Russian honey cake recipe

1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C.
2. Place the honey, butter and caster sugar into a medium saucepan. Heat over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
3. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the beaten eggs, making sure to whisk constantly so that you don’t cook the eggs.
4. Next, whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and a few tablespoons of the flour. Remove the whisk and, using a spatula, fold in the remaining flour until it reaches the consistency of a soft dough.
5. While the dough is still warm, divide it into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece on a well floured surface into a round shape, approximately 3mm thick.
6. Using a 9 inch plate, trim each into circle and place onto a lined baking tray. Make sure to keep all the trimmings too.
7. Repeat this while the dough is still warm. Depending on how many shelves you have in your oven, you can cook two or three at a time for around 5 mins or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks.
8. Lastly take all the trimmings and lay them on a lined baking tray in a single layer. Cook for 4-5 mins or until lightly golden, remove from heat and allow to cool. Crush with a rolling pin or in a food processor until you have rough crumbs.
9. Make the filling by whipping the sour cream and icing sugar together. Whisk the double cream until it forms soft peaks. Fold it into the sour cream along with the honey and vanilla seeds.
10. Spread around five to six tablespoons of the sour cream mixture between each layer, top with another biscuit and press down firmly.
11. Repeat, finishing with a layer or biscuit spread with sour cream and spread the remaining sour cream around the edge of the cake.
12. Mix the walnuts with 200g (7oz) of the biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture onto the top and all sides of the cake. Put in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
13. Serve topped with fresh strawberries.

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Honey is unsuitable for children under 12 months.