My Favorite Cake (Russian Honey Cake from 20th Century Cafe)

My favorite cake. That’s a pretty big statement to make but it’s true. I love the Russian Honey Cake from 20th Century Cafe (now closed) in San Francisco. I’ve posted about it one, two, three … okay, lots of times. 12 layers of tender honey cake separated by luscious burnt honey and dulce de leche cream. Every time I’m in the quaint cafe having a slice, I tell myself, I need the recipe. My wish came true this Christmas when it was published in The New York Times! Cancel all plans. Must make cake.

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UPDATE: Pastry chef Michelle Polzine published a revised version of the recipe in 2019 that is also in her new cookbook Baking at the 20th Century Cafe.

I recommend this as weekend project, mainly because it will take about 2-3 hours, then overnight before digging into the layered masterpiece. I followed the instructions exactly and was quite pleased with the results. The layers weren’t completely even in thickness but the textures and flavors were spot on. It was as if I was sitting in the cafe enjoying a piece.

Below are my tips and notes that I made while making this cake.

Russian Honey Cake
From Baking at the 20th Century Cafe Cookbook

Read the recipe.
I know this is a given but for this particular project it is especially helpful to mise everything. There are a lot of components which require quite a few bowls and pans, as well as the 12 pieces of parchment that need circles drawn on them.

It takes time.
The technique isn’t difficult, there are just a lot of steps. I estimated 2-3 hours active time (my sister helped, too), plus overnight for the cake to absorb the delicious cream  and soften, similar to the icebox cake method. I’ve made the cake 3 times now and still think it’s worth it because you’ll end up with about 20 slices. Definitely good for a crowd.

The ingredients.
Honey and dulce de leche are the key ingredients in the cake. The recipe calls for wildflower honey, a stronger flavor than the more common clover honey. I got mine from the farmers’ market but I’ve seen it at grocery stores as well. As for the dulce de leche, I happened to have a can that I made from sweetened condensed milk. The how-to is here, but note, it takes 3 hours, so if you want to save some time, I think purchasing it is an acceptable shortcut, especially for this recipe.

Make it any size you want.
No cake pans needed. The recipe says to draw circles on parchment (flip it so it’s pencil-side down) and then spread the batter on top. I made it 9″ as stated. The second time, I reduced to 8″ just so it’s not quite as massive, but kept the batter quantity the same so I ended up making the cake an extra 1-2 layers taller. 6″ would be fun size to try but then the slices wouldn’t have  the beautiful wide layers.

Time to bake.
12 cake layers! I cut the oven time in half by baking 2 at a time, on separate sheet pans. At the 4-minute mark, I swapped the pans from the top and bottom racks, so the cakes would brown evenly.

The cake layers will look like thin pancakes.
After they bake, let them sit for a few minutes, and while still warm, peel the parchment away from the cake.  It’s much easier to do this step while they’re warm. The layers will look extremely thin, approximately 1/4″ thick. However, once the cake sits in the fridge overnight, the cake absorbs the cream and expands.

Assembly
Pastry Chef Michelle Polzine uses an ice cream scoop to easily mound the honey cream on each layer before spreading. I’m not sure what size it is but it should be equivalent to 3/4 cup capacity. While layering the cake, I found that the cream was getting a bit soft, so I kept the bowl in an ice bath. Alternatively you could re-whip it.

Slice it thin.
Less is more. The cake is incredibly rich and flavorful, so a thin 3/4″ slice is all you really need. The first slice is always the most difficult to get out. See here. 🙂 I experimented with a thicker slice, but it didn’t have the same melt-in-your-mouth experience. The cake will keep for a few days. Just cover the exposed sides with plastic wrap or parchment.

I’d love to see your cake! Share with me on Instagram @pastrywithjenn.