· 6 min read
Medovik or Napoleon: Which Cake to Order
They are the two cakes we are asked for most, often in the same message, and they are much less alike than people assume. Here is how to choose.
Most weeks somebody writes to ask which they should order, the medovik or the Napoleon, and adds that they love both. That is a reasonable position. It is also the reason the question is hard, because the two cakes sit next to each other in memory and almost nowhere else.
Both are layered. Both are eaten across Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and well beyond. Both are rested before they are served, and both are the cake somebody's grandmother made for every birthday. After that they part company, and the differences are the ones that decide whether a cake suits the table it is going to.
What each one actually is
A medovik is a honey cake. Honey is worked into a warm dough, the dough is rolled into thin sheets and baked one at a time, and the sheets are stacked with a light sour cream frosting. It then spends a night in the fridge, during which the layers draw moisture out of the cream and soften into something close to a torte.
A Napoleon is a puff pastry cake. Thin sheets of pastry are baked separately and stacked with vanilla custard cream, the trimmings are crumbled over the top and sides, and the whole cake is left to rest long enough for the custard to soak into the pastry.
So one is built on a honey biscuit and the other on pastry. That single fact is behind almost every difference that follows.
Texture
A good medovik is soft all the way through, with no crispness left anywhere. The layers stay visible as fine lines but the fork does not notice them. The texture is close and slightly damp, like a very fine sponge that has been soaked rather than one that has been whipped.
A good Napoleon is softer still, but in a different way. The custard is looser than a sour cream frosting and there is more of it, so the cake is creamier, wetter and more yielding. The pastry layers keep a faint flakiness at their centre even after resting, and the crumb on the outside gives a little texture to every slice.
If somebody at the table dislikes anything creamy, the medovik is the safer cake. If somebody's idea of a celebration is custard, it is the Napoleon, and no argument will change that.
Sweetness and flavour
People expect a honey cake to be very sweet and it usually surprises them. The honey is cooked into the dough, where it caramelises and darkens, so what comes through is a toffee and burnt sugar note rather than the flavour of honey from a jar. The sour cream frosting is lightly sweetened and slightly sharp, and it is the reason a slice of medovik does not feel heavy after dinner.
The Napoleon tastes of vanilla, butter and milk. It is sweeter on the tongue than the medovik, because custard is sweet and there is a good deal of it, but it is a milky sweetness and never cloying.
Our view, offered as an opinion: medovik is the better cake to follow a large meal, and Napoleon is the better cake for an afternoon, with tea, when it is the main event rather than the end of one.
Notice, size and price
Both are 18 cm and serve six to eight.
The honey cake needs forty eight hours. The Napoleon needs sixty, because the pastry sheets have to be made and baked, and then the assembled cake needs its long rest before it can travel. If a date is close, that difference can make the decision for you.
The honey cake is £76 plain, £77 with fresh flowers, £78 written on in chocolate and £84 finished with berries. The Napoleon is £86. Neither has nuts on its allergen list, and both contain gluten, eggs and milk. The kitchen does handle nuts, so if an allergy matters, ask before ordering.
Who each one suits
Order the medovik for a mixed table that includes people who have never eaten either, for a dinner where the cake comes after three courses, and for anybody who says they do not like very sweet things. It is also the more forgiving cake to keep. It is often better on the second day than the first.
Order the Napoleon when the person it is for grew up with it, when the occasion is an afternoon tea or a birthday where the cake is the point, and when you want a cake that looks as homemade as it tastes. The crumb finish is traditional and it is not trying to be elegant.
For a party of twelve or more, the honest answer is both. Two different 18 cm cakes feed the same number as one large cake and give the table a choice, which is what most of our customers end up doing for a big birthday.
What people get wrong
The most common mistake is serving either cake straight from the fridge. Both are cold set and both taste of less when they are cold. Take them out thirty to forty minutes before cutting.
The second is expecting a Napoleon to be crisp. The French millefeuille is assembled and eaten within the hour, and it shatters. The Russian Napoleon is meant to be soft, and one that arrives crisp has not been rested.
The third is thinking of medovik as a plain cake because it is not decorated much. It takes longer to make than almost anything else we bake, because every layer is rolled and baked on its own.
Common questions
Which is less sweet, medovik or Napoleon?
Medovik, by some distance. The honey is caramelised in the dough and the sour cream frosting is only lightly sweetened, so it tastes much less sweet than people expect.
Which needs more notice?
The Napoleon. It needs sixty hours, the honey cake forty eight.
Can I order both for one party?
Yes, and for twelve or more people it is often the best answer. Two 18 cm cakes serve twelve to sixteen.
Do either contain nuts?
Neither has nuts on its allergen list. Both contain gluten, eggs and milk. Our kitchen handles nuts, so tell us about any allergy before ordering.
Which keeps better?
The medovik. It holds well for a couple of days in the fridge and often improves on the second. The Napoleon is best within a day or two of arriving, before the pastry goes too soft.
Ordering in London
Both cakes are made to order in Belgravia and delivered across London and Surrey. Forty eight hours notice for the honey cake, sixty for the Napoleon, a £50 minimum order, and delivery from £12 in central London, with other postcodes priced on the delivery page. Choose your date at checkout and the cake is made for it.
Order it for the date you need
Everything here is baked to order for your date.
48 hours notice, 72 for bread. Delivered across London and Surrey.