In The Dominion Post’s ongoing Wednesday feature, Quarantine Kitchen, we highlight dishes prepared by readers, staffers and chefs at our local restaurants, in an effort to keep us connected through food.
Today, we’re sharing Sargasso Chef Thomas Metzler’s Honey Cake, which has been featured recently at the restaurant.
While not a recipe for the faint-of-heart, devotees promise the payoff makes the hard work worthwhile.
“Chef Metzler’s recipe is definitely for the intermediate (or VERY PATIENT) home baker, but the results are so worth it,” Sargasso Manager Caitlin O’Connell assured us in an email.
This honey cake — also called medovik, is a traditional Russian treat.
“ ‘Medovik,’ or ‘Marlenka,’ depending on where you’re from — also known as Russian honey cake — has long been one of the most popular desserts in Russia, and the story of its origin begins in the early 19th century in the Imperial Palace kitchen of Emperor Alexander I,” an email from O’Connell explained. “His wife, Empress Elizabeth, strongly disliked honey until a young new confectioner in the Imperial kitchen, unaware of the Empress’ aversion, baked a cake with honey and thick sour cream. Surprisingly, and unaware of the ingredients, Empress Elizabeth immediately fell in love with the delicious cake.”
Chef Metzler is confident home bakers will fall in love with it, too — just don’t psyche yourself out before you start. It looks more difficult than it is, he said. It may take a minute, but the results are ravishing.
“There are a million ways to make this dessert, but this is my personal take on it,” he said. “Don’t let the instructions overwhelm you. It’s not complicated, just time consuming. Perfect for when you need a fun baking project sure to please the pickiest of tasters.”
CHEF THOMAS METZLER’S HONEY CAKE
For the cake layers:
170 g butter
170 g sugar
200 g honey
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 eggs
4 cups flour
For the honey syrup:
Honey
Water
For the buttercream:
2 cups butter, room temperature
8 cups powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
First, make the cake layers:
Whisk up the eggs with a tiny bit of salt in a bowl.
Melt the butter, honey and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring it to a low simmer.
Then add the baking soda and whisk it into the butter mixture. It will bubble up and look really cool, and will darken at a rapid pace. You want it golden in color, so as soon as it hits that hue, take a rubber spatula and transfer it into a clean bowl to cool for a few minutes, but not very long, you still want it fairly hot.
Slowly temper the hot butter mixture into the eggs. Mix the flour into it.
Cover and refrigerate to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the honey syrup. No recipe for this, just mix some honey with a bit of water and sugar and bring to a boil. Let cool.
After the dough is cold, divide into 5, 6, 7 or 8 portions, depending on how thick you want the layers to be.
Roll each portion into a circle slightly larger than the springform you’re using. I suggest a 9 or 10-inch springform. I usually go for roughly an eighth on an inch thick. Then lay the rim of the pan on top of your circle and cut around the inside perimeter.
Do this with all the portioned dough, then prick holes into them with a fork, and bake at around 325 degrees (on parchment paper) for about 5 minutes. The layers should be thin, so it won’t take long at all, don’t overbake!
Cool the layers.
Make the buttercream:
Whisk the room temperature butter in a mixer until fluffy, add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and add the milk until it is the right consistency, keeping in mind that it will firm up considerably once on the chilled cake.
Assemble your springform and add your first cake layer into it. Brush generously with the honey syrup. Spread on a layer of buttercream and repeat until all but one cake layer and a bit of the buttercream are used up.
Chill the cake for an hour or so, then remove the rim of the springform.
Spread the remaining buttercream around the cake.
Grind up the last remaining cake layer in a food processor and distribute the resulting crumbs on top and the sides of the cake.
Done!
Chef Metzler’s Pro Tips: Bake the cutoff pieces that are left over after you cut your cake layers, and turn those into crumbs, that way you can use an extra layer since you don’t have to save one.
Also, feel free to add a bit of sour cream into the buttercream for a bit of tang!
To order
To enjoy food from Sargasso itself, Sargasso is open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 4-8 p.m. Saturday.
Orders can be placed online or via phone 304-554-0100 and the ordering link can be found on the website at sargassomorgantown.com or on Instagram and Twitter: @sargassowv in the bio.
The restaurant plans to reopen for dine-in service on May 27.
Current offers
Sargasso has been continuously updating its menu to make it more take-out friendly, and has recently added a family style meal as one of its options. This will feed 3-5 people and cost $100, and the selection of what is served will change weekly. For updates, go to sargassomorgantown.com, or visit the restaurant’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SargassoMorgantown/
Individual dishes are also available for take-out, including appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees.
