Medovník (A Trial Run)

This was probably our favorite dessert the Czech Republic had to offer. Absolutely delicious, not too sweet, and perfect with a cafe latte. Medovník is Czech for Honey Cake and the recipe actually originated in Ukraine. But the Czechs have perfected it. It's also been known to "help fight flu, calm nerves, and strengthen organism." The Czechs seriously believe in honey's healing powers. Come to think of it, I hardly ever got sick in CZ, and I ate a lot of medovnik.

Anyway, my dear friend Tereza found a Czech website with the recipe and translated it for me, graciously baking the cake several times and taking photos for clarity. I know her husband certainly didn't mind being the taste tester. Here's the original recipe in metric units with my approximate conversions beside. It's probably best just to use a kitchen scale if you have one. Mine had a dead battery so I had to make do with the approximations.

For the cake:

250 grams margarine (1 cup and 2 tablespoons -you can also use butter)

3 eggs

300 grams sugar (1 1/2 cups)

3 tablespoons honey (use dark honey if you can find it)

1 tablespoon baking soda

400 grams flour (3 1/4 cups)

For the cream:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (396 or 397 grams - luckily, the can size is the same in both countries)

300 grams butter, softened (1 1/3 cup)

2 tablespoons honey

Other materials:

double boiler

parchment paper

mixer

*Here's my disclaimer for this recipe: This was my first time to make the cake and I usually don't do pictures until my second or third time around on a recipe. So, obviously, I made a lot of mistakes. I'll be interjecting here and there to note what I would change the next time around.

First, we'll make the cake. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C or 325 to 350 degrees F. Using the double boiler (or any kind of hot water bath you can create - I used my stock pot and an oven proof bowl), melt the margarine or butter.

Remove from heat and whisk in eggs.

Gradually add sugar, honey, baking soda, and flour. (At this point you might want to enlist the help of an electric mixer; the dough gets pretty thick.)

Now you'll need 7-8 sheets of parchment paper, a little larger than the size of the cake you want. You can either trace a circle from a cake pan on the paper or just freestyle it. Put about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dough on the parchment paper and spread thin. It doesn't rise just a whole lot in the oven so spread it just a teensy bit thinner than you want your layers. I made mine about a 12 inch by 12 inch square (too big, I think). If you've drawn a circle, spread the dough about 1 inch past it.

Bake each layer for 7 -10 minutes, or until golden brown. Watch it closely because it goes from almost there to overdone really quickly. Once cooked , set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the cream filling. In a medium bowl, combine the butter, sweetened condensed milk, and honey. Mix with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes.

*Here's another little aside: I made two mistakes here. One, I accidentally microwaved the butter too long trying to soften it and ended up melting it. So I had to put it in the fridge until it firmed up. I still don't think it was right, though. Two, I didn't use a mixer to combine the ingredients. I just stirred it. As a result, it was kinda runny instead of fluffy.

Once the cake layers are cool, use a cake pan to guide you as you trim the excess. Save the extra though, because you'll need it later.

Once you have all of your layers trimmed, you can start with the cream. Spread on each layer, stacking as you go. Then smooth the cream on the top and sides.

In a medium bowl or plastic bag, crumble the trimmings (much finer than pictured - I was in a hurry, a little someone was tugging on my leg to go outside) and press into the cream on the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle with a handful of finely chopped walnuts.