Белочка, which literally translates “Squirrel” from Russian, is a quicker and easier version of the Russian Honey Cake. My first encounter with this cake was the day before my wedding. To solve the problem of running out of dessert, (which would be catastrophic for a Russian wedding) my quick-witted bridesmaid aptly whipped up a dozen of these cakes within a few hours!
The taste is very similar to the more time-consuming, but equally rewarding Honey Cake. Unlike the one-bowl straight mixing method used here, the traditional Russian Honey cake is made over a bain marie. The original recipe does not call for cocoa and a simple dulce de leche cream is used for the filling. This reimagined version adds cocoa for decadent chocolate layers and is generously smothered with a rich mascarpone-espresso whipped cream for the ultimate celebration cake. Adding sour cream to the cream gives it just the right amount of tang to balance the sweetness and also beautifully softens the layers to a pillowy perfection.
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons honey
- 10 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 4 Cups Flour (See notes for whole-grain and gluten-free version)
- 4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add butter and cream for 1-2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, sugar honey and baking soda. Add to the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
- Place the dough onto a plastic wrap lined plate or tray. Dough will be very sticky. Chill 1-2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Divide the chilled dough into 8 equal parts. Chill the remaining dough as you roll out each layer one by one. Using multiple baking sheets really speeds up the process. Roll out the dough to about ¼" thickness and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet. A helpful trick is to roll out the dough into a small disc, then transfer to a baking sheet and use a hand-held rolling pin to keep rolling to size.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Once the layers are baked and cooled, they can be stored, wrapped airtight up to a week at room temperature and up to a month in the freezer.
- This cake is best made the day before serving to let the layers absorb the cream and soften up.
- Make the mascarpone-espresso whipped cream and generously spread the cream on each layer, about ½-3/4 cup per layer. Once the cake is assembled, it is best to let it chill for at least 30 minutes to make it easier to finish.
- Trim off the uneven edges and mask with cream.
- The edges can be covered with chopped nuts or reserve one of the cake layers and bake it for an additional 8 minutes, then grind up in a food processor to make crumbs and use to coat the sides of the cake.
- Serve the cake chilled.
For Gluten-free I used: 4 oz teff, 6 oz rice flour, 2 oz oat flour, 2 oz tapioca flour, and 1 teaspoon guar gum.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add butter and cream for 1-2 minutes.
In a separate bowl combine eggs, sugar honey and baking soda. Add to the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
Place the dough onto a plastic wrap lined plate or tray. Dough will be very sticky. Chill 1-2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350. Divide the chilled dough into 8 equal parts. Chill the remaining dough as you roll out each layer one by one.
Using multiple baking sheets really speeds up the process. Roll out the dough to about 1/4″ thickness and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet.
A helpful trick is to roll out the dough into a small disc, then transfer to a baking sheet and use a hand-held rolling pin to keep rolling to size.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Once the layers are baked and cooled, they can be stored, wrapped airtight up to a week at room temperature and up to a month in the freezer.
This cake is best made the day before serving to let the layers absorb the cream and soften up.
Make the mascarpone-espresso whipped cream.
- 2 Pints Heavy cream
- 8 oz Mascarpone
- 8 oz Sour cream
- 1 can dulce de leche (cooked sweetened condensed milk)
- 4 Tablespoons Espresso Powder
- pinch salt
- Place mascarpone, heavy cream, and dulce de leche into a mixing bowl and whip till soft peaks form. Check your mascarpone, if it is the consistency of cream cheese, let it come to room temperature before whipping it up. If it's soft, almost like yogurt whip right away with the heavy cream.
- Add espresso powder and salt and whip until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold in the sour cream.
- Generously spread the cream over each cake layer as part of the cream will be absorbed by the cake.
Tip: Do not use your best pot for cooking cans of sweetened condensed milk. The glue from the labels on the cans will adhere to the pot you're cooking in and ruin it. I specifically bought a large used pot just for this purpose or use an old one if you have one.
Place mascarpone, heavy cream, and dulce de leche into a mixing bowl and whip till soft peaks form. Check your mascarpone, if it is the consistency of cream cheese, let it come to room temperature before whipping it up. If it’s soft, almost like yogurt whip right away with the heavy cream.
Add espresso powder and salt and whip until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold in the sour cream.
Generously spread the cream over each cake layer, about 1/2-3/4 cup per layer as part of the cream will be absorbed by the cake.
Once the cake is assembled, it is best to let it chill for at least 30 minutes to make it easier to finish.
Trim off the uneven edges and mask with cream.
The edges can be covered with chopped nuts or reserve one of the cake layers and bake it for an additional 8 minutes, then grind up in a food processor to make crumbs and use to coat the sides of the cake.
Serve the cake chilled.
This cake is very delicious!!!!
I followed every step and it turned out great.
I doubled up the ingredients and made two cakes for church.
Thank you for the recipe!
So happy to hear you loved the cake and the instructions were helpful!
You’re very welcome!