Smetannik — Sour Cream Layer Cake (Honey)
Tender sour-cream sponge layers stacked with a tangy sour-cream honey cream. A beloved everyday Slavic layer cake — cousin to Medovik but softer and quicker, no rolling.
Why you'll love this recipe
- An old world recipe, made the way it always was
- Not one spoon of refined sugar
- Sweetened with real honey
- Makes enough for 12
- Intermediate, with clear steps and nothing fussy
What you'll need
Everything here is a real ingredient you can find in a normal shop. Nothing artificial, no powders pretending to be sugar. Here is the full list, with the quantities I actually use.
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
- 1/3 cup (110 g) raw honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, pinch salt
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (to color half the batter)
- 2 cups (480 g) cold sour cream
- 3 tbsp raw honey, 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped, to finish
How to make it
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two 8-inch pans.
Whisk sour cream, honey, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Fold in flour, leaveners and salt.
Split batter; stir cocoa into one half. Bake each in a lined pan 20–25 min. Cool, then slice each round in half horizontally (4 thin layers).
Whisk cold sour cream, honey and vanilla to a thick cream.
Stack layers alternating light and dark, spreading cream between each and over the top.
Press walnuts on top and sides; chill 6 hours so it turns soft and moist.
Storage
Keep it covered in the fridge and it will hold for three to four days. If you are making it ahead, hold back any fresh topping until just before you serve so nothing goes soft. Most of these freeze well too, wrapped tight, for up to three months.
Smetannik — Sour Cream Layer Cake (Honey)
Tender sour-cream sponge layers stacked with a tangy sour-cream honey cream. A beloved everyday Slavic layer cake — cousin to Medovik but softer and quicker, no rolling.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
- 1/3 cup (110 g) raw honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, pinch salt
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (to color half the batter)
- 2 cups (480 g) cold sour cream
- 3 tbsp raw honey, 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped, to finish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two 8-inch pans.
- Whisk sour cream, honey, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Fold in flour, leaveners and salt.
- Split batter; stir cocoa into one half. Bake each in a lined pan 20–25 min. Cool, then slice each round in half horizontally (4 thin layers).
- Whisk cold sour cream, honey and vanilla to a thick cream.
- Stack layers alternating light and dark, spreading cream between each and over the top.
- Press walnuts on top and sides; chill 6 hours so it turns soft and moist.
