Best Russian Honey Cake

This is a unique and delicious version of the classic Russian Honey Cake. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has! #RussianHoneyCake #WorthTheTime #Vegetarian #BestRussianHoneyCakeEver

1-1/2 cups honey, divided

1/4 cup water

1 cup (+2 TBSP ) sugar

2 sticks of butter, cut into tablespoons

6 eggs

2-1/2 tsp baking soda

2-1/2 teaspoons course sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3-3/4 cup flour

1 can Nestle Dulce de leche (Find it in the Mexican Food section at Walmart)

4-3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

Directions:

STEP 1:

Preheat oven to 375°

Get a baking sheet out and measure 7 pieces of parchment so they are the same sze as the internal part of the baking sheet. Now, place a (9") round baking dish on the parchment, and trace it. Leave a couple spaces and trace it again on the parchment. Repeat this process until all 7 parchment pieces contain 2 traces of a 9" pan circle with a couple of inches between traces. Set aside.

STEP 2:

In a double boiler or a small pot inside as larger pot of water, pour 3/4 cup honey. You are going to burn it gently. After the honey begins to foam, stir. Let it brown a bit and splatter. Once it starts to smoke a bit, turn off the heat and pour honey into a glass measuring cup and place that into hot water to keep it warm. Set Aside.

STEP 3:

In a small bowl, crack and beat 6 eggs. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix salt, baking soda and cinnamon. set aside.

STEP 4:

In a medium saucepan, add 2 inches of water and simmer the water. In a small stainless steel bowl, combine 1/4 cup burned honey, 3/4 cup honey (save the other 1/2 cup for later!!), sugar and butter and place the bowl over the pot of water. When the butter is melted and everything is combined, Remove from heat and cool down a bit. Turn heat back on and pour a few tablespoons of the cooled down honey mixture into the beaten eggs. Then pour the beaten egg mixture back into the honey mixture until they are all well blended and completely mixed. Add the baking sode/salt/cinnamon blend you made earlier and whisk hard to mix while it foams up. Then, remove from heat and cool to a warm temp.

STEP 5:

Now, Whisk flour 1 cup at a time into the batter, stirring as you go to prevent clumping. Set aside.

STEP 6:

Now, Place a piece of traced parchment on the baking sheet. Make sure the traced area is face down. You will still be able to see it through the paper. Spread batter inside each circle so there will be two perfect batter circles. Use a spatula if necessary.

STEP 7:

Bake about 4-6 minutes or until batter is golden. Remove parchment and place a new piece of traced parchment. Spread batter on each circle and bake for 4-6 minutes or until batter is golden. Repeat with each piece of parchment until you have 14 baked cake layers. If you have more than 1 oven or more than one baking sheet of the same size, you can bake more at a time. If you bake 2 pans in the same oven together, make sure you add time and alternate racks halfway through.

STEP 8:

After cake layers cooled, check the edges and make sure they are perfect circles. If there are raw edges, gently cut them off with a sharp knife. Peel each layer off the parchment paper.

STEP 9:

Take 2 of your layers and place them back in the oven and bake them abother 5 minutes or until deep golden. Remove them from the oven, cool and place them in the food processor to create golden cake crumbs. Set aside. (Pictures of this cake vary in color, depending on how dark the crumbs are toasted.)

STEP 10:

Now, Place the last 1/2 cup of the honey you burned earlier. 1-1/4 cup dulce de leche, and 1 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until blended. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and mix until is is well blended. Place in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.

STEP 11:

In a stand alone mixer with the whisk attachment, pour 4-1/4 cup heavy cream into the bowl and whisk on medium speed for about 7 minutes, or until cream is whipped and peaks form. Add honey mixture and whip until it is well blended and the cream remains in stiff peaks.

STEP 12:

Now, place a 10" cake cardboard onto a 12"+ plate. Add a TBSP of frosting to the cardboard and spread it to a 9" diameter. Place a layer of cake on the frosting and now take about 1/4 cup of frosting and evenly spread it on the 9" cake layer. Place another 9" cake layer on top and take about 1/4 cup of frosting and evenly spread it on the 9" cake layer. Repeat just like this with all layers until all 12 layers ar nicely stacked and frosted.

STEP 13:

Now, after all layers are stacked and frosted, take the remainder of the frosting and frost the rest of the cake, gently making sure all the sides and top are covered completely. Tipping the plate ever so gently, add toasted cake crumbs to the sides of the cake. Add the rest of the toasted cake crumbs to the top of the cake, making sure the cake crumbs are evenly distributed all over the surface of the frosted cake.

STEP 14:

Place cake in refrigerator for 24 hours before cutting it to serve. 4

STEP 15:

Enjoy!

This cake is special and well worth the time and work!