Homemade cake “Smetanik” – classic recipe

Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove and let it cool to room temperature. Alternatively, you can take out the butter in advance and let it soften at room temperature. You can handle the butter either way. Beat the eggs with a cup of sugar and a packet of vanilla sugar until fluffy and the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the butter and mix well.

Pour a cup of sour cream (200 ml) and mix the batter again. You can use any fat content sour cream for the batter.

Sift the flour with the baking powder and gradually add it to the batter. You can replace the baking powder with 1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in vinegar. The sour cream batter is quite heavy and often does not rise well, so baking powder or baking soda is necessary. Mix the batter well to eliminate any lumps, but do not overmix, otherwise the batter will be dense and heavy. Also, keep in mind that the thickness of the sour cream and the size of the eggs will affect the consistency of the batter. Depending on the intermediate result, you can add a spoonful of sour cream or a spoonful or two of flour. The batter should be slightly thicker and denser than thick sour cream.

Grease the 20 cm diameter baking pans with butter and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs or semolina. Divide the batter into two parts and add cocoa powder to one of them. To avoid dirtying an extra container, you can immediately transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan, and then add cocoa powder to the remaining batter and mix well.

Pour the dark batter into the second cake pan. It's okay if one of the pans is slightly larger - the baked layers can be leveled and the trimmings used for decorating the sides. However, avoid using too small pans - the sour cream batter won't bake properly. Bake the layers at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes (depending on your oven). Check for doneness with a toothpick - it should come out dry from the layers.

Allow the baked layers to cool completely. Do not cut while still warm! Once cooled, slice each layer into two parts.

If necessary, trim the layers to be the same size. If both layers have unevenly risen tops, trim the top of one layer slightly so that it is easier to stack the layers on top of each other.

Whip 600 ml of thick, high-quality sour cream with a cup of sugar, a packet of vanilla sugar, and a packet of cream thickener. The result should be a thick and fluffy cream.

Place one layer on a serving dish and generously spread cream on top. Then place the next layer and repeat the process. Continue stacking all the layers, alternating between dark and light. Ensure that all layers are well coated with cream.

Cover the top and sides of the cake with cream. Carefully wipe the plate with a paper napkin, otherwise the homemade cake will look untidy.

Crush the cake trimmings into crumbs. Sprinkle the sides of the cake with the resulting crumbs. Wipe the plate again with a napkin. Instead of cake crumbs, you can use coconut flakes or crushed nuts, as well as grated chocolate.

Decorate the top of the cake to your liking. Place the homemade Smetanik cake according to the classic recipe in the refrigerator and let it soak for at least an hour.