Medovyk

Medovyk is one of the most beloved and popular cakes of Ukrainian cuisine, a tender multi-layered dessert of thin honey sponge layers generously soaked in filling. Its warm honey flavour and velvety, melt-in-the-mouth texture have made it a classic of the festive table and home tea-drinking.

Medovyk is rather laborious to make, but the result is worth the effort. The dough with honey, eggs, sugar, and soda is heated over a water bath until it takes on a caramel hue and aroma, and then it is rolled out and several thin layers are baked. The most important stage is the soaking: the layers are spread with filling (classically of sour cream or cream, sometimes based on condensed milk or custard) and the cake is left for several hours, or better overnight, so the layers soak through and become soft and tender. It is precisely the long soaking that turns the dry layers into a single velvety mass. The top and sides are often dusted with crushed sponge crumbs and nuts. The flavour of medovyk is soft, creamy, with a characteristic honey-caramel note and a pleasant light tang from the sour-cream filling. It is a cosy, homely dessert full of warmth and care.