Ever since we tried honey cake on a trip to the UAE, along with the rest of Dubai, we have become OBSESSED with it! The cake requires a little effort but it is beyond worth it. Layers of caramelly honey biscuit (obviously featuring the Senqu River Pistachio Blossom Honey available from our shop) are sandwiched together with sour cream. It’s rich, buttery, not too sweet and very reminiscent of Biscoff.

RUSSIAN HONEY CAKE

Prep time: 2 hours plus overnight refrigerating

Cook time: 1 hour

Makes a tall 15cm diameter cake that feeds 16 people

200g Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar

130g Senqu River Pistachio Blossom Honey

180g salted butter

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

500g cake flour

¼ tsp fine sea salt

Whipped sour cream

500g sour cream

500g whipping cream (30% fat)

250g Natura Sugars Demerara icing sugar

1 x The Kate Tin Gourmet vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Place the sugar, honey and butter in a bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir until melted and hot to the touch. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and gradually add this to the hot sugar mixture, while whisking continuously. Stir the mixture until it thickens slightly – about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda. Mix well then add the flour and salt. The dough should be very soft and sticky. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Cut 14 pieces of wax or baking paper. Divide the dough into 14 pieces (80g each) and roll each piece to 1mm thin and 15 cm wide between the layers of paper. We found a tortilla press was especially useful for this! Cut each disc into a circle using a small plate or cake tin base. Bake the discs of dough at 180C for 12 minutes or until dark golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool completely. 

Whisk the sour cream, cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks. Place a 15cm diameter cake ring on a cake board and line it with acetate. Place a disc of cake on the bottom and begin layering with 90g of cream for each layer. The final cake will have 10 layers and you should have 4 leftover. Refrigerate the cake overnight so the biscuits can soften and absorb the cream. Place the leftover biscuits in a blender and blend until fine. Unmould the cake and place it in a large baking tray with sides. Sift over the biscuit crumbs and gently pat the crumbs onto the side of the cake. Refrigerate if not serving straight away.