Lithuanian Honey Cake With Fourteen Layers
My mother's recipe for the most delicious Lithuanian Honey Cake with fourteen layers. No birthday, Christmas, Easter, Christening or Wedding goes without this delectable layer cake in Lithuania! Made with ten everyday ingredients and no special equipment (not even a cake tin), this Honey cake is a simple, yet impressive looking cake that even beginners can make!
Equipment
- Hand-Held Mixer (optional)
- Food Processor/ Blender (optional)
Ingredients
For Biscuit Disks:
- 110 g unsalted butter
- 125 g runny honey
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 egg medium
- 30 g creme fraiche
- 400 g plain white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 180 ml strong black tea (we used Earl Grey) cooled
For the Cream Layers:
- 1 lemon large
- 500 ml full-fat creme fraiche
- 75 g caster sugar
For Decorating:
- 50 g dark chocolate optional
Instructions
Make the Biscuit Disks:
- Place butter and honey in a large bowl and set it over the pot of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water though. Stirring continuously, heat until the butter melts. Take the mixture off of the heat, stir in the sugar and leave to cool down.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and creme fraiche. Add this mixture to the cooled butter-honey mixture.
- Sift the flour and the baking powder into the liquid mixture and using your hands bring it into a dough. Knead just enough to bring it together to a cohesive dough, cut it in 3, flatten and wrap in cling film. Place the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Roll each piece of dough into a thin layer. Take a round plate/bowl - we used one 17cm in diameter (try and roll it into a shape that allows you cut 3 disks).
- Bake each disk for about 8-10 min at 170°C Fan. You may need to do it in 2-4 batches depending on how much oven space you have and how large your disks are. Let them cool completely before assembling the cake. Bake any rolled dough offcuts (you will crush them and use them to decorate).Once cooled, you can wrap them in clingfilm and store for up to 3 days until you're ready to assemble. Alternatively, you can use them as soon as they are room temperature.
Make the Cream:
- Zest and juice the lemon. Place the full-fat creme fraiche and sugar in a large bowl. Using a hand-held mixer (or by hand), whisk the cream to soft peaks. Then add the zest and juice of a large lemon and whisk for another couple of minutes.
Assemble the Honey Cake:
- Prepare a cup of strong black tea and let it cool completely.
- Start by placing a biscuit disk on a plate. Deliberately brush it with cooled tea (use about 2-3 tablespoon of tea per disk). Spread 2 tablespoon of the cream on top. Place the next disk on top and press down slightly (but take care not to squirt the cream underneath out of the sides). Drizzle the top with tea, then spread the cream. Repeat until you used seven biscuit discs. You should be left with quite a bit of the cream. Spread the cream on top and all around the sides of the cake.
- Crush the rest of the biscuits with your hands into a crumbs. Or you can simply place pieces in a food processor/ smoothie maker/ liquidiser. Scatter spoonfuls of the crumbs all over the top and the sides of the cake, pressing with your hands for them to stick. You may choose to decorate it with some piped dark chocolate or fresh berries.
- Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before cutting into the cake. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 424kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 6gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 66mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 2gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 376IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!