Russian Sour Cream Cake (Smetannik)

In Russian, Tort Smetannik means a cake with sour cream. This layered Russian cake is a Super Moist Sour Cream Cake that’s incredibly moist and tender from the sour cream ingredient in both the cake layers and frosting! This torte is super easy to make and is actually one of my quick stand by cake recipes to whip up quickly.

The sour cream ingredient in both the cake layers and frosting are undetectable in this recipe!

Smetana means sour cream, in Russian. To make it at home from scratch you’ll need buttermilk (kefir) and heavy whipping cream (slevka).

1. Mix 1 liter of cream and a heaping 3/4 cup of thick buttermilk (or natural yogurt). Leave at room temperature for at least 8 hours (up to 24 hours) until thick.
2. Stir after fermentation and keep refrigerated before serving.

Ingredients for Smetannik:

• eggs- 4 eggs beaten until thick and pale.
• sugar- granulated sugar.
• sour cream- 1 1/3 cup.
• baking soda dissolved in 2 TBSP of vinegar- vinegar or lemon juice will help the baking soda dissolve better in the cake so you won’t bite into a bitter chunk of soda.
• flour- all-purpose flour or bread flour.
• unsweetened cocoa powder- is only used for half the cake batter to make chocolate cake layers.
• condensed milk- is sweet and partially used for the cream too.

Ingredients for the Sour Cream Frosting: 

• sour cream- dairy.
• cream cheese- to soften an 8 oz package of cream cheese quickly, unwrap and microwave it for 30 seconds. Super handy!
• condensed milk- since the cake batter calls for 1/2 can of condensed milk use the other half for the cream frosting!
• Cool whip- use whipped heavy whipping cream or thawed Cool Whip.

NOTE: The original recipe for Smetannik called for a quick syrup. You can choose to add it but I found the cake pretty moist on its own, so I omitted it. You can still find the syrup proportions down below.

• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 3 tbsp sugar

1. Preheat oven 350°F. Line and lightly grease two 9″ spring-form pans with aluminum foil. Set aside.

2. Place eggs and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat over high speed for 20 minutes. Add in the baking soda mixture. Then mix in the condensed milk and sour cream until well combined.

3. Whisk in the flour stirring one direction. Evenly divide the batter and leave one plain and whisk in cocoa powder to the other half. (about 3 cups of batter for each.)

4. Bake 25-35 minutes or until done. Cool completely.

5. Cut cakes in half (4 layers in total.)

6. TO MAKE CREAM: Beat the cream cheese for 2-3 minutes over high speed, scrapping sides. Add in the condensed milk and beat until smooth. Mix in the sugar and gradually add in the sour cream. Mix in the cool whip and mix until well combined (cream will be slightly on the thinner side but will set once chilled.) 

Assembly: 

7. Trim the sides of the cake. Crumble the trimmings with your hands for finer crumbs. Frost the cake and garish with cake crumbs. Drizzle Dulce-de-leche on top and refrigerate (optional.)

(Note: If you don’t want to trim cake, you can use crushed chocolate cookie crumbs instead.)

This sour cream cake can be served a couple of hours after preparing! Once the cake is cool enough to handle you can frost the cake layers and let it sit for as quick as an hour before slicing.

The Smetannik cake can easily make 8 large slices or 14 small slices. The smaller cake pieces are more ideal for feeding a crowd and are a more moderate serving per person.

Yes! The traditional recipe called for a quick 2-ingredient syrup, which I decided to omit since this cake alone is plenty moist by itself! Here is the original syrup if you decide to soak the cake layers:

Syrup: 

• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 3 tbsp sugar