Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1869) of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Григо́рий Ефи́мович Распу́тин), now usually simply referred to as Rasputin, a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and gained considerable influence in late imperial Russia before being murdered by Russian nobles.

According to Felix Yusupov’s written account, he invited Rasputin to his home shortly after midnight and ushered him into the basement. Yusupov offered Rasputin tea and cakes which had been laced with cyanide. At first, Rasputin refused the cakes, but then began to eat them. To Yusupov’s surprise, Rasputin did not appear to be affected by the poison. Rasputin then asked for some Madeira wine (which had also been poisoned) and drank three glasses, but still showed no sign of distress. At around 2:30 am, Yusupov excused himself to go upstairs, where his fellow conspirators were waiting. Taking a revolver from Dmitry Pavlovich, Yusupov returned to the basement and, referring to a crucifix that was in the room, told Rasputin that he’d “better look at the crucifix and say a prayer,” then shot him once in the chest. Believing him to be dead, they then drove to Rasputin’s apartment, with Sergei Sukhotin wearing Rasputin’s coat and hat, in an attempt to make it look as though Rasputin had returned home that night. Upon returning to the Moika Palace, Yusupov went back to the basement to ensure that Rasputin was dead. Suddenly, Rasputin leapt up and attacked Yusupov, who – with some effort – freed himself and fled upstairs. Rasputin followed and made it into the palace’s courtyard before being shot by Purishkevich and collapsing into a snowbank. The conspirators then beat Rasputin with a club, wrapped his body in cloth, drove it to the Petrovsky Bridge and dropped it into the Malaya Nevka River. They claim that Rasputin was seen to be struggling as he floated down the river but that the cold water finally killed him.

Here is a recipe for Medovik a Russian multi-layered cake which is as complicated to make as it was to kill Rasputin.  There is no cyanide in this recipe, and a slice goes well with Madeira – also sans cyanide.

Ingredients

Cake Layers

• 100 gm honey
• 85 g unsalted butter
• 100 gm caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 400 g all purpose Flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder – optional

Frosting

• 350 gm sour cream
• 60 gm icing sugar
• 40 gm honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 350 gm heavy whipping dairy cream

Instructions

Prepare Burnt Honey

1. In a deep saucepan, cook HALF of the honey on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes until it turns a deep caramel brown colour. Turn off the heat and add 2-3 tbsp of cold water to stop it from cooking further. Keep aside to cool completely.

Prepare Cake Batter

1. In a saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, burnt honey and regular honey for about 5 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the baking soda. The mixture will bubble and get lighter in color. Let it cool to lukewarm. Add the vanilla and salt and mix. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Whisk the eggs in a separate small bowl. Add the eggs to the butter-honey mixture slowly while continuously whisking to incorporate all the eggs properly.
4. Sift in the flour and fold it in. You’ll get a soft cookie-like dough. Cover it and keep the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Bake the cake layers

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare 3 parchment sheets the size of your baking tray. Draw 2 circles of 7″ on each (or one on each if your oven is smaller).
2. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (about 100 gm each). Roll each piece on the circles you drew on parchment paper. Cut them into exact 7″ round with the cake ring. Reserve the extra scraps for baking at the end.
3. Prick each disc with a fork. Bake them for 8-9 minutes at 180°C until they turn evenly golden brown.
4. Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack and transfer the next parchment paper with discs. Bake them all two at a time (or one at a time depending on your oven size).
5. Bake the reserved cuts for about 8-9 minutes until golden. Cool completely. Pulse them in a food processor to fine crumbs and reserve them for decoration later.

Prepare the frosting

1. In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, icing sugar, honey and vanilla.
2. In another chilled bowl with a chilled whisk, whip the cream until stiff peaks. Gently fold in the sour cream mixture until well combined.

Assemble the cake

1. Add a little frosting on your platter and put one cake disc on top. Spread 2 large spoonsful of frosting evenly across the layer. Repeat the process for all 8 layers of cake. Cover the whole cake on top and sides with frosting.
2. Transfer the cake to refrigerator to chill completely and let the layers soften.
3. When ready to serve, cover the whole cake with the crumbs. You can also pipe some whipped cream on top for decoration. Cut into slices and enjoy!