Bychkiv honey cake

What it is

Bychkiv honey cake is a wedding pastry from the village of Velykyi Bychkiv in the Rakhiv region. It is a large honey cake baked in a shape, darkened with cocoa and spices, entirely covered with a thin pattern of white and colored icing. Due to its ornamentation, it is called a 'sweet vyshyvanka.'

The honey in the dough not only adds flavor but also helps the honey cake stay fresh for a long time. Bakers say that the recipe has more than a dozen ingredients, and the dough is left to rest for several hours before baking.

The patterns do not repeat, but the decoration always includes diamonds and crosses — ancient protective symbols. A small honey cake takes about two hours to decorate, while a large wedding one takes five to six.

Only a few artisans in the village bake honey cakes, mostly by order. Besides weddings, they are now ordered for anniversaries and given as souvenirs. The artisans say that baking a good honey cake is difficult, and the decoration is its main adornment.

History and name

According to the description from the Regional Organizational and Methodological Center for Culture, Bychkiv honey cake is a unique Transcarpathian variant of wedding pastry, known only in the village of Velykyi Bychkiv. Previously, three honey cakes were baked for weddings: two smaller ones and one large. They were blessed during the wedding ceremony; one smaller cake was given to the priest, the second was kept at home as a talisman, and the large one was placed in front of the newlyweds.

Older people recalled that ancient honey cakes were slightly bitter, and the pattern was drawn directly on the dough. Icing, according to baker Lesia Hainal, was introduced by her mother-in-law — the best artisan in the village. This element has been included in the regional list of the NCS of Transcarpathia; researcher Halyna Shchuka mentions the honey cake among Transcarpathian products in the book 'Ark of Taste. Ukraine.'

Regional intangible heritage. Element of a regional intangible heritage list: Бичківський медяник — елемент регіонального переліку НКС Закарпатської області (регіональний перелік НКС Закарпатської області (дату й номер рішення не звірено)). Sources

Ingredients and allergens

Wheat flourbase of the doughFor the dough of varenyky, palačinky, bobalyok, and pasky.Contains allergens: gluten

HoneymandatoryCarpathian honey is used for bobalyky, kutia, and varenyky; allowed during fasting.

Butter—Butter is placed on slices of kulesha, used to grease riplianka, and to fry breadcrumbs for hombovtsi.Contains allergens: milk

Also: cocoa (—), eggs (whites — for icing, to serve), sugar (—), powdered sugar (for icing, to serve), yeast (—, optional), cinnamon (—, optional), cloves (—, optional)

Contains allergens: gluten, milk, eggs
Diet: vegetarian

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is made

The dough is kneaded with honey, butter, sugar, cocoa, and spices — cloves, cinnamon, vanilla; each artisan has her own recipe. The dough rests for several hours, then the honey cake is baked in shape. Cracks, burnt dough, or dough that 'escaped' from the mold were considered bad omens, so baking is the most responsible stage.

The honey cake is decorated no earlier than the third day after baking. The icing is made from egg whites, powdered sugar, and lemon juice, with part colored. A large honey cake weighs up to 3.5 kg — larger ones do not bake well in a home oven; this is enough for a wedding with several hundred guests if cut small.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

The village of Velykyi Bychkiv in the Rakhiv district. According to the description of the element, honey cakes are also ordered in neighboring villages — Vodytsia, Verkhnye Vodiane, Kosivska Polyana, Luh, Kobyletska Polyana, Rosishka — and by those from the village in other cities.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Weddings

In tradition

At weddings in the village of Velykyi Bychkiv, the newlyweds break the honey cake instead of the wedding loaf. Traditionally, two honey cakes were ordered — for the newlyweds and for the priest, but now often one large and several smaller ones for the godparents or dozens of small ones for the guests. Some families keep the wedding honey cake for years.

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