Serves a Crowd

Smetannik (Russian Cake with Sour Cream Frosting)

by:
April  7, 2011
4
4 Ratings
Smetannik (Russian Cake with Sour Cream Frosting)
  • Serves 10
Author Notes

I often watch shows on Food Network.
One day on the show “the best thing I ever ate” (desserts) chef Alex Guarnaschelli was describing a sour cream cake “Smetannik” with great excitement and admiration.
Alex said that she had this cake in a bakery in Brooklyn, and even took a large piece home.
It was if I remember correctly in the end of 2010.
Since than I wanted to email the recipe to Alex, but didn’t have the “nerve”.
I have this delicious cake recipe and baked it for many years on many occasions.
Here it is the original, and the best one.
—Kukla

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Ingredients for the pastry:
  • • 2 extra large eggs room temperature
  • • ½ cup honey
  • • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • • ½ cup butter (1 stick room temperature)
  • • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • • zest of 1 large lemon
  • For the frosting:
  • • ½ cup butter (1 stick room temperature)
  • • 4 cups sour cream (drained over night in a strainer lined with Cheese cloth)
  • • 1 cup superfine sugar
  • • 1 ½ cups finely grinned toasted walnuts
  • • 2 tablespoons of good dark rum or (even better) 1½ teaspoons pure rum extract.
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine honey, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and baking soda. Put the bowl over a double boiler and gently stir until every thing is completely melted and slightly foamy. Take the bowl of and let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes, than mix in vanilla, lemon zest and flour 1 cup at the time. When the dough is ready, roll it with your hands to a log, and divide to 9 equal portions. Wrap each portion in plastic, and put into refrigerator for ½ an hour.
  2. With a rolling pin rollout each portion to a circle about 9 or 10 inches. Bake on buttered parchment paper in a tart pan with a removable bottom, or turn a cake pan upside down and bake on the top. Check on the crusts, do not let them get to dark, they bake very fast. (6 to 8 minutes)
  3. Frosting: In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add slowly sour cream while continuing beating. When it forms medium picks, fold in the walnuts and rum. Cover 8 layers and the sides of the cake with the frosting. Crash the 9th with a rolling pin and sprinkle the crumbs over the top, or use all 9 layers and finish the cake with a beautiful decoration of chocolate glaze. (Ganache) This cake is best to enjoy the next day after it was prepared. Then keep refrigerated.
Tags:
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Kukla
    Kukla
  • Niknud
    Niknud
  • lapadia
    lapadia
  • Vitaliy
    Vitaliy

Popular on Food52

14 Reviews

Vitaliy
Vitaliy March 5, 2017
Perfect recipe. Thank you for sharing. I used Almond flour instead of walnuts and the result was PERFECT.
 
Oksana
Oksana March 3, 2015
Hey Kukla!
I did everything according the recipe, but the dough was like a liquid dough and always sticking to my fingers so it was not possible even to roll out it..no chance. Therefore, I tried to put more and more flour until it becomes more less rollable :) I don`t know why. Maybe here in Denmark we have different types of eggs or butter.
 
Oksana
Oksana February 27, 2015
The cake is very good! Just some coments: 1) in my case up to 6 cups of flour were needed in order to prepare the dough; 2) this cake is also amazing if you put some dried plums between slices! :)
 
Kukla
Kukla March 2, 2015
Hey Oksana!
Thanks you for your lovely comment, but I am wondering why you needed a double amount of flour. Wasn’t your dough too stiff and difficult to roll out?
 
StevieWonders
StevieWonders October 29, 2014
Lots of amounts are missing from this recipe
 
Katie
Katie August 16, 2014
This cake is fantastic! My family was blown away by it! Thank you for the recipe.
 
Naturally H.
Naturally H. December 15, 2011
Delicious, beautifully layered cake, i add pomegranet and blueberries on top of cake to make a Russian flag...perfect combination of sweet, tart and savory!
 
Kukla
Kukla December 15, 2011
Thank you Naturally Heather for a nice comment! Happy Holidays!!!
 
Kukla
Kukla December 15, 2011
Thank You Naturally Heather for the nice comment! Happy Holidays!!!
 
Kukla
Kukla October 27, 2011
Thank You sdebrango! I am not from Brooklyn but I called my sister and she gave me three bakeries where you can find “Smetannik”. 1. “Kiev’ bakery on Connie Island.
2. “International Deli” on Brighton. 3. Cherryhill bakery on Emends Ave. at the corner of Ocean Ave.
 
Kukla
Kukla October 27, 2011
Thank You sdebrango! I am not from Brooklyn but I called my sister and she gave me three bakeries where you can find “Smetannik”. 1. “Kiev’ bakery on Connie Island.
2. “International Deli” on Brighton. 3. Cherryhill bakery on Emends Ave. at the corner of Ocean Ave.
 
Kukla
Kukla October 27, 2011
Thank you Niknud! You made me laugh with such pleasure as I didn’t in a long time, when I imagined you, liking the screen.
 
Niknud
Niknud October 26, 2011
Double Yum. Containing the urge to lick the screen.....
 
lapadia
lapadia April 19, 2011
Yum!