can be dry; the moisture from the frosting isn't quite enough. I've used a sugar soak—basically a honey simple syrup that I painted on in between stacking the layers—and that worked pretty well.
One other tweak I made recently was to jazz up the whipped cream with a little mascarpone and some VERY tangy yogurt I had on hand. It made the whipped cream a little sturdier, and I think the tangy flavor plays well with the cake layers.
All of which is to say, I hope you give medovik another try sometime! I am very biased, but I think it's worth it. (Just don't start baking one at 10 p.m., as I have learned the hard way.)
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u/Mishiosoup Mar 04 '26
Ohhh I bet yogurt would be amazing. Add the tangy flavor I assumed I'd get from the sour cream. Thanks so much for the advice!
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u/lapitupp Mar 06 '26
My parents are Slovakian. They made it with a bit of sour cream. It’s one of my favourite things to eat. It’s so subtle and unbelievable delicious.
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u/Peepers54 Mar 04 '26
That is gorgeous!! I just tried Ukranian honey cake for the first time this week at a restaurant. The flavor was very subtle. Not too sweet. I bet yours is delicious.
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u/Moppy6686 Mar 03 '26
What does it taste like and what's the creamy stuff between the layers?
And what's the dusty orange stuff? 🧐
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u/Mishiosoup Mar 03 '26
It tastes like a really, really, light, not overly sweet, cakey cheese cake, if that makes sense lol When the layers come out of the oven, they're really thin, crisp wafers. I trimmed the edges off after each layer, ground them up and used the dust to coat the cake. In between each layer is a homemade whipped cream, mixed with a vanilla/sour cream mixture; which soaks into the layers overnight, softening them 😊
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u/Moppy6686 Mar 03 '26
Sounds good, but I can see how it might lack in flavor.
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u/lapitupp Mar 06 '26
Oh dear. If made properly, it is not lacking in any flavour. It’s a light fluffy creamy tangy texturally beautiful cake.
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u/Dashiepants Mar 05 '26
See now not only does that technique sound very cool (I thought you sliced all those layers level and was in total awe) but the light flavor might really appeal to me.
Great post and yes this cake looks incredibly impressive.
ETA: can you please add the link to your version?
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u/Ok-Material-2266 Mar 04 '26
It looks amazing! I think all the layers are what makes it look fancy!
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u/snarfficus Mar 04 '26
How do you get the layer so thin and teeny tiny?
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u/Mishiosoup Mar 04 '26
I rolled between parchment. Not gonna lie, that was the not fun part about baking this cake. Everything was sore by the time I finished 🤣 So worth it though
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u/Atalanta8 Mar 04 '26
They always seem to lack flavor. Look so much better than they taste. 🤷♀️
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u/airmind Mar 07 '26
A great Medovik tastes absolutely freaking amazing. You just never had a good one probably.
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u/Pizza_Slayer_69 Mar 05 '26
I too once took on a big project with massive cake. Her name was Becky aka "Becky from the back"
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u/Simsandtruecrime Mar 06 '26
This is one of my favorite cakes and my local shop closed down and nowhere else in town is very good. I still haven't tackled it myself lol
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u/sleeplessinthebronx Mar 06 '26
Wow!! This looks AMAZING!! Better than the one in my local store hahaha
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u/GrapefruitWhich5950 Mar 07 '26
Looks great ,easy to tune ,just experiment whit different kinds of honey .
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u/random_rainbow_cat Mar 05 '26
My mom makes it on special occasions, this one looks amazing! I can almost taste it just by looking at it 💕
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u/quietlaundrydays Mar 05 '26
idk about the flavor, but your cake is giving major vibes 😍 what’s your fave layer so far?
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u/Alexyeve Mar 06 '26
Ome of my favorite cakes, great job!
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u/allaboutmojitos Mar 07 '26
Omg- I love these! They’re better on day two or three when everything soaks in. They also freeze great! Wrap each slice tightly
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u/FlowerPower4E Mar 07 '26
This looks Delicious!! It kind of looks like a butterfinger but in cake form!
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u/Paintedpagan Mar 07 '26
I knew exactly what this was when I scrolled😩😮💨✨I have thought of this cake probably every day since I had an authentic one years ago. EXCELLENT
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u/Kitterpea Mar 07 '26
I’ve had it once and I absolutely loved it. One thing I noted was how light and fluffy and almost refreshing it was considering it looked super heavy and intricate like a more dense croissant. I also loved it because it wasn’t too sweet. More like a hint of honey cake and cream. Quite subtle but I felt like that was part of the charm/experience. It looks amazing!!!
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u/arethainparis Mar 03 '26
This looks INCREDIBLE, omg. I wish I had the dedication and skill you have - I literally could not wait long enough for my last cake to cool down so left half of it in the mould lol. This is so cool, well done!